Developing Contacts
Consulting is a people business. You will get data and information from resources, process it, and sell resulting knowledge and wisdom to clients. You will deal with people every day. Start developing contacts and relationships now.
Where can I find useful business contacts locally?
Begin with your local chamber of commerce, an association of local business people. Also contact professional service groups such as Kiwanis, Soroptomists, Lions, and Toastmasters. Their meetings are typically listed in local newspapers and are open to the public.
Who are these people? They are your resources or input contacts and your clients or output contacts. Both groups are vital to your consulting business's success.
Input Contacts
Who will supply the input data to your consulting process? These will be the data and human resources described previously. They include experts, associations, publications, marketing reports, specialized tool sources, and other raw materials for your service. You probably already know who some of them are. Start listing them in an address book, notebook, or computer contact file.
For example, a movie dog trainer would begin gathering contact information on other trainers and training methods, sources of intelligent and easily trained dogs, veterinarians, groomers, and dog food vendors. A career counselor would develop a library of career books, training materials, and statistics on various careers.
Output Contacts
Who are your consulting process's outputs? Your clients. They are the people who will receive and pay for the services that you provide. Use your address book, notebook, or computer contact file to begin listing and gathering data on them. These may be people for whom you've provided similar services or people you believe fit your typical client profile.
A financial consultant who specializes in assisting retirees with their investments will identify people over a defined age who have a specific net worth. Chapter 12 offers more details on marketing to potential clients. For now, define and begin finding people who will purchase your output, your consulting services.
