Nobody likes Consultants!...so what do we call ourselves?

[Stan_Simmons]

Hi -

It’s an age old situation, the minute a 'consultant' rocks up, the client straight away clams up, and expects; huge bills, plenty of meaningless meetings, frustration from their staff.....needless to say, they try and avoid using you where they can...

So, I please welcome thoughts as to how to promote and market a consulting firm, to avoid the clams!

What to call yourself? - avoiding the 'c' word.....

Thanks!

[Steve_Minshall]

Originally Posted by Stan_Simmons

Hi -

It’s an age old situation, the minute a 'consultant' rocks up, the client straight away clams up, and expects; huge bills, plenty of meaningless meetings, frustration from their staff.....needless to say, they try and avoid using you where they can...

So, I please welcome thoughts as to how to promote and market a consulting firm, to avoid the clams!

What to call yourself? - avoiding the 'c' word.....

Thanks!

Yep, over the last ten years or so business consultancy has gone from being pretty cool to being pretty tarnished. Coaching is a wee bit patronising, it infers superiority over the client. I would consider "advisor" as this has a more peer to peer status.

That said, I have quite a few friends who used to work for consulting firms and are now independants. After a few years in the game they pretty much all just call themselves contractors. Its all about the resume, reputation and the network and the title is irrelevant. As long as they get the rate they want they don't care what their called.

[gossipism]

i dont have suggestions on the catch "word" yet.

though if you would align your business in a similar way to other industries whereby they give ad......wait.

"your business personal trainer"

hows that?



basically try and substitute the word "consulting" for things like trainer, adviser, helper, assistance, mentor, buddy, confidant, motivator, "the stick that pokes you along"

etc
etc
etc

i just had a lightbulb moment. make up a word! PROsultant. as opposed to CONsultant.

i dunno, i just came off working 16 hours so could be talking trash

[fredfarcle]

"Contractor" sounds good to me, means you can be disposed of easily if you deliver crap in your own time, at exorbitant rates in a condescending manner.

[bluepenguin]

How about keeping the C word and adding nice, comforting tagline?

ie. (my brain is in silly mode right now, so don't take this seriously)

Acme Consulting
Just like a teddy bear, only smarter.

[yourvirtualboard]

For me it's less about what you call yourself and more about what you deliver.

My primary business is called East Coast Consulting and that has never been a stumbling block as far as acquiring clients. My roles vary from advisor, mentor, coach and confidant - hard to get one word to cover all those.

@gossipism I've been using Personal Training for Your Business Goals as a tag line since I started Biz Coach Online, pretty close.

[Netboost SEO]

Stick with consultant. Just make it clear that you DONT deliver fluff. Agree to meaningful KPIs that will demonstrate your value in terms of ROI.

As long as you make your clients more money than you cost, you can charge as much as you like and they will still be very happy.

[yourvirtualboard]

Originally Posted by Netboost SEO

Stick with consultant. Just make it clear that you DONT deliver fluff. Agree to meaningful KPIs that will demonstrate your value in terms of ROI.

As long as you make your clients more money than you cost, you can charge as much as you like and they will still be very happy.

Yep - excellent point, clear deliverables that show value.

[Khalid Adam]

great question. i dont call myself a consultant or a coach even though i offer both services if i can see a profitable and enjoyable future with a prospective client.

When i do get "what do u do" - normally after they've had a chance to share what they do, how they do it (stealth qualification), why they do what they do - my response is around what they said initially.

for example, a builder asked me on saturday after speaking to him for about 5mins. My answer was "my job is find ways to squeeze more profitable clients out of your existing activities so you dont have to chase the "shiny objects" rainbow". so what are you currently doing to get and keep quality clients that are a pleasure to work with?

eventually, the question comes down to price and my response is always "depends. ultimately, my service is no charge because it comes out of your profits instead of your pocket. i dont want to make money if you dont make money" so i can only give you a price after a casual conversation and we decide we are comfortable to work with each other.