7 Step Consulting

Your smile can win or lose the deal

We’ve talked about losing weight, cosmetic surgery, and being overweight. That travel schedule that consultants enjoy can certainly weigh heavily on your health. Another thing that may affect your success is your smile.

It’s pretty simple, if you surveyed a bunch of folks and asked them what they notice first you would get the typical responses: hair, eyes, clothing… and yes, your smile.

It applies to business as well. Imagine a salesperson comes in to your office to sell you something. They gave a great pitch over the phone and look sharp. But then they smile… and you see a group of mangled teeth. Regardless of if you should or not, you might have second thoughts about that person or the product. It’s the same thing as if you came in to make a sale in shorts and a t-shirt and your client wears three piece suits every day. You might want to try a dentist in Beverly Hills if you have a major dental issue.

Recruiting and Immigration Scam

I came across a sad story a few weeks back that I meant to share. You can read the full article, but in short this is what is happening to some folks. Immigrants are being promised a guaranteed visa to come to the United States from countries like China and India. The sham companies go in, charge insane amounts of money ($20,000+)… more than an entire family could afford. Some families find a way to scrounge up that money, but then obviously the person doesn’t get a visa.

In short, if it sounds shady, it is. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Still very sad…

Cell Phones and Discount Coupons

We’ve talked about using discount codes and coupon codes online to save money on purchases. It just makes sense. Spend 5 minutes looking online for a coupon code and you could save 5 percent, 15 percent, or maybe 25 percent. When you’re buying something large like a television or some home appliances, that percentage could save you a ton of money. I think that five percent is worth the five minutes worth of effort.

We’ve also talked about cell phones in the past. Cell phones can be quite expensive, but really beneficial to you in a consulting roll. If you’ve got a Blackberry you can be in contact with your team or your client at any time of the day (which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the hour of the day they call you!). Since cell phones can be quite expensive, that is a great place to be looking for coupons like AT&T coupons.

Or maybe you want to document all of your consulting travels. Taking a roll of film (who uses those anymore!) to a drug store to get them printed can be expensive. Switch to digital cameras, take digital photos, and get them printed online. Snapfish is one place you might want to look for your printing needs. So why not try to get a discount there as well?

Background Checks

How many of your clients require background checks? Do they ask you to take one? Or if you are providing staffing or have other people working for you, do you run background checks on them?

I would say 95% of our clients require background checks. It can get pretty frustrating if you have a client chomping at the bit to hire a consultant — which is a good thing — but have to wait on your outsourced background check company to stop dragging their feet.

Still fat? Consider plastic surgery

We talked about the effect that heavy travel revolving around your consulting life might have on your body. The bottom line? Those three meals per day out on the town while you are on assignment is simply not going to be a good thing for you. You can try to eat healthy, even exercise at the gym in the hotel, but let’s face it. You’re eating three meals per day at restaurants. Unless you find the vegan, vegitarian, water-only shack right next to the client (and enjoy that type of thing), you’re risking putting on some pounds.

You might need to consider plastic surgery. There are going to be some risks involved. People might judge you, people like consultants and clients and friends and family might not recognize you. I definitely wouldn’t recommend over doing it. So if you’re searching for someone that can do some surgery in Ohio, try rhinoplasty Cincinnati.

The most common type of plastic surgery, if I had to guess, would be face jobs. Eliminating those wrinkles from around your eyes or taking on that double chin you’ve developed. There are other types of plastic surgery, but we won’t talk about those types on this blog.

Do you serve on any boards?

I’m curious to see how consultants are juggling their current consulting work with other obligations to things like non-profits. Are you on any non-profit boards? The museum downtown or the shelter down the street?

Especially for those who travel, how do you do it? Are you able to manage your schedule so you get back in time for monthly meetings, or can you phone conference in?

Just curious.

Arizona Sounds Nice

In the past we’ve talked about retirement homes in Arizona. Many people flock to Arizona due to the amazing weather. Sure, it’s hot, but it isn’t the same type of hot we enjoy here in the southeast. In the southeast, we have this amazing thing known as moisture in the air. Good ole humidity. So 97 degrees and 100 percent humidity feels probably as hot as 110 or 115 in Arizona. The heat is just different. The air is thick, you feel like you could cut through it with a knife.

So I don’t blame people for relocating out west to a place like Arizona for an Arizona active retirement. It’s almost a Catch 22. The weather is really nice in Arizona. Retirees move out there, relocate, take everything with them (and sometimes bring their families with them) so they can enjoy the weather and activities. Because it is nice 95% of the year, there are a lot of activities that can be enjoyed year round. Welcome to golf in December, and tennis in January.

And because so many retirees move to the same place, naturally, quality medical facilities follow them. Hospitals and doctors want to earn a profit, so they go where they are needed the most — where there are lots of older folks. It just makes sense. When I get to retire, we may choose Arizona. Only time will tell.

How do you network?

Are you a member of any formal networking organizations? Are you on the board of any non-profit organizations?

How else do you get your name out into your marketplace so others will know about your skills, abilities, and product offerings?

Or do you just leave your resume on Monster?

Think about it. Be proactive. Get involved.

Getting fat because you travel a lot?

Consulting can take a toll on your poor body. You are traveling a lot, going from city to city, assignment to assignment and most likely eating out almost every single meal. Even if you were at home and had access to a gym, eating out every day is going to slowly (or maybe not so slowly!) take its toll on you. You’re going to start packing on the pounds.

It’s understandable. You leave Sunday night, late, red-eye flight. You get in and crash at your hotel room. You get up early to make sure you get to the assignment on time and learn how to get to your client’s corporate headquarters. You grab a quick breakfast at McDonalds on the way to the cab. You want to make a good impression and take some of the people you will be working with out to lunch on the first day. After a long first day, you go out to eat again.

You’re probably tired. Even if the hotel has a gym, you probably won’t use it. You’ve been going full steam for more than 24 hours.

What’s the solution? You might consider going on a diet. Call it a “consulting diet” if you want. Something like Nutrisystem dieting with low glycemic carbohydrates to help you keep the weight off.

The Secret Clearance Process

To get a secret clearance, there are some specific steps you need to go through. They vary depending on the clearance, but to my knowledge the steps typically include:

1. a 10 year background criminal check (felonies, etc.) - you can’t have three outstanding warrants
2. a drug test — you can’t be on drugs, obviously.
3. a 7 year credit check

The credit check may seem odd, but it makes complete sense. If you are in serious financial hardship — say you have medical bills piling up, you are facing foreclosure, or you are about to declare bankruptcy — you would be much more likely to sell your secret/top secret information to another government or something along those lines.

And we wouldn’t want that now would we?

Some clearances may require the government to send out field agents to interview relatives, friends, former bosses and co-workers, etc.

It’s a long process, but as we’ve discussed can be well worth it with the money that can be made.