The Consultant's Manual: A Complete Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice

In "The Consultant's Manual", Thomas Greenbaum presents a concise, well-thought-out guide for starting a consulting business. Although a bit outdated (published in 1990), the content of Greenbaum's manual is just as applicable now as it was in the 1990's. His first chapter deals with marketing, a good place to start. He stresses that focusing on a target market and defining what you have to offer are the key aspects of building a successful business. "...nothing happens until someone sells something" is right on page one of his Introduction section. His chapters on proposal preparation and handling objections are right on the money. His essay on ethics at the end of his book is well written and to the point. Greenbaum taught consulting classes at Harvard University before he wrote this book. His depth of knowledge is evident. I highly recommend this book. Mitch Paioff, Author, Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant

I am setting up a small consulting business and found The Consultant's Manual by Thomas L. Greenbaum to be extremely informative and quite valuable in the detail that it provided on the planning and implementation of a successful consulting business. It was highly recommended by my colleagues and friends. I would pass that recommendation on to anyone who is in the process of setting up a consulting business.

L'expert-conseil se trouve couronne de succes lorsqu'il fait bien son boulot et, tres important, lorsqu'il ne bouge pas sur les honoraires a recevoir. Il ne faut jamais oublier que les clients sont des decisives chez eux, qu'ils cherchent toujours a minimiser les frais et maximiser le travail des autres. Alors il vaut mieux demander les honoraires les plus hauts possibles parce que la concurrence et la technologie, ca change tout vite. Il y a des instants ou l'expert-conseil devient lui-meme client payant, c'est-a-dire dans les imprimeries et les agences de publicite. Ces fois-ci il n'a qu'a se presenter comme chef de famille, un gagne-pain comme tout le monde qui a des frais et qui a donc besoin des jours de paye toutes les quinzaines. L'expert-conseil arrive a attirer les clients et, tres important, en reste paye, lorsqu'il passe a la radio et a la tele, parle aux reunions des gens de l'industrie et des affaires, enseigne des classes du soir, ou bien ecrit des articles et des livres.

It doesn't come with a free CD, accompanying website or an appendix of checklists. There's not even a photo of the author. It's not about how to consult (the part you're excited about!), it is, rather, about how to run your consulting business for a living (the part you're not particularly excited about, but is necessary). Based on Greenbaum's Harvard consulting course (which is what attracted me to the text, along with, honestly, its affordability), the subtitle "A Complete Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice," really sums it up. Just because you have a developed area of expertise does not mean you will be a successful consultant from your own financial perspective. You have to manage and grow your business. A business plan is just as important for a service business as for a product-based enterprise; perhaps even more so. A carefully constructed image ("company identity") including promotional materials parallels development of an effective business plan. A personal selling strategy needs to be in place, including details of billing and contracting, before you begin, or at least get in too far. The chapter on "Planning Your Company's Finances" was of particular interest to me, since it is often taboo in casual conversation among colleagues.I initially thought the author was extremely hard-sell, but to be successful long-term, confidence and forethought are essential. Competition is fierce in many fields, and you need to get and keep your slice of the target market pie. As I read further, reality set in, and this book is reality and experience-based. Be honest, and go for win-win situations; you are in business to make money by providing honest, consistent, quality customer service. The last few chapters, particularly the chapter on ethics, provide nice segue to perhaps another book.For the money, this is a good survival manual from the consultant's point of view for a beginner or a professional already in the field. It's an easy read meshing the marketing and business principles you'll need to supplement your given areas of expertise. For more complete (and pricey, but worth it if you're serious) information and advice, check out Elaine Beich "The Business of Consulting and Beyond" and/or Peter Block's "Flawless Consulting" sets of workbooks/case studies plus texts.

Making money as a consultant means meeting prospective clients who are decision makers within their businesses and standing by your fees, because you never know when competition and technology will get the better of you. Also, it means getting business prospects to think of you, not only as a customer of advertising and print shops, but as a breadwinner too who likes cashing regular paychecks. You can get paid to make business-boosting connections by appearing on radio and television, giving industry and trade talks, teaching courses, and writing articles and books.So Thomas L. Greenbaum is particularly helpful on the financial side of becoming a consultant. His book, THE CONSULTANT'S MANUAL, makes consulting dreams come true, along with Geoffrey M. Bellman's THE CONSULTANT'S CALLING, Herman Holtz's THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONSULTING CONTRACTS, Peter Meyer's GETTING STARTED IN COMPUTER CONSULTING, Janet Ruhl's THE COMPUTER CONSULTANT'S GUIDE, and Howard Shenson and Ted Nicholas' THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONSULTING SUCCESS.