January, 2016

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The Exactly Right Time to Sell Consulting Services

David A Fields

I’m going to assume you’re a darn good consultant. Not much of an assumption, really. I trust you. As a darn good consultant, you know that the path to new business is offering the Right Solution to the Right Target with the Right Chocolate Bribe at the Right Time. But when is that time? Well, of course you know the right time is when your prospect is aware of a big issue you can address and considers it a top priority.

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Breaking Down Case Interview Frameworks – Market Sizing

Management Consulted

Welcome back to our case interview frameworks series, giving you a step by step approach to solve any case that’s set before you. If you haven’t read our first article yet, we encourage you to go back and read it before continuing. Case interview frameworks are used to open a case and to solve a case. It’s very important that you think of both of these, opening and solving the case, because the frameworks are meant to be very practical, action-oriented, metrics-driven and clear

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If We’re Not Laughing Something Is Wrong

Leadership Planning with Liz Weber CMC

As I finished a client’s strategy session report this morning, I kept thinking about how the CEO has changed over the past five years since we last worked together. He’s still brilliant, tenacious, out-spoken, aggressive, driven, blunt, and not politically correct -- Can you see why I like him? Yet he’s changed. He’s no longer afraid to laugh. And that change has caused a huge shift in how he and his senior staff interact, plan, work, produce, profit, and succeed.

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The sky is falling

Tom Spencer

Back in September last year, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about how low oil prices could lead to a global recession. An article by the Guardian last Friday repeated the sentiment with a suggestion that low oil prices could hurt the stock market. Look out, Chicken Little, the sky is falling! The doom and gloom argument appears to be based on two factors: Falling oil prices will hurt oil producers like Exxon and Chevron.

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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The Mindful Board

Strategy+Business

To deal with the complexity of today's corporate governance challenge, boards must evolve to become truly mindful -- capable of appreciating the broad impacts of their decisions.

More Trending

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9 Essential Steps to SIMULTANEOUSLY Develop & Deliver Consulting Business

David A Fields

Life’s great as a consultant when you’re bustling through a project. Until the project’s done. Then you pop your head up and life’s rough while you’re hustling to get another project. Until you land one. Then you’re back to bustling… …and on it goes. Hustle and bustle. Feast and famine. Grins and grimaces. The bane of independent consultants’ existence.

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AlixPartners Interviews and Culture

Management Consulted

ALIXPARTNERS CONSULTING. Today, we continue our Firm Profile series by looking at AlixPartners. AlixPartners is an international business advisory firm based in Southfield, MI known for its work in corporate turnarounds, bankruptcy assignments and restructuring. With over 30 years of history behind it, AlixPartners has worked with several high profile clients, including GM’s Saab division, Kodak, Barney’s New York, and JCPenney.

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That damned elevator speech!

Consultants' Consultant

Consultants Consultant: Here are 7 different ways to derive your elevator speech. The post That damned elevator speech! appeared first on Consultants' Consultant.

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Bricks and Mortar

Tom Spencer

Builders intuitively know that if you are building a house then you need both bricks and mortar, and they need to be arranged in a certain way in order to construct a safe, functional and attractive residence. The bricks provide strength, the mortar holds it all together, and the architect’s plan ensures that they are arranged in an appealing way.

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Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

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Corporate HQ and the Magnetic Pull of Cities

Strategy+Business

Why General Electric's shocking move to leave the Connecticut suburbs wasn't all that surprising.

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10 Reasons to Take the WIC’s Best Practices Survey

Women in Consulting

By: Susan Monroe. We just launched WIC’s 14th Annual Best Practices Survey. I’ve been here for most of the surveys and every year I learn something to put into practice in my business. I’d be foolish not to. Hundreds of consultants—many of whom are tops in their field—share what helps make them successful. You’ll learn about everything from how they close deals to how they boost their productivity and more.

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What’s the Best Way to Gain Visibility for Your Consulting Firm?

David A Fields

A consultant asked me the following question: You talk a lot about speaking and writing as ways to become more visible to your clients. Are those the only ways? Are there any other effective ways to become visible if I’m not a great writer or speaker? Here’s the answer I gave the consultant: There are five “marketing musts” for consultants who want to build their visibility.

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Investing in your Smarts

Chad Barr

Reflection Point: Advancing technologies have been accelerated to the point that artificial intelligence is impacting and disrupting every imaginable area such as: 3D printing, human cloning, genetics, smart appliances, space and medical research and many more. I previously discussed this in my article Taking Control of Technology , when I suggested that machines seem to conquer all.

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PowerPoint Best Practices for Creating Stellar Presentations

Mastering data visualization in PowerPoint will help accelerate your career because it positions you as someone who can present data that drives business decisions forward. think-cell's PowerPoint Best Practices eBook was created specifically for professionals aiming to master the art and science of data-driven storytelling. What’s inside: Practical Insights: Uncover valuable tips for crafting engaging and persuasive presentations.

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Matrix Part I: The Nature of Organizational Complexity (Greg Kesler)

Kates Kesler

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How To Deal With Rejection

Tom Spencer

(Source: Flickr ). If you have gone through the consulting interview process and are not offered a position with your target firm, then you should find out why. There are two reasons this is important. Firstly, getting specific feedback on your performance is the only way you can learn and improve. Secondly, you may discover that the firm has formed an inaccurate opinion of you.

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Stop and think

Consultants' Consultant

Consultants Consultant: Research that reflecting on what we do and what we learn means we learn better. And we’re more productive. Not a surprise for anyone trained as a trainer or teacher, but maybe news for the rest of us. And of course knowing isn’t doing (i.e. knowing that you need to pause doesn’t mean that you […]. The post Stop and think appeared first on Consultants' Consultant.

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Keep the Receipt or Lose the Deduction

Women in Consulting

By: Renee Daggett. Time after time, there are rulings from the IRS stating someone lost their deduction due to bad record keeping. Karen Hough had to pay $100,849 in taxes because she “estimated” the business expenses. She relied on her testimony to prove the deductions, while the IRS required documentation. She did not have cancelled checks or receipts.

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Savings Consultants Are Needed in Today's Market More Than Ever

Savings Consultants are needed in today’s market more than ever. With an increase in expenses, businesses are looking for opportunities to save. Often unknown to businesses are savings in expense reduction, specialized tax savings, specialized savings including medical underpayments, health benefits cost reduction, zero cost processing, and more. Blue Coast Savings, with over 20 years in business, assists Savings Consultants in helping these companies move toward more profitable businesses.

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The Perfect Story to Win Consulting Projects

David A Fields

I’m a sucker for a good story. Most people are. Fortunately, that trait makes selling consulting projects more enjoyable and easier. I use a simple template to craft the persuasive story that I tell consulting prospects. It’s astoundingly effective. The type of story I’m talking about isn’t a tale of your derring-do, or even a case study presenting your success with other clients.

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What would life be like if…?

Chad Barr

Reflection point: I was 21 and had just completed my three years of compulsory military service in Israel, when one of my friends shared a newspaper ad with me looking for people of my profile to travel to the US and bring the Israeli culture to summer camps. I ended at this beautiful place by the lake called Cleveland, Ohio, where I met my future wife to be, Laurel and where we raised our family.

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A Strategist's Guide to Blockchain

Strategy+Business

The distributed ledger technology that started with the bitcoin digital currency is rapidly evolving into a crowdsourced system for streamlining verification. If blockchain technology lives up to its potential, it could become a game-changing force in any venue where trading occurs, where trust is at a premium, and where people need protection from identity theft.

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Negotiating An Offer Of Employment

Tom Spencer

(Source: Flickr ). If you have received an offer of employment from the consulting firm of your choice, you may still want to negotiate the terms of the offer. How should you go about doing this? Use your bargaining power. Your ability to negotiate the terms of your offer depends on how much bargaining power you have. The consulting industry is currently experiencing growth in various markets, and so it may be possible to negotiate a more favorable employment contract.

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TOOLS and METHODOLOGIES for developing DECISION SUPPORT PACKAGES

This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

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To make you happy

Consultants' Consultant

Consultants Consultant: There is something about hordes of people dancing. There’s something even better about hordes of people you have seen dance before all dance to the same song, even though they’ve been in different movies across different centuries! This clip starts slow – if you’re in a hurry for motivation, skip to about 1:00 minute.

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Marina Krakovsky on how to Profit from the Middleman Economy

Women in Consulting

By: Olivia Dippon. WIC’s first guest speaker of 2016 was Marina Krakovsky who spoke on the middleman economy today, why it is so important, and how consultants can harness their role as middlemen to create greater value for themselves and their clients. Marina argues that rather than middleman becoming obsolete due to the internet, they are more important today than ever before.

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Diagnostics. Consulting Prospects Will Say, “Aha! I Need You”

David A Fields

For a consultant, there’s nothing more frustrating than a prospect who clearly needs you, but doesn’t realize it or has less urgency than a stalagmite. How do you shake sense into the decision maker? How do you knock the project loose so a rich opportunity falls into your lap? Diagnostics. Over a decade ago I wrote a whitepaper for my corporate clients claiming, “In sales, nothing you say matters.

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13 Marketing Insights For Great Success

Chad Barr

Reflection Point: I’ve been fortunate to work with and study some of the most effective global marketers and identify what they do to achieve success. Many of these ideas are discussed with our clients and implemented to help them achieve greater results. Here are some of these ideas: Have a clear definition of the buyers you are trying to attract.

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Why You Need to Use Case Studies in Sales and Marketing (and How to Start Now)

Case studies are proof of successful client relations and a verifiable product or service. They persuade buyers by highlighting your customers' experiences with your company and its solution. In sales, case studies are crucial pieces of content that can be tailored to prospects' pain points and used throughout the buyer's journey. In marketing, case studies are versatile assets for generating business, providing reusable elements for ad and social media content, website material, and marketing c

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M&A is booming in TMT—but what does the future hold for consultants?

The Source

By Alison Huntington. M&A is one of the issues a client is most likely to pick up the phone to a consulting firm about, and luckily for TMT consultants, there’s been a huge amount of it across the industry. 2014 saw deals hit their highest level since before the financial crisis, creating lots of opportunities for consultants in pre- and post-merger integration work, and in due diligence.

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Accepting An Offer Of Employment

Tom Spencer

(Source: Flickr ). If you are offered a position with a consulting firm (and are happy with the terms of the offer) then feel free to accept it. You can talk to the recruitment management to let them know your decision, and you will also need to sign, date, and return a copy of the offer letter. Be sure to make a copy for your records. If you have successfully negotiated any terms of the offer, then you need to capture the additional or amended terms in writing.

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Culture eats strategy for breakfast

Consultants' Consultant

Consultants Consultant: It doesn’t matter how good your strategy is if the culture isn’t aligned with it. And when your culture IS aligned with strategy, then things magically happen. David Maister talked about it in Strategy and the Fat Smoker, and this article from Farnam Street summarises Plain Talk on the same subject. This podcast with Margaret Heffernan outlines some practical […].

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