Initiating the Consulting Relationship
Developing a consulting relationship is much like courting, whether the relationship is initiated by the consultant or by the business/organization. For the business or non-profit organization the most important element to consider is the "who" element. Who should develop the relationship with the consultant?
The ideal "who" is the person who will be authorizing the cheque, because he/she needs to understand the value that the consulting will provide. Certainly other people who will be benefiting directly from the services will want to be involved as well, but ultimately the "courting" needs to happen with the person who will be authorizing the resources. If you are that "buyer", contact us to begin exploring a potential consulting relationship. If you are a potential "user" but not the buyer, try to arrange a meeting where we can get to know the buyer in your business or non-profit organization.
You can expect to receive the greatest return on your investment when:
- You develop the relationship before you ever see a pressing need. (By the way, you pay no fees for developing the relationship).
- You give the consultant the freedom to get to know your business or non-profit organization well enough to see opportunities for adding value even before you do.
- You budget funds in advance so that consulting projects have short gestation periods. (In other words, take time initially to develop the relationship, the authority and the budget so that you can move quickly when the need or opportunity arises).
- You focus on developing the relationship rather than on evaluating packaged or advertised services. Good consultants will often provide the best value in situations where the need or opportunity cannot be anticipated in packaged services.
At Vic Wiens Consulting we love to develop meanigful long-term relationships that create ongoing, win-win, value for our clients and for us.
