In this first of a series of articles on key consulting psychology topics, we explore important issues related to launching and growing a consulting practice.  Using a “members-speaking-to-members” format, this article posed three key questions to Division members.  Below are the responses from nine Division members who offered their suggestions and counsel.

Question 1.  What are the key recommendations that you have for successfully launching a consulting practice?

»Line up clients before committing expenses.  (Keep your day job, if possible).  Let cost and structure evolve as your market place drives them  (a design/build approach minimizes expense risks – build to the clients need not just your own desires for office space, technological tools, staff etc.)  Expect things to take three times longer than you think.  Be very clear about what you desire in an organizational structure – pure solo practice, being an employee, being a partner, being an employer.  These are very different worlds with very different joys and challenges.  John Fennig

»1) Get your “ticket punched first –obtain good experienced based knowledge. 2) Assess your strengths, risk tolerance and hours you are willing to commit.  3) Early on- hire a top professional advisor who understands small business. This is NOT a time to squeeze on costs.  A really good CPA will save you many times his/her fee. 4) Get – and – be a coach.  5) Recognize that owning a business is about business – more than about psychology. Vicky Vandaveer 

»The first priority is to pick initial areas of consultation focus that you want to develop and practice. It's a huge field and developing knowledge and consulting acumen requires some levels of specialization. The second priority is to do a self-assessment and to identify areas you need further growth in to be a better consultant.  The third priority is to identify and pursue appropriate training, education, supervised experience etc. to achieve sufficient knowledge, attitudes, and skills to achieve the goals you have.  Stewart Cooper

»Business development prevails above all else.  Learn how to sell what you do.  Second, work very hard at providing the best services you possibly can.  Dialogue with more experienced consultants, contract with them for supervision.  Constantly be on the look out for how you will do it better in the future. Andy Garman

»Ask colleagues to assess your skills and to differentiate your specialties from other services in the marketplace.  Decide upon the industries, client demographics and services that you are especially knowledgeable.  Draft text for marketing materials, such as brochures/websites/biographical statements.  These materials will help others to link with you.  Ellen Lent

»The key difficulty for psychologists and other clinicians is selling.  Selling requires leaving your office and talking to strangers. A helpful tip to assist psychologists sell is to concentrate on relationships with people who you meet.  Don’t become overly attached to results (focus on making contact with the decision maker, not whether or not you make the sale).  Jeremy Robinson

»Use the Society of Consulting Psychology to network.  Attend the Society’s Midwinter meeting.  Seek out the best continuing education opportunities even if they are very expensive.  John Deleray

»Align with a variety of professionals so that together you can integrate knowledge and services to better help clients.  I have begun a new segment of my business focused on family/small business succession. I have begun partnering with CPAs and financial planners specializing in this area.  Donna Greenwood

»Know what you want to do.  Identify what makes you happy and productive.  Know what you can do—what’s your expertise? Ask what you are willing to learn.  Be prepared to work day and night! Randy White

»In order to launch a practice, you should have several clients that you know will partner with you from the very beginning.  Gaining new clients is difficult, and takes time.  Having existing working relationships with clients is imperative to your initial success.  Stan Beecham

Question 2.  After establishing your consulting practice, what have you found to be the most important factors contributing to growing your practice?

»Establish a good base of reliable work as quickly as possible. Develop either "make-one-sell-many" products that provide a stable income base or find a handful of clients that want your help on a consistent basis.  With reliability taken care of, it is much easier to additional work you are best suited for and being more selective on projects. Andy Garman

»Growing a practice is done through building relationships.  Doing good work allows you to ask existing clients for referrals.  The best way to get new business is through a referral from an existing client.  Stan Beecham

»1) It is important to understand and apply the principles of sound financial management.  2) When developing client relationships, you are building a reputation (via quality of work and quality of the client relationship).  Nurture the relationships that you develop.  3) Practice persistence, commitment and keeping the faith… never looking back.  4) Manage stress effectively.  5) Apply what you know to yourself. Vicky Vandaveer

»Being available to clients is key—being open to them, listening to them, helping them to frame outcomes for themselves and their organization.  I find writing, speaking and teaching, with a goal of being a competent scientist-practitioner as being helpful.  Randy White

»Learn how to condense the depth of your specialty to a couple of sentences when explaining what you do to others.  I have to constantly remind myself that what excites me only bores many potential clients. Donna Greenwood

»Link your consulting work to desired business outcomes.  For example, assisting information technology professionals accelerate movement of laboratory innovations into production by increasing their use of creativity and emotional intelligence.  Ellen Lent

»Practice Termin’s 3 P’s:  Be planful, persistent and project a positive self-image (the little engine that could).  Any two of the three can carry you.  Staying very clear about the following: 1) What business are you in—what defines the things you do and what are you the very best at or “world class” at?  2)What your clients want is preeminent to everything but our code of ethics. Do what they want you to do!  3)Spread your revenue streams in multiple industries, service offerings and non-time consuming products.  John Fennig

»Continue to network with others.  Be open to new ideas or new techniques about the work.  Examples of this include using new assessment tools or learning about new developments in the business world.  Consultants, like CEOs, are best when they are both fiercely persistent and humble. Jeremy Robinson

Question 3.  If there were one piece of advice that you had to give to members on a single thing/mistake to avoid in establishing and/or growing a consulting practice, what would you suggest?

»Avoid trying to meet the needs of every potential client.  Carefully ask questions before beginning a client engagement.  Refer to a colleague if it’s not your specialty.  Ellen Lent

»When you are at a client’s location, do not call your answering service or return calls to other clients. John Deleray

»Stay close to the decision makers.  You must have a relationship with the person(s) who are making the decisions about your role in the company.  If you get too far away from the decision makers you are at risk of being let go.  Stan Beecham

»Take stretch assignments, yet stay within your areas of expertise.  Know what you can do and what you can’t.  When you are deciding to take on an assignment, if it feels wrong don’t take it.  Instead make a good recommendation to someone you know will handle the assignment well. This will reflect positively on you and when an assignment comes that is in your area you’ll get the call.  Randy White

»Avoid complacency if you are successful now.  A full consulting practice can be empty in six to nine months.  Most of us need to continue to sell and network even at the height of our successes.  Prioritize selling. Jeremy Robinson

»I believe that fierce independence is the most common undoing of a consulting psychologist (the “I’ll show you" factor). Such an attitude cuts consulting psychologists prematurely from clients, deals, business partners, key vendors and key sponsors.  John Fennig

»I underestimated how much selling was involved.  An executive recruiter friend explained it in this way, “You always have to be closing.  You start out closing in getting someone to the phone; obtaining a meeting; a follow-up advance; on the work itself; on price; on the outcome of the work; then on repeat business. Andy Garman

»Continue to hone you areas of expertise yet remain open to potential new applications.  Be alert in conversations with professionals in other industries (e.g. attorneys, CPAs and physicians) to overlaps in professional interests and potential opportunities.  Donna Greenwood

»Set your billing rate appropriately – (e.g. not too low).  Clients tend to equate billing rate with quality/expertise/value (unless, of course, it is too high).  Do the benchmarking work necessary to find the appropriate rate. Vicky Vandaveer

Would you like to add your thoughts?  
Send an e-mail to Steve Gravenkemper.