You must have probably already heard of the word consultant and you know that it is one of those that has attracted a lot of attention from several people, but do you really know who that professional is?
Consultant is the professional who masters a specific subject and uses his knowledge to help other people.
Today, there are various types of consultants in the market and the demand for these professionals is increasing.
In this text, we are going to explain in detail what this professional does and what skills a person needs to work in that area.
If you are interested in becoming a consultant, these tips will help you discover if you have the profile and what things you need to develop it.
If your idea is to hire a consultant for yourself or for your company, we are going to show you exactly what you should look for when hiring.
What is the role of the consultant?
The objective of a consultancy, regardless of the , is to help the client in a matter that he does not have enough knowledge to solve on his own.
This client can be a company or a natural person, what defines it is the search for someone with authority in some niche of interest to respond to their needs.
The process can be done by a professional or a team made up of several consultants specialized in the field, which is common to find in large companies that provide advice or consulting.
The role of the consultant is broad, but these are some of its main functions:
- diagnose problems or aspects that can be optimized;
- define the solutions and improvements to be made;
- set goals;
- trace paths to achieve results.
VIDEO | Digital professions: What you need to be a strategic consultant
The 11 characteristics of a good consultant
A consultant must have some characteristics to carry out a good job.
Without them, it is difficult to meet the demands of the job and become a professional reference in the area.
However, not everyone is born with all of these skills, but most of them can be developed and perfected with much study, practice, and experience.
We present below some characteristics that you need to have or develop to be a consultant:
1. Know how to listen
A consultant is an expert in his area, has a lot of experience, knows perfectly the tools and the segment in which he operates, however, each business is a different world, and faces very different problems.
Taking into account that each of the businesses has a special way of organizing and operating, the consultant must have the gift of listening to the people he advises, since any detail can be the difference between the success and failure of the consultancy.
Knowing how to listen will help you get to know the company better, its needs and how to achieve the objectives by applying the knowledge you have.
2. Be consistent
The consultant deals with people on a daily basis, so you need to have good communication to transmit your knowledge and guide clients in the best possible way.
If the work is destined for companies, you may have to face divergences between the objectives of the organization and the complaints of the employees, which demands even more articulation.
The consultant must have that ability to gain people’s trust, convey security, professionalism and understand exactly what needs to be done to deliver good results.
3. Have a macro and systemic vision
Many times a consultant is hired to solve a specific problem. However, when starting the work you are faced with several other issues that interfere with the client’s final objective.
If you don’t have a broad vision, you run the risk of working superficially, ignoring important aspects.
The good consultant is the one who sees his client or the company as a whole, considering all the ramifications of the identified problem and all those involved in that situation.
4. Know your limits
It is important to remember that the consultant is someone with in your niche, but that does not mean that they know everything and can not have doubts or difficulties.
Therefore, it is essential that you know how far you can go and when you have to ask for help or refuse a job.
In addition, you also need to identify how far you can go during a consulting process without extrapolating what has been planned or what is consistent with the contracted service.
It is preferable to be transparent than not being able to offer the best or frustrating the expectations of the contracting party! It is also unethical, because the consultant loses the opportunity to retain customers who could hire him again on other occasions or even recommend his work to third parties.
5. Involve everyone in a project
In the case of being a consultancy with more than one client, the consultant needs to have the necessary sensitivity to include all those involved in the process.
In a company, for example, it may be that the hiring has occurred to implement a new project. Then, the consultant must carefully evaluate the entire organizational functioning, to understand which areas will be affected by the change.
After this diagnosis, you must make everyone participate in the process so that there are no failures when executing the defined actions.
All people related to the area in question must feel valued and heard, because only then will they be motivated to contribute to business growth.
VIDEO | 7 group dynamics to motivate your work teams
6. Know how to adapt to the given time
One of the things to which the client usually gives more value is the duration of a consultancy. Those who hire this type of service are usually in a hurry to see their pain resolved.
Of course, the consultant does not always manage to work within the period that the client expects! In the end, the person who hires generally does not know what should be done in that situation and, therefore, is not aware of the time it takes to achieve the final result.
However, the truth is that the consultant must be clear with the client about the time it will take to complete the process and, most importantly, what.
7. Share achievements with those who deserve it
When a client hires a consultant, they are looking for specific knowledge that they do not have and are not willing or in time to obtain it on their own. However, the process only occurs if there is the collaboration of all those involved.
The good consultant is the one who knows that he does the best, but also recognizes and shares the achievements with those who collaborate so that the planning is fulfilled.
It is important to know how to give this feedback and recognize that consulting is not the work of a single individual, but of a whole system that involves the professional, the client and all the other people involved in the changes.
8. Have specific knowledge
The professional who wants to stand out in the market needs to look for particular knowledge, which is exactly the solution that their niche is looking for.
Knowing broader issues is interesting to have a larger base and be able to serve different clients. However, if you specialize in one area, you increase the chances of becoming a reference and gaining visibility.
Let’s suppose that the consultant decides to work in the organization area. Many people may be interested in this service, but may distrust the ability of the professional to solve the specific problem they present.
However, if you specialize in organizing home environments with children, for example, the number of people involved may even be less, but the work done will have more quality and assertiveness. These two characteristics are fundamental to the success of the consultant.
9. Identify opportunities
Those who work with consultancy cannot expect clients to knock on their door. It is necessary and look for the best job opportunities.
The consultant must invest in networking and go through events, forums and groups on the subject to become known, publicize their work and gain the trust of potential clients.
In addition, you must be aware of the trends and demands of your audience to adapt and position yourself against the competition.
The identification of opportunities depends on a lot of study and dedication, since the market prioritizes up-to-date professionals, who are willing to change whatever is necessary to always offer the best.
10. Be creative
Anyone who works with consulting is faced with several different situations that therefore require unique and personalized approaches.
In order to deal with this diversity, the consultant must know how to use his creativity and create differentiated and motivating strategic plans.
Do you remember that we talked about how important the participation of all those involved is?
With a professional who strives to bring new perspectives, practices and tools to the process, everything becomes easier. Thus, people see more advantages in contributing to change.
The consultant must also be creative to present and publicize his service. Outdated professionals who do not deliver anything to clients end up losing space in the market.
11. Build trust
Generating trust is one of the most important objectives that a consultant must achieve, and it is not a simple task since a lot of effort and dedication are necessary.
This generation of confidence of the people for the consultant, is created in two ways. The first, based on the reputation that the consultant has achieved by solving other people’s problems and pain, and the second, based on experience, where people who have already come to him have seen satisfactory results in the face of his problems.
The best way to gain people’s trust is through professional work, solving their true needs, but above all, knowing that as a person you will not fail them either.
Types of consulting
Professionals from various areas can work developing consultancies, it is simply a matter of choosing a topic that they dominate and finding an audience interested in what they offer.
However, there are some branches in which it is more common to find consultants and people interested in this service, which are the examples that we will present below.
1. Sales Consultant
This type of consultant is usually hired to help increase the turnover and optimization of the sales processes of a company or enterprise.
The hiring can happen because the team is not achieving the expected results, the company wants to implement a new way of approaching the client or because it needs to reap more expressive results in a short period of time.
There is also the possibility that an entrepreneur hires a sales consultant to assist in the process of understanding the market, prospecting clients and promoting products.
At the beginning of a business it can be difficult to hire a person just for that role, with…
Facebook Comments
Disqus