Selling success: Have you considered consulting?
By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com

If your competition would kill for the secret to your success, give it to them -- for a price. It's called consulting.

As a small-business owner, you can use a consulting sideline to increase the reputation of your existing business, bring in new business and give yourself an exciting new challenge. Plus you can make some extra money helping others do what you do best.

Just ask Joe Zuccarello. As general manager of Kennelwood Village, a successful St. Louis kennel and grooming business, Zuccarello was constantly opening his doors to competitors from as far away as Canada and Australia. In an industry fraught with uncertainty, Kennelwood boasts as many as 170 employees during its busy season and revenues of almost $10 million a year.

What are you doing right?
What, competitors wanted to know, was this operation doing right?

Finally, Zuccarello and company president Alan Jones decided that if they were going to be in the consulting business, they might as well make it official and put some muscle behind it. They launched an official consulting arm in July 2000 to actively market their expertise.

"We always dabbled in consulting," says Zuccarello. "But we never charged appropriately. Now we can offer this to the outside world and make money at it."

In less than 10 months, the sideline has attracted 30 clients and grossed $50,000. A big reason, says Zuccarello, who is heading up the effort, is that unlike general business consultants, they are selling proven expertise in a particular field.

"I already know the business," he says. "I live and breathe it everyday."

Six questions to ask yourself first
By some estimates, consulting is a $100 billion dollar industry, but it's definitely not for everyone.

"Consulting looks glamorous," notes Elaine Biech, owner of ebb associates and author of The Consultant's Quick Start Guide: An Action Plan for Your First Year in Business.

But in truth, says Biech, "it's difficult, it's demanding and the travel is not always fun." Before you start dispensing advice, ask yourself:

1. Is your main business successful and stable?
"The worst thing you can do with a seasonal or problematic business is launch a consulting business," says Alan Weiss, author of Million Dollar Consulting: the Professional's Guide to Growing A Practice and president of Summit Consulting Group Inc. "Then both will fail." Instead, he advises entrepreneurs to make sure the primary business is strong enough to survive divided attentions.

2. Do you have the time to start a new business?
"Starting a second business will be a huge drain on your time," notes Biech. If you are already working eight hours a day or more in your regular business, where will you find two or three hours for consulting? While you may be able to make do on less sleep, a second business will likely impact your home and family life, too. "What will you be missing?" asked Biech. Talk to your family and be honest with yourself.

3. Are you a good communicator?
Have you mastered the sound bite? It's not enough to have a lifetime of successful business experience. You have to be able to condense your knowledge and articulate it to clients. As a consultant you will diagnose, inspire, advise and solve problems -- all of which require top communication skills.

4. Can you talk about your mistakes?
"If you're going to go out and help other people, you have to be willing to talk about your own mistakes," says Biech. "People have to know that bad things happen in every business. And it helps them learn and grow as well."

5. Can you help your competition make money?
"If you're going to go into consulting, you're going to be helping your competition," says Weiss. "If you're going to worry about that, don't go into it."

6. Are you a sales person?
Successful consultants are in the marketing business, not the consulting business, adds Weiss. If you want your consulting arm to make money, you need to get out there and sell it.

Successfully selling yourself
Once you've decided that consulting is for you, your first major task will be to sell yourself and your expertise to potential clients. That means aggressive marketing.

There is a big difference between passive consulting -- serving clients who just happen to knock on your door -- and actively soliciting business. Only the latter, says Weiss, really qualifies as a consulting business. If you want your consulting arm to turn a profit you have to get out there and sell your services.

Weiss recommends a professional-looking press kit, a folder to hand out to prospects and use for promotion. Most important: don't just focus on your qualifications. While those are good to mention, clients want to know what you can do for them. What will you give them for their money?

With that material in hand, promote yourself. Get your name out there, whether its the trade press in your industry, the local business magazine or the business section of the local paper. Introduce yourself to local media and make yourself available as a source for industry-related stories.

Take a prominent community role
Make sure you're a member of industry organizations and take a prominent role. Set up speaking engagements -- whether at the local business and service clubs, local university or at industry functions. Local clubs are always desperate for good speakers, notes Weiss.

"Put together a 30-minute talk and take questions at the end," he advises. If you're in the pet industry, talk about proper animal care. If you're a Web designer, talk about how business people can get the most from their Web sites. Whatever your business, present yourself to the public as someone who is well-versed in the business and happy to help.

Using the Internet also is effective promotion. Give your new business its own Web site, although you can link it to your other site. Post all of the information from your press kit. But if you want visitors to keep coming back, refresh content on a regular basis.

Start slow and, at first, for free
In the beginning of your new consulting venture, take it slow. Make sure you're paying attention to your primary business.

"How much time do you want to invest in the new business and what will it cost you?" asks Biech. Initially, at least, you may want to limit your time and travel.

Another effective way to ease into the business is to get help. Biech says a good consultant will have three things: a good product that is in demand, strong marketing skills and the ability to read trends, data and numbers.

"One person, typically, doesn't have skills in all areas," she says. But often a partner or employee will be able to fill in what's missing. Want to free up some time for the new business? Come up with a list of tasks you're doing at your current business that you can delegate.

And, at least initially, give away advice.

"The more you give to other people, the more will come back to you," notes Biech. "And you have to give if you want to be successful at this."

Charge what you're worth
Once the consulting business is off the ground, then you can talk fees. The biggest mistake neophyte consultants make is not charging enough.

To set a realistic fee, Biech recommends considering your location, your clients' ability to pay and what your talents are worth to them.

Weiss takes it a step further. How much money will your advice make for your clients? While you should get your money up front, not as a contingency, he advises setting your fee as a percentage of what your skills will earn for the business.

Finally, keep the faith in yourself. The most important quality for a successful consultant, according to Weiss, is self-confidence and self-esteem.

"Most consultants don't charge enough because they don't think they're worth it," says Weiss. "But people believe they get what they pay for. Charge too little, and they will believe the advice is worth less."

Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based in Georgia.

-- Posted: June 11, 2001