The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients : 6 Steps to Unlimited Clients & Financial Freedom

This deeply insightful guide to understanding what clients really want is “an indispensable resource for consultants” (Keith Ferrazzi, #1 New York Times -bestselling author of Never Eat Alone ). Independent consulting is a potentially lucrative enterprise—but the reality seldom matches the dream. Most solo consultants and boutique consulting firms are perpetually within six months of bankruptcy due to the sputtering unreliability of their new business engines. The problem, according to international consulting expert David A. Fields, is twofold: 1) lack of a consistent, proven plan, and 2) fundamental misunderstanding about what clients want in a consultant. Fields, who has helped hundreds of consultants and boutique firms worldwide build profitable, sustainable practices, replaces the typical consultant’s mindset of emphasizing expertise and differentiated processes with a focus on building relationships, engendering trust, and solving clients’ existing problems. In The Irresistible Consultant’s Guide to Winning Clients , Fields synthesizes his decades of experience into a step-by-step approach to winning more projects from more clients at higher fees. From nuts-and-bolts business advice and tactics to a deeply insightful breakdown of the human side of a very human profession, Fields, named one of Advertising Age magazine’s “Marketing Top 100,” delivers a comprehensive guidebook that is at once highly approachable and satisfyingly detailed. “If I could have just one book on client strategy, this book would be it.” —Marshall Goldsmith, #1 New York Times– bestselling author of Triggers "Though it's a potentially lucrative enterprise, the reality of independent consulting seldom matches the dream. Most solo consultants and boutique consulting firms are perpetually within six months of bankruptcy due to the sputtering unreliability of their new business engines. The problem, according to international consulting expert David A. Fields, is twofold: 1) lack of a consistent, proven plan, and 2) fundamental misunderstanding about what clients want in a consultant. Fields, who has helped hundreds of consultants and boutique firms worldwide build lucrative, sustainable practices, replaces the typical consultant's mindset of emphasising expertise and differentiated processes with a focus on building relationships, engendering trust, and solving clients' existing problems. In The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients, Fields synthesises his decades of experience into a step-by-step approach to winning more projects from more clients at higher fees." -- Provided by publisher. Step 1: Think right-side up (prepare yourself to succeed) Right-side up thinking Building confidence Step 2: Maximize impact (find your killer offering) Fish where the fish are The right people The right problem the right solution The fishing line Step 3: Build visibility (become known by your prospects) Building visibility Writing Speaking Trade associations Digital presence Step 4: Connect, connect, connect (create relationships and opportunities) Creating relationships Nurturing relationships The nitty-gritty of outreach Leveraging relationships Step 5: Become the obvious choice (emerge as an irresistible solution) How clients choose Discovering context: part 1 Discovering context: part 2 Step 6: Propose, negotiate & close (enjoy the payoff) Setting up the close Creating a perfect proposal Pricing and fee structures Five ways to negotiate like a pro Living the dream.