January, 2019

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Human and machine: What the player piano has to teach us about the future of consulting

The Source

My husband likes the music of Conlan Nancarrow , who was one of the first composers to write music for machines rather than people. His work for the player piano, a piano with no pianist, where the music is “played” by feeding in a roll of punchcard data, is extraordinary. Extraordinary because the machine can do things that a pianist can’t: It has more than 10 digits, and its “hands” can stretch to wider chords and play impossibly fast.

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How to make a compelling case

Consultants' Consultant

Consultants Consultant: Here are some essential communication skills for making a compelling case. You probably spend a large chunk of your life getting others to things for you. Persuading your boss to give you time off. Influencing your spouse to spend time with you, convincing the kids to go to bed. But right now we are talking […]. The post How to make a compelling case appeared first on Consultants' Consultant.

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Time To Declutter Marketing That Doesn't Spark Joy Per Marie Kondo

Henry DeVries

Is it time to apply the Japanese art of tidying up to your marketing? My advice is to take Marie Kondo’s declutter-the-home approach and go through your marketing tools and tactics. What sparks joy in you should be kept, and what does not spark joy in you should be thrown out.

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The Top 10 Things You Can Do in 2019 to Grow Your Consulting Firm

David A Fields

The whole year is open for your consulting firm to accelerate to new heights of success. Twelve full months of opportunity. How can you make the most of them? The Top 10 Things You Can Do in 2019 to Grow Your Consulting Firm 10. Get on the phone There’s a direct correlation between the time … Continued. The post The Top 10 Things You Can Do in 2019 to Grow Your Consulting Firm appeared first on David A.

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PowerPoint Best Practices for Creating Stellar Presentations

Mastering data visualization in PowerPoint will help accelerate your career because it positions you as someone who can present data that drives business decisions forward. think-cell's PowerPoint Best Practices eBook was created specifically for professionals aiming to master the art and science of data-driven storytelling. What’s inside: Practical Insights: Uncover valuable tips for crafting engaging and persuasive presentations.

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2019 Management Consulting Salaries for Undergraduates, MBAs/PhDs, & Interns

Management Consulted

Welcome to 2019, and our annual management consulting salaries report! The consulting industry has been evolving rapidly over the last few years. Consulting business models have adapted as firms respond to their clients’ needs for digital solutions, advanced analytics, and AI. … Continue Reading. The post 2019 Management Consulting Salaries for Undergraduates, MBAs/PhDs, & Interns appeared first on Management Consulted.

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Is It Time to Consider a Fixed Fee for Your Consulting Services?

Successful Independent Consulting

Generally, the more experience you have as an independent consultant, the more likely you should move from billing by the hour to a fixed fee. At some point you’ll master your specialty and work much more efficiently than others. This means to earn what your services are truly worth, you’ll have to keep raising your hourly rates. But at some point, you’ll reach an invisible rate ceiling when clients think you’re too expensive, even if it takes you half the time to do the work.

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The Perils of Internal Disruption (Part 1)

Markovitz Consulting

“Disruption” has become another business buzzword that obviates the need for prudent, careful thought and consideration. If something is “disruptive,” then it must by definition be good. But when it comes to internal operations at least, disruption is often both bad for business and for employees, because it causes unevenness in work. Taiichi Ohno, one of the fathers of the Toyota production system, described three manufacturing evils that companies should avoid: mura (unevenness), muri (overbur

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Speaking Engagements For Consultants with Tony Chatman: Podcast #68

Consulting Success

Business doesn’t always have to be all about the technical processes. It’s also about the people running it. Professional speaker and corporate relationship expert Tony Chatman works with the people side of business to determine the kind of leadership that either makes the business succeed or fail. He points out how, too often, people are trained for very specific technical expertise, failing to give them the proper skill set to navigate the relationships that help.

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An Easy, 7-Step Relationship Plan for Consulting Firms

David A Fields

Relationships. The lifeblood of your consulting firm, and the foundation on which 95% of advisory engagements are won. Plus, the more, strong, healthy, vibrant relationships you have, the wealthier you are. Since “working on relationships” is a bit vague, what should your consulting firm do to strengthen personal bonds? I mean, other than sending boxes … Continued.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Delta Boarding Zones Change: Business Travelers Get Shafted

Management Consulted

Attention frequent business travelers: the next time you board a Delta Airlines flight, your experience will be drastically different. On January 23, you’ll see a substantial Delta boarding zones change that is sure to rankle frequent business travelers, and quite … Continue Reading. The post Delta Boarding Zones Change: Business Travelers Get Shafted appeared first on Management Consulted.

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10 Tips to Increase Your Close Rates

Consulting Matters

It takes a lot of effort to get to the point where you as a consultant are meeting with a buyer to discuss the potential of a strategic partnership. The true payoff for all of your hard work is when you and your future client are able to come to shared agreement on the work involved and your equitable compensation for the value you create. It is for this reason, mastering your ability to close the deal is critical.

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IMC USA Launches New Brand and Website in 2019

IMC USA

Fort Lauderdale, Florida. — January 10, 2019 — The Institute of Management Consultants USA (IMC USA) has launched a new brand and redesigned its website to better serve members. “The IMC USA re-brand is a much-needed update to better reflect the value our association offers consultants,” states IMC USA VP of Marketing Jennifer Beever CMC ®. “IMC USA is a dynamic community where professional consultants connect and collaborate with their peers, and learn new skills to add more value for clients.”

Ethics 100
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The Perils of Internal Disruption (Part 4)

Markovitz Consulting

“Disruption” has become another business buzzword that obviates the need for prudent, careful thought and consideration. If something is “disruptive,” then it must by definition be good. But when it comes to internal operations at least, disruption is often both bad for business and for employees, because it causes unevenness in work. Last week , I wrote about how batch processing—whether in manufacturing processes, office processes, or even team management—creates unevenness and disrupts the sm

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Savings Consultants Are Needed in Today's Market More Than Ever

Savings Consultants are needed in today’s market more than ever. With an increase in expenses, businesses are looking for opportunities to save. Often unknown to businesses are savings in expense reduction, specialized tax savings, specialized savings including medical underpayments, health benefits cost reduction, zero cost processing, and more. Blue Coast Savings, with over 20 years in business, assists Savings Consultants in helping these companies move toward more profitable businesses.

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Becoming A Consulting Celebrity and Building Your Brand with Chris Kneeland: Podcast #70

Consulting Success

Brand attachment is a metric that speaks to the level of emotional buy-in. People don’t just like these brands or these people, they adore them. They have a higher than normal word of mouth or advocacy, and thus tend to spend lower than their competitive set on traditional media. Chris Kneeland’s work aims to understand how to get somebody to pay more and be more loyal while spending less on advertising and discounts.

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These 5 Reports Will Help Your Consulting Firm Succeed

David A Fields

Since you’re a consultant, chances are you’ve produced a report or two. In fact your consulting firm may dazzle your clients with artfully designed presentations and printouts, chock-a-block with clever analyses, pithy insights, and/or progress updates. At the very least you’ve summarized your progress on three pages with your logo on the bottom and dessert … Continued.

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How to answer, “Why consulting?”, in an interview

Management Consulted

How to answer, “Why consulting?”, in an interview is a must have skill for any prospective consultant. The question is so common, you can pretty much take it to the bank that you’ll hear those words from the person interviewing … Continue Reading. The post How to answer, “Why consulting?”, in an interview appeared first on Management Consulted.

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How Prophetable is Your Consulting?

Consulting Matters

There's two types of consultants. The ones who are drawn to the profession because of the potential for making great money and the prestige that comes from working with the executives. Then there's the ones who are in it for so much more than money. They also want to make a real difference in our overly stressed workplaces. Both types of consultants want and need to be profitable and deserve equitable compensation for their contribution.

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TOOLS and METHODOLOGIES for developing DECISION SUPPORT PACKAGES

This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

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The Fearless Marketer. A New Focus.

The Fearless Marketer

After 20 years of sending out my weekly, eZine, More Clients, I’m making a big change. It’s still a weekly eZine about marketing your professional services, but with a new name and focus. The focus will be on what I call Fearless Marketing. But what exactly do I mean by that? Fearlessness is not an attitude, a feeling, or an action. Fearlessness is who you are.

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The Perils of Internal Disruption (Part 2)

Markovitz Consulting

“Disruption” has become another business buzzword that obviates the need for prudent, careful thought and consideration. If something is “disruptive,” then it must by definition be good. But when it comes to internal operations at least, disruption is often both bad for business and for employees, because it causes unevenness in work. Last week , I wrote about how the unpredictability of “management by walking around” disrupts daily operations in an organization and leads to mura (unevenness), m

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Selling Consulting Services Using High-End Value with Mark Pierce: Podcast #69

Consulting Success

Mark Pierce, owner, operator and founder of E5 Leadership Academy, has been teaching people how to fish rather than giving them a fish. For 35 years, Mark has been in the coaching and mentoring business teaching, training, educating, and motivating people how to be successful in life through a platform of five pillars – spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically and financially.

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The Best Way to Sort Consulting Clients into “Types”

David A Fields

As consultants, we are masters of a particularly human trait: simplifying. We boil down a confusingly multifarious muddle into orderly, digestible bites. We apply this ability to trends, situations, strategies, opportunities, and virtually everything else. Including people. Yep, we will happily reduce incomprehensible complexity (which pretty much describes humanity) into a handful of characteristics (which … Continued.

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Why You Need to Use Case Studies in Sales and Marketing (and How to Start Now)

Case studies are proof of successful client relations and a verifiable product or service. They persuade buyers by highlighting your customers' experiences with your company and its solution. In sales, case studies are crucial pieces of content that can be tailored to prospects' pain points and used throughout the buyer's journey. In marketing, case studies are versatile assets for generating business, providing reusable elements for ad and social media content, website material, and marketing c

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What Do Consultant’s Actually Do?

Management Consulted

What do consultant’s actually do? It might seem odd, but that’s actually a common question. Listen to Jenny Rae as she shed’s light on what you could expect to do as a management consultant. Youtube Audio Transcription: I am Jenny … Continue Reading. The post What Do Consultant’s Actually Do? appeared first on Management Consulted.

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Need Clients Now? 5 Strategies to Quickly Get More Consulting Clients

Consulting Matters

If you want to achieve sustainable success as a consultant - ideally you want to create a marketing system to ensure you have a consistently full pipeline of right-fit clients. However, there will be times when you have to feel the cash flow pressure and need to find clients.right now! This article is designed to give you some immediate traction while still setting you up for long-term success.

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Aligning Goals with Resources

CaseInterview.com

In a corporate strategic plan, it’s often easy to come up with big goals of what the company could or should do. The far more difficult part is allocating resources (people, finances, attention span) because there are never enough resources to do everything you could do. The same is true in your personal life and career plans. Here’s a simple example.

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Breaking Through The Marketing White Noise

Henry DeVries

In a highly competitive marketing world where every ding, ping and notification can distract the potential client away, how do you break through the distractions? Marketing strategist Minal Sampat shares her strategies for cutting through the marketing white noise.

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The Art of Remote Collaboration: How to Successfully Whiteboard with Remote Teams

Just because we're working with a distributed team doesn't mean we have to abandon time-tested tools and methods like whiteboarding. Digital look-alikes often cramp creativity and all but eliminate the humanity of shared interactions. Hardware solutions are also limiting and, of course, expensive and immobile. In an increasingly digital and remote-first world, it’s important for us to select tools and processes that allow us to mitigate if not eliminate the above problems.