How Consultants Find Work

Being a consultant is a common career path today. Working with established firms or going it alone as an independent contractor, a college education, previous jobs, acquired expertis or life experience can lead to a fianancially and personally rewarding life helping others accomplish their goals. Legendary lawman Wyatt Earp (1848 – 1929) was famous for more than being a charismatic peacemaker. Earp was also a consultant, providing technical assstance to Hollywood’s earliest Western Cowboy moviemakers using his real-life experience as expertise. In this article we will explore how to find work marketing your consulting services.

Who Hires Consultants?

These days consultants are used by people in almost every aspects imaginable of industry, government, and private life…

• Businesses and Professions

• Educational Institutions and Government Agencies

• Sports Professionals and Entertainers

• Nonprofit Community Services and Religious Organizations

• Scientific Associations

• Students, Homemakers, Homeowners, Investors

• …even consultants use consultants – I know I do

Why are Consultants Needed?

Generally, consultants are sought when there are activities or needs that are beyond in-house employee capabilities. Private industries and government agencies hire full-time, part-time, and temporary employees that are suited to their organization’s established purposes. Employees are absorbed into positions designed to meet routine management and operations. Expectations of a consultant are far above standard operating procedures (SOP).

Expertise of consultantans are put to use in order to:

Augment Staff

Businesses and agencies will contract consultants to enhance motivation, capabilities, and productivity of employees. Reaching into their pockets to pay customary high fees of consultants is something owners and administrators will do to reap long term benefits. They reason that it may be more expensive for the business to hire or train in-house staff for such work. They also bank on the consultant’s professional fee as a tax deductible business expense versus non-recoverable wages. Employing someone is therefore not cost effective nor is taking an existing employee and adding new assignments. Thus consultants are preferred when there is a desire for advanced expertise on an expedient non-permanent basis.

To Identify Problems and Provide Objective and Fresh Solutions

Excessive spending, employee theft, internal/quality control issues are just a few of the sensitive tasks consultants are contracted to address. Private businesses and government agencies know that delving into internal issues means employees may be subjective or even antagonistic toward the work needed. This is especially true when dealing with upper-management. Staff may also miss new untried opinions and methods to problems. To get the best input, it becomes necessary to contract those who have demonstrated expertise and exposure to a wider variety of circumstances and can give objective analysis and overview being outside of the organization. Should radical changes be required, objectivity and professional diplomacy are what consultants can bring to the table and minimize uproar. A consultant is outside the hierarchy of the normal operating structure and may stand a better chance of having recommendations acted on than from someone inside a company. Consultants can network with personnel at all organizational levels to get answers without stepping on sensitive toes. A progressive consultant will work to excel in facilitating open communications with everyone. With no vested interest in any one plan — just wanting to get the job done by the best means possible, the consultant can do what an employee would find resistance in trying to achieve.

To Instruct and Train

Organizations contract consultants to teach new skills or augment current ones of their personnel. Taking production down time or extra hours for employees to attend college courses or extended training can be costly. Consultants are brought in for on-the-job skills training. Such skills could be hard skills such as utilization of new equipment, computer applications, or soft skills such as customer service relations or enhancing sales techniques. These areas are not just limited to use in the corporate world or government.. Today, individuals hire consultants as much as businesses do to help them up-their-game. People may want to learn a particular skill in a brief time and do not want to take lengthy academic courses to do so. Consultants can avail their services to individuals as well as to larger enterprises.

To Do What No One Else Wants To Do

The consultant can be called upon as a “corporate hit-person” — If there is a nasty job that needs doing, dealing with the public or in-house personnel, organizations often contract consultants. This is done largely for purposes of protecting an image. Sometimes the boss just does not want to be the heavy or a company does not want to be seen as a bad-guy to the public. Also, it could be for the elimination of an entire division of a company or policy changes that the company feels will not be well received. Consultants are expected to know how to spin the situation to their client’s advantage but still get the nasty job done. Not only is a consultant preferred in such situations because of their propensity for diplomacy but also because they can implement change and quickly vamoose!

For Their Contacts

Consultants will be called upon when they have access to influential people, specific networks, or resources. These power brokers are usually consultants who have worked at higher levels of private businesses or government agencies and can give their clientèle an edge in some manner. It could be for obtaining lucrative contracts, for knowing future trends due to their background, or for having friends in ‘high places’. Businesses and organizations impacted by political and legislative posturing will contract consultants as lobbyist to keep abreast of changes and to champion their causes. The wise consultant strives to develop contacts and resources knowing that the world of consulting greatly confirms the adage “it’s not what you know but who you know.”

To oversee specialized operations

Enterprises that joint venture with another company to accomplish particular transaction or create new divisions will seek consultants to facilitate having things go smoothly. Rather than disrupt their current directives and production, these companies contract consultants in order to maintain status-quo with their standard course of operations. Project Management Consultants are used then to lead or assist in areas of negotiations, research and development, or even to oversee the entire new division being created.

How do consultants find work?

Finding work as a novice consultant can be as frustrating as it is for the first-time job-hunter. Everyone is looking for experience – so how do you land your first contract? Unlike the job-hunter who has impressive academic credentials but unfortunately is rejected for not having work experience – the consultant may be preferred just for their academics. College credentials demonstrate discipline and knowledge that can provide clients with a feeling of security. This may sound odd coming from me, as I have absolutely no academia of which to boast, yet I hold 28 years of continuous work as an independent consultant. In fact, the only time I have been on a college campus has been to work as an instructor or as a consultant (and to pick up my checks). However, the information I provide here will guide the novice and the seasoned veteran consultant to gaining a following of clients.

Evolve from employee to consultant

Did you have jobs before venturing out to be a consultant? Were you really good at any of those jobs? Did you feel you knew more than your co-workers and even superiors. Did you ever thing about if you owned the company, how you would do things differently for better results? I ask these questions because I know that those very places you worked may be the first place you can land a consulting contract. Don’t be shy about what those jobs were. You could have been an electronic engineer, a fast-order cook, bartender. Whether you climbed telephone poles to hang wires or dug ditches for a mortuary… it was a job that someone paid you to perform a service. Even if you left a job under (reasonably) bad terms with the management or owners… if you were remembered for being extra special at what you did – you can turn that old job into a consulting contract.

Without a degree, much less any college education, I could only obtain work at office clerk levels. Computer data-entry, receptionist, basic bookkeeping – but continuously found means of making the work more efficient and resolving small office management problems. I began to listen, read, and learn how money came into businesses and public organizations; loans, grants, contracts, even liquidations of excess or unessential goods. Whether it dealt with mortgages or constructions contracts, I strove to be in-the-know about the terminology and the do and do-nots of deal-making. Having displayed a fair understanding of the language, my employer, a non-profit organization, entrusted me (their $9.00/Hr Bookkeeper) to drafting proposals for their grants. Handling the tasks well, proposal writing for grants quickly made me their $10.00/hr Bookkeeper/Grant Writer. After writing a successful grant for $1,000,000 I was itching to do more… and be paid more!

It was time for me to be honest with my employer. I was worth more than $10.00 an hour! So, I wrote a letter of resignation accompanied with a proposal. My proposal of Professional Services to my employer of less than 2 years. The proposal explained my intelligent understanding of the nature of the organization and their dependency on grants for continuous to provide charitably service to their needy population. This was followed by my statement of the problem the organization had in not having a full-time staff member knowledgeable in researching grants and preparing winning proposals. My offer was to provide a dedicated service that would fill these needs at a reasonable fee. Of course conditions were addressed that still covered my being paid even if the grant I prepared (which is a competitive process) was not funded. Ironically, my initial fee offer was what I made working 40 hrs a week for one month. I justified this to myself by being able to work at home at my pace which was a fraction of the time it took me on-the-job (plus I saved a bundle on child care). After reviewing my proposal, the board of directors rationalized though they could not afford to offer me higher wages, they could see using my services on an as need basis. Deal done – my immediate thoughts and plans were, just how many such contracts could I handle in one month? Six month? A year? Now 28 years later – I know!

Newspapers

Yep – the Want Ads. Classified sections of newspapers are loaded with consulting opportunities; (1) Want ads at times specifically solicit for Consultants, Personal Service Contractors, Professional Contractors, or Independent Contractors. (2) The Special Announcements and Bid Announcements section of classified ad will list RFPs (Requests For Proposals), RFQs (Request For Qualifications), and other such call for bids. (3) Job announcement requesting your genre of expertise. They may just think they are needing to hire a self-motivated Sales Manager – but you haven’t shown them the benefit of contracting your services yet, have you? (4) News stories can be tremendous door openers for consultants. An organization with problems so severe that it hits the media is a cry for help that any good consultant can hear. Even articles heralding new businesses is good. Example:

Randolph, A consultant I met reads news, magazines articles, website, monitors broadcasts and watches movies and TV constantly to find work. His consulting forte is (as he calls it) Accuracy, Authenticity, and Continuity. A trivia enthusiast, Randolph always has had an eye and mind for retaining minute details. To boot, Randolph was world traveled due to the military and working his way through several colleges, Randolph collected unusual cultural, ethnic, and historic tidbits of information an memorabilia. What was a hobby became a business for him after reading an article about a new business opening in his town. A Greek restaurant priding itself on authentic Mediterranean cuisine, décor, and historic serving costuming was featured with photographs and menu selections. Randolph caught several errs he felt that belied the owners’ claims and could jeopardize their image. One well prepared visit, led to dinner, ouzo, and a contract for Randolph. Pleased with the outcome of his work Randolph were referred to the many friends and associated of the owner consisting of other restaurants, casinos, hotels, and work in Hollywood consulting with studios.

Networking

It is my opinion that networking has become far to commercialized. We now have associations just for the purpose of dressing up in power suits and feverishly running around a room swapping business cards. An evening at these gatherings is like listening hours to a chorus of Delberts droning “I Wanna Talk About ME”. I love Toby Keith’s ditty but it only puts food on the table if you do it with a funky cowboy hat, guitar, boots, and a butt-kickin’ back up band. Your best network is right at hand… your friends, family, neighbors, old co-workers, that good ole boy drinking a beer on a barstool at your favorite watering hole. They may work for someone needing your service, know someone needing your service, or be someone who needs your service. Referrals can be just a conversation away. You just have to just the right approach to adding them to your network. For this you will want to read the section on Listening.

I also recommend a gratuity to those who give solid referrals resulting in work. Cash can get a little touchy, but I have found certificates for dinners at an upscale restaurant or a gift of their favorite beverage has always been well received. Be cautious with offering incentives or referral fees. You always want your consulting practice represented as a unique tailored service – not just something you do for anyone who offers you pay. Never represent yourself just as a Consultant for Hire. You always will want the leverage of saying for whom you will work. I elaborate on this below.

Public Advertising and Promotion

It is not uncommon for consultants to use standard advertising such as placement in directories or traditional Yellow Pages. This is especially true of consultants working in cooperation of a larger firm. For solitary consultants, I recommend promotion over advertising. Donations can made under your consulting business and participation in events that fall within the caliber of your targeted clientèle. In my 28 years I have chosen to never advertise my services but rather to use networking and promotion. I prefer selecting my clients. It gives me more latitude in saying “no” should there be work I do not desire or am not prepared to provide. Not advertising has actually been to my advantage. One example:

Through a referral, I met Mrs. D., an interesting woman who authored a children’s book and audio cassette. The published materials were in their first printing (5,000 copies) and were not selling well. Mrs. D, had considerable wealth of her own and was more concerned about getting her works out to readers than selling her books (I found that curious, as well). She wanted to invest in having 50,000 more sets produced for free distribution to organizations working with needy children. It was her belief that what she had authored would be of profound mental and behavioral benefit (her words) to children. Mrs. D. was told I consulted with numerous community-based children and youth organizations and requested I package her and her materials as a beneficial resource for at-risk-children (e. g., foster children, runaways, special needs). It was her reasoning that she could then add the trustworthy names of these organizations to her promotional vita while doing talk shows, guest appearances, and book signings. I explained to Mrs. D. that it was SOP for me to assess a project and we set a time to meet again. Confident in her materials, Mrs. D even provided me additional books and tapes to share with my family. Let’s just say I’m glad my kids were old enough to appreciate my decision to turn down Mrs. D. consulting offer. The materials were awful. There never was a plot – just unrealistic characters that were more sophomoric than childlike. The artwork was dark and foreboding with an audio cassette to match the mood. As kindly as I said “I can not help you”, Mrs. D. was furious with my refusal, going as far as to initiate a lawsuit against me. Long story, short, the lawsuit was found frivolous (at her expense for my fees). Plainly, I did not advertise, nor did I solicit her business… and folks like me do reserve to right to refuse anyone we so choose! My friend making the referral still received a gratuity for his efforts.

The Direct Approach

You know what expertise you offer. You have done research on your market, who needs what you provide; doctors, schools, organization, restaurants, hotels, governments, trucking companies, insurance agents… go to them! This calls for packaging yourself, like any other commodity. Define your image. Put your consulting service to paper; brochures, vita, website, business cards and set your sites on who your clients will be. Make that appointment, introduce yourself, and be prepared to follow up with a proposal of services.

Where do consultants find the best clients?

When traditional networking, advertising, and door knocking does not appear to bring the work you seek as a consultant… sometimes we just have to help nature run its course. You should learn how to let basic skills and circumstance come to your aid.

Be a strong listener

Listening and interacting positively with others is as key to successfully finding work as a consultant as it is to working as a consultant. This is best demonstrated by this story… 

While spending an evening with a friend, her sister, Elaine, stopped by highly agitated after attending a board meeting for an organization to which she belonged. She was livid over learning the organization was missing funds from public events they had held to raise money of charitable activities. My friend knew something of the work I did and asked me to talk with Elaine about the problem. Rather than talking with Elaine, I spent the next hour or more listening to her concerns and some suspicions she had. I did ask questions that led her to provide me with the type of details I needed to determine if and how I could help or who I could refer them to (always a good thing to do when work is beyond your expertise). My final question was “Do you have a good relationship to the President of your organization’s board?” Elaine hit speed dial on her cell before the last word had left my lips. My conversation with the president began with assuring him that what Elaine shared with me was not done in gossip but her sincere concern for the mission of the organization. Further, that she spoke with me only in knowing I was a professional that would hold all information in confidence and was prepared to assist in some way. That same night I met the President, Vice President and Treasurer of the board and listened to them about what they suspected. Then it was time to talk. Consultants should know just how much to give as free advice and what has to be left to consulting. After impressing them enough with my background in working to resolve such issues and letting them know it was only by having direct hands on to ledgers and other internal information, I was asked to offer them a proposal for my services. Being in-the-know of the type of problems they were seeing, I had a proposal and work plan prepared by the next evening. My services, retained for over a year, successfully led the organization to discovering losses, implementing controls to prevent further damages, and recovery of embezzled funds through their professional liability insurance.

Listening is an art form as well as a skill. Listening can be learned and should be practiced constantly, in business and in our personal lives. Active Listening, Effective Listening are methods taught by professional counselors and consultants. We should do more than just hear others. We should be hearing and understanding. What is their tone? Their mood? What other messages are we aware of – are they fidgeting? Do they appear confident or nervous? What is being said and what is not being said? Are they really talking to you or are they trying to impress others present? Are you understanding them? Do you need language or vocabulary clarified? Are they using words in their proper context? Is the person agitated when you try and interact?

I strongly urge you to research Listening skills. Many courses in active and effective listening are offered through community education classes through local colleges. Finding your work as a consultant requires being aware of others.

Luck

Believe in good luck to find work – but know you can make your own luck. How small our big world is really is fascinating and can often be in your favor. Propinquity helps… imagine finding work while standing in line at a store. Yes, it happened to me. One Friday evening at a local grocery, a man and a woman were kibitzing over a news headline about all the tremendous services that were available for the homeless in our country. The line was long so I figured conversation would pass the time. “I really don’t know much about the issues of homelessness.” I admitted. “My husband Fred” the woman said acknowledging the man “… is Executive Director of a program for runaway and homeless youth – and we have found that this population is a culture within a culture with needs beyond adults. Little is around to help them”. They went on to enlighten me to the lack of resources for youth not yet 21 years of age who were homeless. Not being adults they were outside positive placements for employment and how often these youth, for the want of just food and shelter would resort to crime or be exploited by criminal adults. Our conversation led us through the line out of the store and into the parking lot where we exchanged cards. I asked to call upon them to learn more about their organization, the population they served, and how I could help. My weekend was spent not just in researching the plight of runaway and homeless youth but possible resolutions to their problems. Fred and his wife had identified their greatest need was for job opportunities for youth who were to old for services for minors but to young for adult assistance. I wrote a proposal – Self-Employment Training for youth. Why not? If they could not find jobs – who said they could not create their own? Find a need and fill it… the entrepreneurial code. Monday I made an appointment to meet with Fred and share my idea. The meeting led to me being contracted to assist the organization with a Youth Employment Program that involved writing a grant to the Department of Labor. Our program was favorably received and funded for years becoming one of the nation’s first successful youth entrepreneurial programs. This contract lasted for more than five years and evolved into other contracts and professional opportunities.

Learn the mystery of serendipity – finding wonderful things for which you were not even looking or planning… I was just involved in the dreaded chore of grocery shopping… but those effective listening skills kicking into gear. Synchronicity and sheer coincidence are not to be scoffed at as a consultant in the market though I truly believe that the more we immerse ourselves seriously into our expertise and our drive to help others with our knowledge, that it just starts coming back to us. Propinquity – being in the right place at the right time, is also not always by accident. The more we surround ourselves with others in-the-know and service oriented, the more work you will find as a consultant. Professionals know that they do not know it all… nor do they have to; that is what they have support budgets for – to pay for expertise they do not have. The majority of my work over the years has come to me from other consultants and administrators who have needs or know other administrators with professional needs.

What is Most Important for Consultant to Know About Finding Work?

Know…

Your strengths and limitations

Never represent what you cannot provide clients in expert form. If accounting is not your strong suite (such as it is with me) then do not promote that you are an Accounting Consultant. My work deals directly with my clients income and expenses. However, this does not entail my performing accounting or bookkeeping tasks. It means I have expertise in analyzing financial reports, reading between the lines, and researching the flow of their finances. When I propose to offer Grant Writing to a client, I specify the budget is to be prepared by their staff’s Finance Officer though it is my chore to put the budget in layman’s terms. It is a typical practice for consultant’s to enter into sub-contracts with other practitioners to provide a complete service. If you know your work will involve legal aspects of a company, and you are not a lawyer, arrange an agreement with a trusted attorney to provide that portion of your contract with the client.

Time is money – so manage it well

Presenting your availability to a potential client must be well considered. Will your work call for you to report to your potential client on a hourly basis or is the work performance based? Experience has taught me to negotiate performance based contracts rather than hourly. As an independent consultant I do have other clients to attend to, right? Clients hiring consultants are more concerned with performance than time. You are not an employee on a 9 – 5 schedule. Carefully manage the time you will have to commit to a contract and be ready to have your fee reflect a contract that calls for a sole source commitment. If your time is being asked for on a demanding schedule your client will surely be willing to pay to retain your for their exclusive service needs.

Time is to your advantage as a consultant. You are not expected to pull 40 hour weeks, you are expected to get a tough job done often in less time than an employee. It is your option to work nights, weekends, holidays, or at the wee hours of the morning, so long as the work is done.

Know also finding work as a consultant may mean accepting contracts with unusual time-frames. Say the time you estimate for a contract will only take you 10 hours of work at a rate of $100 an hour. This is still good work. Imagine having 10 such clients a month. Better, having these clients use your services on a repeat basis. This is excellent work. Contracts can be as minimal as a one-time session of 1-hour to contracts that last for months and years. Work is work to the consultant… no job too small or too large.

Flexibility

Finding work for consultants sometimes means meeting the clients needs on their turf. A great deal of my clients live outside of my hometown. But meeting their consulting needs long distance has become my practice’s hallmark – Virtual Services. Because my work pertains largely to financial management and internal controls, my work is with paper systems more so than people. Working with the people is the role of my client based upon my findings of their work. With a phone, a fax, email, software applications and of course my trusty computer… I’m in business no matter where me or my clients are at anytime of day or night.

According to your expertise and how your deliver services, some clients will want to have you directly assessable to them. Be careful to know the difference between being a freelancer or a consultant. For instance, the freelance Computer Specialist may be someone who physically sets up systems for their clients where as the Computer Consultant may be someone who analyses the operations of the client and make recommendation of computers and applications. One means laying hands directing on and being in-house whereas the other means providing the expertise which could be provided through documentation and/or conversation.

Finally, (at least for the purpose of this article) finding consulting work or consulting work finding you requires you to present your expertise concisely. Be clear in describing what you can provide to your potential clients but at the same time – do not lock yourself in a box. As you begin work with a client you will undoubtedly become aware of other needs they may have that you could provide. Be careful not to exceed the terms of one contract by going beyond your agreed upon scope of work. In example, an associate of mine, John, a Human Resources consultant, was under contract to a sizable construction company preparing a manual for personnel policies and procedures. He observed their website was outdated and lacked links for job announcements, downloading applications, and answering basic employment information about the company. The company, recently contracting with the government in several communities, had become inundated with calls, requests for job information, and applications requiring excessive time for staff’s response. John knew I provided website development for my clients and offered to pay me to help him modify his client’s website. I immediately asked “John, is this under the contract you have with them now?” “Well, not really” he said “it’s just that I know it would be of tremendous benefit to them in staff time and efficiency.” My response was to help John write another proposal pointing out the problems, the benefits, the expected results, and of course the price. John received the contract, subcontracted me to assist, and completed both contracts with lucrative results, praise, appreciation and more referrals. He was then able to add Website Development to his capabilities!

Now you’re prepared to find consulting work… when you get that work, look for more of my articles on what good things can happen then!