CIB.03 (CREATING A CONSULTING / IMPROVEMENT BUSINESS) SELECTING YOUR PRACTICE AREA - WILLIAM EASTMAN

Oh, the fun starts. I love discussing a topic that has held me captive for 4 decades. Today's focus and for the remainder of the series is to help you select the right practices and their domains which match your expertise. How to consult (the process of consulting) is something we will tackle later. Let's start with WHAT.

INTRODUCTION
The following information is based on research of the larger international consulting houses and drove how we organized, specialized, and hired in my 4 previous companies. BTW - we had a small firm that could beat the billion dollar behemoths.

OBJECTIVE

1. Become familiar with your 6 + 1 options and determine the right mix for your expertise and market.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Practices Areas 6 + 1

• Strategy & Organizational Development Services
  Practice Domain: A knowledge base of professional services focused on improving the long term, strategic health of a company. The Strategy component covers general business planning, organizational design and development, initial public offering, and the strategic aspects of mergers and acquisitions. The Organizational Development component focuses on systematic change to achieve strategic goals. ​
• Operations Management Services Practice
  Domain: Our knowledge base of professional services focused on improving the operational aspect of an organization, which are often targeted at a specific process or function. These services include business process re-engineering, total quality management, logistics, and project management. This Professional Services Practice includes Performance Improvement, Operations Risk, Research and Development, Customer Management, and Financial Operations.
• Technology Services Practice Domain: Our knowledge base of professional services focused on improving the way organizations store, retrieve, disseminate, and utilize information. These services include IT strategy planning, design and analysis, and implementation. As second segment of focus is the application of Science and Engineering concepts, practices, and theory to promote business needs. 
• Human Resource Services Practice Domain: Our knowledge base of professional services focused on improving the business performance of organizations through issues around people. Historically, Human Resources has been focused on the roles of control and compliance: operational and administrative tasks such as payroll and benefits, legal compliance, recruiting, on-boarding, and training. All of these activities continue to be important management tasks, but effective Human Resources today is more about the strategic alignment people issues to organizational objectives. 
• Marketing & Sales Services Practice Domain: Our knowledge base of professional services focused on improving the way organizations manage the entire customer (marketing, sales, and service) life cycle. These services include market share management, market segmentation (total available market and specified available market), traditional and virtual marketing methods, tactics of pricing and terms, sales - opening-moving-closing, and up- selling with existing accounts. This Practice includes Marketing, and Sales.
• Financial Performance Services Practice Domain: Our knowledge base of professional services focused on business valuation, reinvestment into growth, cash flow management. This practice covers sell side Mergers & Acquisitions (divestitures, private and public company sale), buy side M&A, Mergers, Joint Ventures and other business combinations. This includes financial restructuring, distressed debt and M&A situations, fairness opinions, board of directors advisory role (strategic business review, including both M&A, and non-M&A strategic initiatives), review of capacity (marketing, sales, production, service) and its return on budget. 
  
• Government - what do the domains look like in a government setting?

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

1. Step One - Your Consulting Competencies. Conduct self-audit on your consulting strengths and weaknesses.
2. Step Two - Match Competency to Consulting Domains. Link your competencies to Practice Area's & Domains.
3. Step Three - Review Your Targeted Clients and Market Conditions. Answer the fundamental question for any business - what unmet or under met need are we going to address and is that marketing ready for our offer..
4. Step Four - Define Your Market and Offer. Map the customer's journey and build your marketing and sales efforts at impacting their buying persona.
5. Step Five - Build a Consistent Message that Bundles Your Domains. Close the loop by completing branding of the company, the offer, and you.

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