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The other day, I was talking to a small business consultant who had an angry client, a customer who had expected more, but due to his actions made the consultant’s job even tougher. The client had misstated some key information, leading to an unfavorable result. The angry client went on a rampage and trashed the reputation of the consultant online on numerous websites. Okay so let’s talk about this.

You see, I was thinking about the small business coach consultant’s predicament, and the scenario reminds me of the anguish of many writers when trying to get their books published. You see I belong to a couple of writer’s groups and there are “literary agents” which assist authors in getting book deals and putting together book proposals, shopping publishers, and arranging meetings. Often I’ve heard stories that a literary agent has charged someone $1500 to $4000 to help get a publisher for a book deal to no avail.

The authors, remember a good many writers are pathetically broke by my observations, barely have any money, and more often than not manically depressed, over the years, I’ve reasoned that I guess many creative people tend to be, as I’ve also noted this while sifting through think tank applications, which is a little something I do in retirement. Anyway, so, what happens is the authors complain, bitch, and moan that the literary agent did nothing for them, and stole their money, and they tend to banter around the words; scam artist, fraudster, con-woman/man, etc.

Indeed, in watching and observing all this, I’ve noted that many times the authors get all full of themselves, ego sets in, and they become overly optimistic, convincing themselves that even though their chances are barely 1:15 with a literary agent and 1:65 without, even if they are a decent writer – they always want to blame someone for their own failures, this appears to be human nature, right?

What I’m saying is; as long as a small business consultant isn’t giving false expectations, and as long as they vet their clients a bit before they take their money, then they can probably prevent similar future incidents of angry clients. In this case study, with the coaching consultant, the gentleman “lied” on a form and thus, I suppose he actually he hurt the coach’s reputation with their vendors, so actually the consultant should be the one angry not client in this case.

Meanwhile, the client’s behavior afterwards working to slander and trash the coach’s reputation online is “totally unacceptable” – so the consultant can stand tall knowing they did the right thing. Finally, I’d like to advise all consultants that have such a thing happen to them to never quit or give up just because one psychopath has made you his new excuse for his own failures okay.

Let’s face it, if you’re like most consultants you are a one-man-band operating on a shoe string budget. You don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on marketing and advertisements. At the same time, the market looks a bit gloomy and you need to keep finding new clients.

This article will show you a step-by-step process to launch or grow your consulting business on a strict budget. In fact, the tips in this article will not cost you a thing!

Let’s face it, sometimes its good to have limited resources. Not having money to waste on marketing efforts that generate no return helps you focus on areas that will create results. To start, let’s get down to the basics of marketing your consulting business.

Step 1: Determine Your Target Market.

I know this sounds elementary, but you must understand the importance of choosing a target market. Many consultants don’t want to focus, for fear of missing out on prospects. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you have an unlimited number of prospects. Focusing on a specific market will show your prospects that you have expertise and concentration in their area. This will make you more valuable and in return, close more deals. Remember to choose this market based off of your previous experience and education.

Step 2: Create a Strong Message and Hook.

Once you have determined your target market, you need a strong message to reach your prospects. You can’t just market that you are the best consultant in their industry. They will not believe you. Instead, you need a solid message that will show your value. This message needs to include:

• identify the problem they have
• your solution
• the benefits of your solution
• why you are unique
• proof (examples, testimonials, case studies)

Next, you need a short version of this message called a “hook”. Instead of saying “I’m a marketing consultant.” You could say: “I help local retailers market their stores using the latest technology to increase sales.”

With a strong message and hook, you will be able to attract more interest. Once you have them asking to learn more, you can move onto why you are unique and provide examples of your successful projects.

Step 3: Position Yourself as an Expert. Have you ever known a consultant who has projects come to them? Ever wonder why these consultants got these deals (which always seem to be at a high rate with a blue chip client)? It’s because they were perceived as experts in their field. How did they get there? They got there by doing a few simple tasks.

1. Speak – Find associations and conferences associated with your target market. These groups are always looking for good, informative speakers. Take time every few months and speak at one of these engagements. You will be perceived as an expert and make a ton of contacts.
2. Write Articles – Many trade publications accept articles from consultants. Write a few helpful articles (not sales pitches) that address some of the rising concerns in your target market. Yes, you will be providing free information. But that’s ok! This is proving your expertise in the industry. At the end of the article provide your contact information. You’d be surprised at the prospects that will contact you.
3. Create a Blog or eNewsletter – Another way to build your network is to create a following. With technology you can start doing this in a matter of minutes. To start, post a blog or send an eNewsletter every week or two that has helpful information. These can usually be shorter than your articles and help provide ideas for future publications. If the information you provide is helpful people will begin forwarding your tips on to their colleagues and your network will begin to grow.

Using these steps you will begin to generate a following. Because of this your client list will grow and so will your hourly rate! If you start your marketing plan by focusing on the basics, you will become more successful than you ever imagined!

In today’s world of technology, it is almost impossible to extricate business and IT. For any forward thinking organization, IT becomes an essential component of its infrastructural needs. And if a company really wants to focus on its core competences, then it may need to consider outsourcing its IT needs. And many companies are doing that these days, that’s why IT consulting has become such an important and lucrative venture.

In an essence, the IT consultant works in partnership with you, helping you to utilize information technology in a way that inures considerable benefit to your business.

When you contract an IT consulting firm, you are advised as to how to scale up the structure and efficiency of the IT systems in your business. And this cab dramatically transform the structure of your business, allowing you to be more competitive.

It can hardly be over emphasized that IT consulting can bring a major boost to the growth and sustenance of your business. For example, IT consultants can be used to provide the strategic direction to businesses in the area of IT infrastructure and technology such that the business processes of of the company is enhanced.

IT consulting is also beneficial in the area of procuring technical equipment and even offering highly technical assistance. All of these can boost the performance of your business. In modern technological world, having the latest tech equipment is essential, because it will save your and your employees valuable time. This also helps to provide better customer services as businesses are able to provide immediate assistance to their clients. The increase of speed leads to high quality work.

But what should one look out for when engaging the services of an IT consulting firm? While there are many considerations, the following must always be on the top of your list:

- You need to be very specific about what are your requirements.
- The capacity of the consultant to deliver (experience counts).
- Are you hiring them for short or long term?
- Is your business ready to implement the changes that are likely to occur?
- Will the consultant be available to help in the future should you need him? Or this is something any IT consultant can do later?
- And of course, how much you are willing to spend on the project.

Needless to say, IT consulting has the potential of transforming your business once you know what you are about.

The worst thing you can do is give bland, generic answers to the interview questions.

If you do not give unique answers that impart a bit of your personality, the interviewer will simply think you are the kind of person who is not willing to put forth an effort.

First of all, let’s discuss anecdotes. If you are not much of a consulting interviewee, you will fail to provide anecdotes. Here is an example.

What interests you about management consulting?

I like the intellectual challenge of the job. I also like to be able to work with ambitious, clever people solving difficult business problems.

That is a generic response. There is nothing personal about it – no story, no anecdote.

Do you understand the problem with this answer?

If you tell a little story or an anecdote about why you want to be a management consultant, it will stick out in the interviewer’s mind. If you just give a run of the mill, plain answer, it will just blend in with all the other run of the mill plain answers. You won’t get a job offer, and neither will anyone else who answered that way.

Once the consultants are done with interviews, they usually have a group discussion about the applicants. Applicants who leave a strong impression get discussed. Applicants that the interviewer can’t remember don’t. If the interviewer doesn’t remember you, he won’t have anything to say about you.

Here’s how you can add an anecdote or a takeaway.

A takeaway is a conclusion. It is a lesson learned or a 20/20 hindsight. Call it what you may.

In the answer that was given, there was no takeaway. No conclusion was given.

So let’s put in a takeaway, and you will see that just one sentence will make a big difference in the strength of the final response.

What is it about management consulting that interests you the most?

Ever since I did my internship in asset management, I have realized that it is important to me to work with a top-of-the-line team facing difficult business challenges. The people I worked with then really knew what they were doing, and I admired that. The work I did every day was a little dull, but I liked watching them. Now I know that if I want to get ahead in the business world, I will need to have work that challenges me and become a key member of a top-notch team like that.

Click here to learn more about business consulting interviews!

As a rural health consultant myself with over twenty years in this profession and twelve years as a Fiscal Intermediary (MAC), I have seen what bad advice can do to a rural health clinic. Many times, I’ve been called in to pick up the pieces and help the practice get back on its feet. Let me give you some examples of the types of mistakes I have encountered and how an experienced rural health consultant would mitigate them.

Example 1

A Rural Health Clinic in central Florida had a contentious recertification by the State Agency. The surveyor was giving the business office manager a difficult time over their CLIA status and lack of Patient Care Policies. The physician intervened and the surveyor and physician got into a heated debate. The surveyor said that based on his findings, the clinic was out of compliance and he was going to recommend termination. The clinic called me and I spoke to the surveyor. He cited the discrepancies and I asked how he could recommend termination without giving the clinic the opportunity to take corrective action? When the surveyor returned 30 days later, the CLIA certificate still had not been issued and in spite of documentation that the business manager had, it was regarded as defiance. Additionally, the surveyor would not accept the adoption of the Nurse Practitioner Protocols as the clinic’s patient care policy. The surveyor again was going to recommend termination. I contacted the State Agency regional office and explained the situation but it fell on deaf ears. I contacted the CMS Ombudsman in Atlanta and furnished her with all the documentation showing that the surveyor and Regional Office were not following the State Survey Guidelines, but were, in fact, disregarding them. I assured her that the clinic was in compliance and had just received the CLIA approval. The clinic then received a visit from another surveyor and he was completely satisfied and the clinic was recertified.

Example 2

A Rural Health Clinic in west central Florida had a desk review of the prior year’s cost report and it was determined that a field audit would be warranted due to the lack of response for documentation. Apparently the office staff did not get the requests for additional information in a timely fashion. The physician contacted me and asked if I could assist the practice during the on-site field audit. A review of the case revealed that the MAC determined that the physician was well over the MD salary limits according to the MAC. The MAC used a Federal salary study by region for the basis of their determination of the reasonableness of the salary. The field audit lasted for four days and the exit conference indicated that there would be a substantial adjustment of more the half of the physician’s salary and fringe benefits. The adjustment would result in the cost-per-visit rate being sharply reduced which would impact the current year. I asked the auditor for the study which was used as the basis for the adverse determination and noticed that the study was more than 5 years old. The study was further flawed in it did not take into consideration the specialty, (this MD was an Internist) with advanced training (Board certification) and length of practice experience. I was able to secure a more current version of the study which had been updated and found that the physician was very close to the salary range when the other qualifications were taken into consideration. The result was that the adjustment was only 10% of the original determination and had no material effect on the clinic’s rate.

Example 3

A Rural Health Clinic in middle Alabama had a desk review of their prior year cost report bad debts. The MAC requested a statistically valid sample of bad debts that were in need of the EOMB (Explanation of Medicare Benefits) to justify the balances that were written off. Some of the bad debts were more than several years old and the documentation had been shredded by the clinic’s billing service. The MAC decided that without the EOMB the bad debts would be disallowed. The clinic was ordered to pay back a substantial amount resulting from the disallowances. Since the statistical sample was randomly selected, it was considered to be representative of the entire population. Unfortunately, the cases that had no EOMB were the very old ones which made up a small percentage of the entire bad debts but all were to be denied which skewed the sample. I argued that the sample was skewed and the percentage to be applied to the whole was not valid. The MAC did not agree and suggested that an appeal should be filed. The clinic would have to file a formal appeal through the PRRB. This could take up to several years and I knew this was not true so I suggested that the clinic contact Sen. Jeff Sessions, a friend of the clinic’s medical director and bring him into the case. Within three weeks the clinic was contacted by the MAC and told that most of the EOMBs had been found. The clinic was refunded most of their payback.

As you can see, hiring a rural health consultant with limited or no experienced can be just as risky as not hiring a consultant at all. In today’s market, most rural health clinics deeply depend on receiving the maximum Medicare reimbursement rate possible. One mistake by an inexperienced rural health consultant may result in an audit, and one failed audit could bring a clinic to its knees in short order. So what should you look for when hiring a rural health consultant? There are some obvious and not so obvious qualifications to consider.

First, the rural health consultant must have a detailed knowledge of all aspects of the Medicare Rural Health Program (Public Law 95-210). Technical, as well as practical knowledge of the conditions of participation, application submission, coverage issues, billing issues and most important Medicare cost reimbursement are critical to a Rural Health Consultant.

Second, an experienced rural health consultant should have a detailed knowledge of cost reporting and the factors which prompt red flags and potential desk audits. Additionally, if an audit is scheduled by the MAC, the rural health consultant should be available to the clinic to provide advice and technical assistance on a priority basis either by phone or on site.

Third, the rural health consultant must be able to engage not only the MAC staff and the State Agency staff on matters of findings and correct them when they are wrong or expressing their personal preferences even though those preferences may not be permitted in the regulations or operating instruction. The rural health consultant must be prepared to go to the CMS Regional or Home Offices to get a resolution to the problem. The rural health consultant must have contacts in higher places to present credibility of his knowledge and expertise in the areas of the issues.

By no means is this the entire list, but hopefully it will get you off to a good start. There are a number of rural health consultants in the market who have practice management experience, but zero experience when it comes to the Rural Health program. If you are having difficulty finding a tried, tested, and experienced consultant, contact me at (800) 592 – 3051.

Don’t turn your practice over to an inexperienced rural health consultant; you cannot afford the consequences!