themselves and need others (“
implants”) for successful marketing.
• Technical – Innovators and design persons may possess unique offerings but
they too may need personnel marketing skill “implants” to be successful.
•Combinations – usually combinations are successful in multi-person
organization and not embodied in
one single individual.
Strength of potential client contacts: If
one does not have viable and multiple
contacts in the segments chosen to consultant within, failure is predictable. The
only method to succeed is to hire people
who do have those targeted contacts.
Financial sustainability: In the
“Consultant’s Library,” Herman Holtz
warns potential consultants about un-
derestimating the initial costs associated
with launching a career in this profession.
Holtz basic message was:
• Have two years’ salary saved
•Develop a strategic business plan
that includes a detailed client target
remuneration objective; expenses as-
sociated with each client; office and
clerical expenses, etc.
Personal communication skills: We
know several excellent consultants
who have zero ability to communicate
well but they succeed because they recognize their weakness and created a
“mouthpiece” in the form of a communications expert.
Marketing prowess: Marketing covers a
lot of ground in its definition. “Marketing
is the process of communicating the value
of a product or service to customers. It
is a critical business function for attract-
ing customers. Marketing is the science
of choosing target markets through mar-
ket analysis and market segmentation, as
well as understanding consumer buying
behavior and providing superior custom-
er value.” Source: Wikipedia
• One of the most significant weak-
nesses new consultants possess is the
understanding and implementation
of a marketing plan.
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