Building a Thriving Consulting Practice

Developing MAS Practice:

• A consultant must assess their talents, communication skills (oral and written), sales ability, project focus, and business and professional judgment.
• The scope of a consulting practice depends on the consultant's expertise and experience in technical areas such as engineering, industrial management, marketing, business management, or finance.
• It is important not to "over-sell" the firm's abilities or accept work outside of its capabilities.
• Prospective consultants should conduct market research to identify opportunities and new services that may provide a competitive edge.
• A consultant gets started when clients indicate that they would like to use their talents.
• Market research is important for both new and established consulting practices.
• Goals and objectives should include a desired income level, potential clients, and strategies to obtain those clients.
• The practitioner can identify staffing requirements and financing needs based on the services they propose to provide.
• Building a successful network requires quality contacts and educating the network about the type of services offered.
• A consulting firm should periodically assess its needs with respect to in-house knowledge and skills.
• A consulting firm can employ additional consultants or undertake staff development activities to endow currently employed consultants with needed knowledge and skills.
• A simple approach to staffing a consulting practice is to break the practice into pyramids of from five to fifteen people.

Staff Pyramid and Fee Structures:

• The most experienced and highly paid professionals (partners, principals, directors) are responsible for completing engagements, dealing with clients, and selling work.
• Partners perform practice planning, administer and develop practice, consult with top-client managers, approve engagement reports, and manage client crises.
• A consulting firm may determine that its practice requires additional strength at the partner level and recruit new partners based on their external reputation as highly competent consultants.