November, 2019

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2019 Consulting Fees Study (And How To Raise Your Rates)

Consulting Success

So, you want to raise your consulting fees? Most consultants do. But, there are many factors holding them back. This year, we sent out our most comprehensive consulting fees survey to date. And we’re sharing all our findings and insights with you below. If you feel like something is holding you back from raising your. 2019 Consulting Fees Study (And How To Raise Your Rates) is a post from: Consulting Success.

Study 177
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Are you prepared to blow up your practice?

Rod Burkert

In case you missed last week: Are you outsourcing? If not, should you be looking into it? I believe the answer is yes … especially if you are in a small firm that has not built a protective moat (Warren Buffet speak) around a specific practice area or industry niche. On to this week: For years, we’ve all had our relatively staid, predictable practices.

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5 Mindset Tips about the Success of Champions

Rick Conlow

Over nine decades ago, Dr. Evan O’Neill Kane of New York’s Kane Summit Hospital changed his mindset. He felt doctors were losing too many patients in appendectomy surgery, many because of the effects of general anesthesia. He felt that local anesthesia would be better for the patients but, not surprisingly, no volunteers came forward to test his hypothesis.

Exercises 125
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10 Triggers that Set Off Growth Explosions at Your Consulting Firm

David A Fields

Is there a way to make your consulting firm’s business development efforts easier, stable and more effective? Yeparoonie. There sure is. Visibility-building undergirds your consulting firm’s endeavors to attract clients. And investing ongoing, consistent energy and time is required to reliably produce prospects and leads. In contrast, haphazard, sporadic efforts yield disappointing results.

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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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It’s Not “Time Management.” It’s Lean.

Markovitz Consulting

In the space of two weeks, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal both ran articles on the productivity benefits of reduced work hours. The WSJ introduced us to the workers at Rheingans Digital Enabler in Germany, who only put in five-hour days, for a workweek of 25 hours. The same is true of employees at Tower Paddle Boards (at least during the summer months) and Collins SBA , a financial advisory firm in Australia.

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Flip The Script For Consultants With Oren Klaff: Podcast #116

Consulting Success

In this episode, Oren Klaff, the author of the books Pitch Anything and Flip the Script, talks about the art of deal-making. Oren is known as the go-to guy to get deals done when someone needs $10 million or $25 million for their startup business idea. Today, he narrates how he got into deal-making and the. Flip The Script For Consultants With Oren Klaff: Podcast #116 is a post from: Consulting Success.

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How Organizational Structure Affects the Creation and Sharing of Knowledge

Tom Spencer

The structure of an organization has a paramount influence on the creation and sharing of knowledge. The way in which an organization is structured sets the tone, the environment, and ultimately the culture of a workplace. This has a direct bearing on how comfortable employees are at work. The relationship between departments in a company has a significant, if not game-changing, impact on the way a company operates and whether it will be successful.

Culture 78
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Competitive Advantage in Consulting and in Life

CaseInterview.com

One of the concepts taught in business schools around the world is the concept of competitive advantage. While the term is well known, I find very few people actually grasp the implications of this extremely important concept. It applies not only to how you serve clients as a consultant but also how you manage your own career. My thoughts on this topic are widely applicable to CIBs (Case Interview Beginners), F1Ys (Future first years), and CIFMs (Consulting Isn't for Me).

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How to Ensure Your Clients Happily Write Your Consulting Firm Big Checks

David A Fields

Your soft, consulting heart practically bursts when your client crows, “Investing with you was the smartest move we’ve made on our business.” Woe are you, therefore, when your client begrudgingly, reluctantly scratches out a check to your consulting firm after you’ve delivered a monster-sized win for them. Dratmuffins! What’s up with that negativity?

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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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Please, Not Another Argument for MBWA

Markovitz Consulting

Theodore Kinni argues in Strategy + Business that leaders must practice management by walking around (MBWA), a concept popularized by Tom Peters and Bob Waterman in their seminal book, In Search of Excellence. That’s the best way for them to stay connected to their businesses and understand what’s really happening with their customers. As Peters puts it, “The real meaning [of MBWA] was that you can’t lead from your office/cubicle.

Training 113
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How On-the-Go Training Benefits the Desk Jockey and the World Traveler

Clarity Consultants

Today’s professionals put an increasing amount of importance on professional development. As a result, they prefer flexible options that allow them to easily learn on the go. While one would assume that employees who spend most of their time sitting at their desks wouldn’t be as concerned about the delivery mechanism, that isn’t the case. Plus, on-the-go training options can benefit everyone, including your highly mobile staff members and those that tend to stay in the office.

Travel 77
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How To Get Referrals For Your Consulting Business With Katie McConnell Olson: Podcast #114

Consulting Success

Getting human leverage can be a time-consuming process. In this podcast episode, host Michael Zipursky talks with the Founder and CEO of Hire Education Consulting Group, Katie McConnell Olson, about how to get referrals for your business and the true meaning of talent optimization. Sharing her journey from being a tax auditor, a VP of. How To Get Referrals For Your Consulting Business With Katie McConnell Olson: Podcast #114 is a post from: Consulting Success.

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How RPA, NLP and ML will create the virtual workforce of tomorrow

Tom Spencer

RPA, which stands for ‘ robotic process automation ’, is a technology that consists of software robots ( bots ) that can mimic a human worker performing operations on their laptops. RPA bots can log into applications, enter data, calculate and complete tasks and then log out, send emails, extract data from websites and excel, and generate reports. RPA software is not part of an organization’s IT infrastructure.

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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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Fact vs. Opinion

CaseInterview.com

One of the first lessons every first-year at McKinsey is taught is the difference between a fact and an opinion. The worst thing you could do at McKinsey was present an opinion as if it were fact. If you did this in front of a partner, the partner would never want you on another project. If you did this in front of a client, there would be closed-door conversations as to whether you should be fired or not, and it was nearly a foregone conclusion that you would not be promoted at the next promoti

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Consulting Firms: The “Prepare Your Client to Succeed” Checklist

David A Fields

Your consulting firm consists of smart, capable consultants, and you have excellent models and processes. So, why don’t your consulting firm’s projects always run as smoothly as a dogsled on packed snow? For your consulting projects to proceed apace and deliver outstanding results, your clients typically have to participate. They’re responsible for delivering data, forwarding … Continued.

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Believe in Yourself: You Can Do it Today!

Rick Conlow

To believe in yourself or not, that is the question. Do you want or need a life breakthrough? Are you disappointed in your career progress this last year? Maybe, depressed because things didn’t work out like you planned? Do you have bigger goals but you seem stuck? As a result, watch this motivational training video for a reminder of your potential.

Video 77
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Project Portfolio Problems Masquerade as Project Problems

Johanna Rothman

A potential client called me. “What's a good tool to see the state of my projects? I need a tool.” I asked, “What problems do you see?” “Everything is late. No one's synchronized. I can't tell where the projects are.” “How many projects do you have in progress?” “At least 100.” (I was pretty sure I now understood the problem.) “How many people do you have working on the projects?

Tools 76
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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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Selling Your Consulting Business And Starting Over With Lori Kleiman: Podcast #115

Consulting Success

For anybody thinking of selling their business down the road, they want to see check deposits, copies of checks, copies of invoices, and make sure that everything matches up. HR expert Lori Kleiman joins host Michael Zipursky in this episode to talk about selling your consulting business and starting over. Lori walks us through her. Selling Your Consulting Business And Starting Over With Lori Kleiman: Podcast #115 is a post from: Consulting Success.

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7 Time Management Tips for Busy Professionals

Tom Spencer

You have just sat down for the evening in your study at home to write an important article. Your friend calls you on the phone, “Tom, what are you doing right now? Come for dinner!” The article is not due tomorrow, and discussion with your friend is always lively and entertaining. You instinctively close your laptop, put on your jacket, and head out to meet your friend.

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Peripheral Skills

Alan Weiss

People seem to wonder what I mean by “peripheral skills,” which are skills not immediately critical to your profession but do tend to set you apart. A brief example, which I’m sure you’ve all experienced. Tour guides and waiters have become quite proficient taking photographs of their customers. Sammy, our guide in Dubai, not only took better photos than I could with my own iPhone, but would often ask permission to improve on one I was taking!

Groups 74
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Are You Building A Solid Leadership Foundation?

Leadership Planning with Liz Weber CMC

One of the many pleasures of my work is that I have the opportunity to observe, work with, learn from, and laugh with some incredibly good leaders. I also am able to experience others, who, though well-meaning, create more work, confusion, and frustration than they realize. One of the fundamental differences in these two types of leaders is that those who I view as ‘good leaders’ intentionally reassess and develop their own leadership skills while they dedicate time and resources to developing t

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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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Getting the job done isn’t adding value

The Source

Here’s a scenario. Your boiler has just exploded. A geyser is spurting from the top, instantly soaking the ceiling and walls in rust-coloured boiling water. On the threshold of your utility room, your toddler looks in, eyes as wide as saucers. You can already start to feel the chill as radiator after radiator starts to cool. You take a deep breath, and phone a plumber.

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Smile: It Can Change the World for the Better

Rick Conlow

Have you ever notice how people don’t smile very much?s. At a recent happy event, a wedding, I noticed many of the guests had frowns or deadpan looks on their faces. My wife mentioned the same thing, quoting her mother’s description of “a look like seven rainy days” and “that one hasn’t smiled since first grade” Over the next week, I watched people in the airport.

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Onboarding Consulting Clients And Projects The Right Way With Kristen Gallagher: Podcast #113

Consulting Success

Onboarding your clients is the first step in their journey with your product or service. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky talks with Kristen Gallagher about onboarding consulting clients and projects the right way. Having worked with companies like SurveyMonkey, AWS Elemental, Puppet, and many other technology companies and helping them with technical onboarding, Kristen gives the true definition.

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Objective vs. Perceived Value

CaseInterview.com

In school, if you get 95 out of 100 questions correct, you get a 95% score. Much of childhood education grading is done on an objective basis. However once you enter the workforce, this changes. You get promoted on the basis of how others perceive your abilities, as opposed to any objective measure of your abilities. You get business plans funded on the basis of how investors perceive the return on investment opportunity you’re offering.

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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.