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On Being a Consultant

Posted by ablack on Feb. 3, 2015  /  Subscribe 0

Here’s a little bit about me. I am blunt, bossy and often brutally honest. I offer endless unsolicited advice and generally think that I am right.  Not that I don’t value people and relationships, because I absolutely DO.  But I tend to focus more on winning and being successful in ALL situations.  And even though I typically operate under a general plan, I have a tendency to jump off cliffs with glee.  What does any of this have to do with being a consultant?  As it turns out, these are the attributes that make my personality type a perfect fit for the role.  Let’s check out the definition…

Consultant:  A consultant (from Latin: consultare "to discuss") is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as security (electronic or physical), management, accountancy, law, human resources, marketing (and public relations), finance, engineering, science or any of many other specialized fields.

The comment I get most often when I tell people that I am a consultant is “Oh, it must be great to work for yourself from home and in your pajamas.” And in response I say “Yes, it is great!  Especially when I am working at 5am and 8pm AND on the weekends.” Essentially, I’m ALWAYS working.  I believe Nicole Posten-Thompson dispelled a great many of the myths regarding being “the Boss” in her post Un-Sugared Truth:  The C-“Sweet,” so today I am going to spotlight a few things about the business of being a Professional Services Marketing Consultant.

The Awesome Column:

• Falling on swords no more. When I was marketing for AEC firms, I was often seen as a necessary evil whose opinion never held as much merit as the opinions of the technical staff. And no matter what my credentials, my boss was always right. I could never understand why the firms that I worked for didn’t see that my education and marketing experience had positioned me to make more sound marketing decisions, thus leading to more wins. I clearly remember having arguments with technical staff on how my research proved that marketing “Tactic A” would outsell marketing “Tactic Z,” or the metrics substantiating why a proposal should be a “no-go”, and the reasons why you NEVER EVER use two spaces after a period (go ahead and google it). I felt like I was falling on the marketing sword daily and it was exhausting, humiliating, and heartbreaking.  Conversely, when firms call on a consultant for marketing services, they have already recognized that there is a need, that they require assistance with that need, and that the need is something best left to a professional. As a consultant, the initial battle of credibility has already been won.

• Getting paid for my opinion. After several years working “in-house,” I learned to dial the bossiness and bluntness back…WAY BACK. Why? Because a bossy marketer isn’t always appreciated. I learned to defer to those “above me” because they were technical or because they were the boss (see Falling on Swords); basically, I drank their Kool-Aid. So when I first started consulting, I took the same position…giving my opinion and then letting folks do what they wanted. Then one day, a client called to my attention that they were paying me for my professional opinion and that I had better step up to the plate and start directing the conversation. What an eye opener!  The change in my approach actually sharpened their marketing tactics and they started winning. Bossy and blunt is back…HALLELUJAH!

• Choosing the people I work with. I’m not going to lie; working with the people that I WANT to work with makes all the difference. Let’s face it; we can do this job for any company.  It is the people that we work for and with that can make or break us.  As a small business owner and consultant, I get to choose both my clients and my staff. This doesn’t mean that I love every client that I work with, but it does give me the mental freedom to know that working with them was my choice (if I am struggling). And my team? I could write a whole separate blog post on how amazing my team is.

• Making a difference for others. The thing I love the most about consulting is that I truly get to help people. Whether it is assisting a firm in developing their strategic direction, working on a winning project pursuit, or coaching an individual on their presentation skills, I feel like what I do now matters. There is a recognizable impact when the day is done. But it isn’t just about the work that I do; it is also about the people that I do the work with. Being able to help three other marketing professionals grow their careers in an environment fit for a marketer is immensely satisfying.

• Staying on top of my game. Consultants compete fiercely for business, which means that my team and I have to stay on top of our game. There is no down time. We are constantly reading articles, researching methods, gazing at artwork and skimming through ads, trying to figuring out how we can be better, smarter…different. I have a love of learning, and the business need to stay competitive feeds my curious nature. Daily.

• Jumping off of a cliff. Remember jumping off the high dive as a kid? Scary, right? But when you landed in the water, how awesome was that? This sums up the way I felt and sometimes still feel about being a consultant. On some days I experience the terrifying freefall, and on others I experience the absolute fun and satisfaction of landing in the water.  It is the latter and not the former that makes it all totally worth it.

The Not-So-Awesome Column:

• Learning the hard way. Yes, I am the kid that had to touch the hot stove TWICE to learn my lesson. I HAVE to learn things my own way and in my own time. That seems to be the only way that things “stick” for me. That’s no big deal when the stakes are relatively small, but this can be a slightly painful process when the stakes are your business and reputation (two biggies).

• Getting down to business. Not only do I have to be a “creative” on my team, but now I also have to find time to actually run a business. And the business side of any business includes contracts, invoicing, 1099’s and IT problems. Hey, I’m an English major turned marketer turned consultant; not a professional bookkeeper, not an IT person, and certainly not an entire HR Department. Being all things for all parts of my business is really TOUGH!  I’m having to educate myself as I go.

• Doing no harm. I am not always right. There, I said it. Marketing is a series of best guesses based on research. Sometimes our guesses are wrong. The possibility of advising a client to invest in what turns out to be the wrong campaign, or the possibility of getting a client disqualified on a proposal (probably a marketer’s worst nightmare), is very real. Luckily, my aversion to being wrong makes me do DOUBLE the homework and employ quality control processes to prevent this. But it still manages to occupy my mind.

• Fearing the worst. There are a great many of us in this profession that, because of the nature of the job, suffer from Imposter Syndrome. I am no exception. I worry that there won’t be a next client, that I am being a horrible teammate or leader, that I won’t make payroll, and on and on and on. But when you are a consultant, fear can shut you down! Projects can fall behind because you are afraid to present your ideas, or you might skip a business development meeting because you think the client won’t like you or will think that you don’t really know what you are doing.  Or the worst, you can’t write a proposal/contact because you fear that they won’t think you are worth it.

So there you have it; my brutally honest, blunt opinion on being a consultant. But since I can’t help myself, I figured I would leave you with some unsolicited advice. 

• Surround yourself with remarkable people. People that are smarter than you, that have different skill sets, that make you better, that will tell you the truth, and most importantly, people that won’t tell anyone else when you confide in him or her that you are scared. 

• Trust in yourself, your abilities, your education, and your experience. Have confidence in the fact that you are a Professional Services Marketer; know that to be one of us demands a very specialized set of skills…skills that are extremely valuable. Don’t be afraid to one day take a chance and jump off that proverbial cliff! 

• And lastly, HAVE FUN. Life is short and you work hard; what is the point of any of it if you are not having a good time as well? These jobs can feel like real killers some days, so take time to fill your soul with things that bring you joy.

About the Blogger:  Deirdre “Sargent Strategy” Gilmore, CPSM is the owner and president of TankGirl Marketing. She specializes in creating winning strategies and marching her troops through the battlefield. In her spare time she bosses around her pets, has traded in jumping of cliffs for skiing down mountains, and everyday competes against herself to be better than the person she was the day before.

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