Start Your Own Internet Consulting Business

Do your friends come to you with every question under the sun, because they know you are the most resourceful one in the group, the “Center of Influence”? If so, why not refer them to a company you started, provide products and services priced in such a way that makes you both affordable and competitive and make some extra cash?

There are many good companies out there who offer services that you refer business to. Sure they may give you a referral fee, or compensate you in some way, but they are making big bucks off of your networking abilities.

We all want to live the American dream (get married, buy a house and become a business owner). Now you can be the CEO of Your Network. Here is a list of ways to do that:

1. Put together a list of services that you yourself can complete.

2. Add to that list all of the other services you would normally refer out and include that in your company offering of services.

3. Make an arrangement with the company that you would have normally outsourced the business to and “white label” their services. That way you get the job completed and your own company gets all of the credit for the quality work.

4. Add the completed job to your portfolio and now you can say you offer everything under the sun.

What you have accomplished in all of this is:

1. Created a company for yourself.

2. Helped your friends and network with whatever services they needed to be completed.

3. Made some extra cash on the side!

Most businesses fail not because they do poor quality work, but because they have trouble finding the clients to do the work for. If you have a large network, that means the heavy lifting has already been done.

Client Testimonials Are Key for Management Consulting Businesses

The financial alchemy of your consulting services could be the deciding factor of whether your consultancy business survives or thrives during tough economic climates. Think about the angle of using a testimonial guideline to build your reputation for excellent customer service and relations. The focus of any business is the customer. When all is said and done, services aren’t sold – they are bought.

Discovering The Needs And Expectations Of Your Consulting Client
To start off the proccess of getting a good testimonial on track ask questions and obtain as much specific information as possible. Keep in mind that your customer is probably a busy professional with a lot on their mind. They may not have spent the time to focus and clarify their own ideas. Ask questions like:

* What are your main reasons/goals/objectives for needing a small business consultant?
* What results do you expect from a consulting service?
* How do you intend to measure the results from a consultancy against your expectations?

Delivering A Fully Communicated Consulting Strategy
The parameters of the consulting role and job have now been defined upfront. The communication strategy between consultant and customer has been established. This means little, or no misunderstanding. Once the work has been completed, you can give the customer an overview of the objectives and an analysis of the results obtained.

As you again ask specific questions, you will receive detailed feedback on your performance. Gently coax the right kind of information from the customer by asking open-ended questions. You could ask the question, “were you pleased with our service?” The busy business professional is probably going to say something like, “yes, of course, otherwise I would’nt pay you”.

Try reframing the question and asking, “why was our service of value to you?” . The customer has the overview and analysis in front of them, so they will probably quote directly from your report. The next question could be something like, “how did the services of a small business consultant help you?” Alternatively you could quote something from the analysis and ask the client to restate what you delivered. Either way you will have more than just a yes or no type answer.

Penetrate Your Consulting Market Niche
The information obtained from these questions can be typed or written up as a feedback report. Clients can be asked to endorse the document in the most relevant way. A testimonial is usually a testimony to past performance. With this kind of strategic approach, you create a current testimonial of your on-going committment to customer service and relations at the beginning, during, and at the end of the project. This becomes your consultancy mission, which in turn leads to a unique advantage over competitors in the same, or similar markets.

As a business consultant you are ensuring that you have testimonials that reflect and add value to your work ethic. These can now easily be used when making new presentations, or to generate referrals to more customers in a specific market.

Testimonials now become a powerful consultants marketing tool, with specific details that customers in your niche market can relate to. The bottom-line result of any business tool is to generate more customers. As a consultancy business you will stand out as a marketing beacon and ensure your own career success in this market arena.

Charge More For Your Consulting Services

There is one very simple, straightforward and easy way to make more money from consulting. You only need to raise your rates.

Some find the idea horrific. “Won’t I scare my client away if I ask them for more money?” is the most common concern. It’s this mental block that holds back most individual from increasing their consulting fees. And yet it shouldn’t.

You may lose a few clients by charging more. But you’ll make so much more with your other clients and the new ones you take on that in the end you’re bank account will sit fatter.

If you take it one step further you can find creative ways to keep your clients from jumping ship when you raise your fees.

If your client can’t afford your new rate you can offer to spend an hour or two less a week (for example) at your new fee. That way they still get to keep you and you keep them. It’s a compromise that often works.

When increasing your fees the key is to be prepared. You don’t just want to show up and say “Just so you know, next week my hourly rate is $150 an hour and not the old $95 an hour.” Be sure to explain why you are raising your fees.

Consultants usually use one of the following reasons:

* You’ve completed a new certification
* You know more than you did last year
* You’ve added an employee
* Fees you are charged have increased
* Demand for your services has gone through the roof.

Personally, I feel the last one blows the rest out of the water. Whatever you’re saying, it all really comes down to increasing your skills and knowledge and by de facto you’re services are more attractive to more people. And in order to keep working with your client and grow your business you have had to raise fees for all clients.

You should be raising your fees every year or two at the minimum. If this idea is hard for you to swallow, take some time to think it through. After all, you have to be comfortable initiating it. But as any successful consultant about raising fees and you’ll hear from everyone one of them that it’s a must.