Like every other business endeavour, business consulting has its own risks. There will always be doubts and second thoughts and lots and lots of after thoughts. Nothing in this life is sure to last forever.
In fact, nothing really will last forever. So if what you want is to have a business that would last forever, you are trying to hit the moon. However,
there is always hope, to keep your business afloat and thriving in the jungle world of entrepreneurship for a very long time.
In fact, nothing really will last forever. So if what you want is to have a business that would last
forever, you are trying to hit the moon. However, there is always hope, to keep your business afloat and thriving in the jungle world of entrepreneurship for a very long time.
Yes, there is always hope. But you have to work really hard for that hope to materialise. The best thing you can aim at is keeping your business consulting firm sustainable. If you can achieve that, then you can start working on keeping it abreast with other companies in the field.
So how do you keep your consulting business sustainable? You only have a few contacts or
connections, so what happens when you have used up your existing resources?
Simple. Create and build new resources. The only way to keep your business going is to have an ample supply of resources. So, here are a few things you could do to keep business going and growing.
First thing to do is to firmly establish your business plan. You are going to engage in a very serious business so you have to be serious about.
Your clients should take you as a serious, no-nonsense person that would deliver them good results. So do your homework and be prepared.
Have a comprehensive business kit containing details of your services in a neatly packaged brochure, with hourly rates, project rates, retainer basis rate and whatever package you want to serve your client.
This brochure would be your salesperson in your absence, so make it the best brochure you can ever make. This is the blood of your business, keep it pulsing through your veins.
Second is finding clients. You can find clients through friends referrals but that would not last very long. Even if you have a long list of friends, that is still not enough to last your business a lifetime.
So you have to exert more effort. Try cold calling. It may sound a little to below your level, but hey, this is business! You need to do whatever it takes to get clients and cold calling is not as bad as you may think. You just have to do it right and do it nicely.
You know how irritating it is to be offered things over the phone, so try not to be irritating. Try not to do the things that those telemarketers do to irritate you.
Prepare a nice introductory script before making your first call. Try not to bombard your prospective client with the details of your business. Your goal is to get him interested enough to agree on a meeting with you for further discussion of your services.
It also pays to remember that very person you meet, great or small is a possible connection. So be nice to all people all the time. He may just be a janitor or a food attendant at a restaurant, but for all you know, you may be talking the person who could lead you to your biggest catch ever. So be nice all the time.