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Business Consultant – The Consultant Agreement

Why do you need an agreement with a business consultant?

This article explains what a consultant agreement is and how a business consultant is involved.
What is a consulting agreement? This is an agreement between the business consultant, who provides services, and the client, the one who is receiving the services. Usually consulting agreements are used when the business consultant will be used for a short period of time. Below you can find a few of the things a consulting agreement might cover.

It will give a detailed description of the services a business consultant will provide. This is effective because it makes sure that both parties are in agreement with what is to be done. It will ensure that there is no miscommunication when it comes time to begin the project.

The consulting agreement will also list any reports that are expected at the end of the project. If there are any presentations or speeches to be delivered, this will also be listed. It is a great idea to know what the expectations are so nothing is left out.

A time frame will be established, and this also will be listed in the agreement. A time frame will let both the business consultant and client know when a project is to start and when it will be finished. This is a good thing because it does not leave anyone wondering how long something will take. Everyone likes the idea of have a time frame when they are waiting to see results.

Hiring a business consultant means having to pay a fee. This fee will be included in the contract. It is vital that both parties are in agreement with the pricing. Sometimes a price can be negotiated, but in the end it has to be a price that both parties feel is fair. This will also ensure that there cannot be a price change at the last moment. It also gives the business consultant the security of knowing that when their services are done, they are guaranteed payment.

Having a contract is good anytime there is a business transaction. This provides protection for all of the parties involved. This will give everyone a sense of peace. During a stressful time, this is much appreciated!

Business Consultant – Finding the Best Business Consultant Job

Tips for finding the best business consultant job

This article tells how a business consultant can find the right job to meet their skills.

If you are looking to start a career as a business consultant, there are a few things you can do to make your search easier. Before all of the modern technology, the easiest way was to pull out the trusty classifieds and spend all day circling potential jobs with a magic marker. Today, consultants are needed in a wide variety of areas. Here are a few ways to get started.

The first thing to do is take a look at the industry. When searching for a business consultant job, you want to look at what is the most popular industry. Two major industries that come to mind are marketing and information technology. Marketing can be found just about everywhere. All businesses need some type of marketing. They need to advertise their company, whether it is through the media or through local newspapers. Information technology, or what is better known as IT, can be found in numerous businesses. Majority of businesses today run off of computers and computer software. Businesses also need networking and networking security.

Speaking of information technology, one of the most useful ways of finding the right consulting job is to look on the World Wide Web. Since the internet was born, looking for a job can be as simple as turning on your computer and typing in a search bar. You can do this in the comfort of your own home.

For many college students, or soon to be college graduates, there are career fairs or job fairs. These usually happen on campus where employers come out and try to enlist new employees. They usually specify what type of job is required and what experience is necessary.

Another great way to become a business consultant is to work for a consulting firm. Consulting firms usually have a wide range of jobs. There are many different types of consulting jobs, and a firm could help you figure out which field you would be best it. If you have expertise in certain areas, or even in more than one area, becoming a business consultant may be right for you.

The Project: Drop Shipping Chapter 5 Introduce Your Site

It’s finally time to introduce our drop shipping site to the world.  We’ve spent a month building out our site and our launch strategy which we are now ready to implement.  This BETA launch will give us a chance to fine tune everything for both our customers and the search engines.  So with out future delay here is our new drop shipping site>

WWW.BATHBOMBS.ORG

Here are some questions we’ve already been asked

Why did you pick this product line? Drop shipping starts with a good supplier.  I know there are a ton of websites out there that offer products for you to drop ship but what I look for is a small mom & pops shop that has a great product line that is high quality and affordable.    There are a lot of companies out there like this that may not have the desire or means to market their product on a large scale.  This is where skilled internet marketers come in.

What did you get a .org site? I always start out looking for a .com site but sometimes the right domain is either already in use or the person who owns it wants a ridiculous amount of money for it.  In this case I was able to get the .org for 1/10th the cost of the .com with only a minor downgrade in search engine capabilities.  You will notice that I did buy the dead on domain name for my primary keyword and my primary product.

Why did you design your site using WordPress? The answer here is simple.  First, I design all my sites in WordPress because they have the easiest platform to work with.  By using plugins you can create the system you need with out having to do a lot of hand coding.  WP also allows any of my content developers to log into the site to build out new content and sales pages with out having to have any special coding skills.

What was the biggest problem with the creation of this site? For my developer it was finding a way to not only list the items for sale but to also create a platform where anyone can add, edit, or delete a current product or price.  This was important because we wanted to create a template that could be replicated for other product lines in the future.

Is this template for sale? Not currently.  After the completion of this launch we are going to launch one more product line to double check our system to make sure it works perfectly.  Once we’ve double tested everything we will be offering this complete package to the public.

Are you really going to use PayPal as your payment processor? The answer is no.  While PayPal does work I always recommend using a direct credit card processor.  We’ve just signed up with a new one and will be integrating them into the site in a week or so.  Once we’ve tested them out to make sure they work we’ll let everyone know who we chose.

What’s the next step in your launch process? Simple – Optimize – Optimize – Optimize.  We’ve already started our onsite and our offsite optimization.  We are keeping detailed records of everything we are doing so we can publish our process in Chapter six of this eBook.  We are trying to create a template that anyone can duplicate.

Chapter Six should be out next week so if you want to stay up to date on everything we are doing please subscribe below.

Business Consultant – Boost sales with a business consultant

Using a business consultant to increase sales

Sales are important to a company, so this article tells how a business consultant comes in handy.

A business consultant that is hired to improve or assist with sales will look at many different things. Sales are what makes a company rise and the lack of sales will make a company fall. It is what brings in the money, it contributes to the salaries, and it is what keeps the motor running.

Consultants can provide sales training. Some people think they couldn’t sell toilet paper standing outside of a bathroom. This is not the case! With proper training, anyone can sell anything. With sales training, a consultant can teach others the effective way of selling a product. You have to show the customer that this is a product you stand behind, and that you would use yourself.

Increasing sales volume is another way a consultant tackles sales. They will look at things such as the customer base to see how they could possibly sell more of the product to existing customers. On the other hand, if the company tends to have sales to repeat customers, the consultant may look at how to bring in new customers. They may suggest offering a discount or giving out more coupons.

When a company has a sale, it usually runs for a week. This can limit the number of sales that the company can have during a certain time frame. A consultant may suggest that the duration of the sales be shorter so that the company can have more of them. This could bring in more revenue for the company.

Most importantly, a business consultant will come up with a sales plan. This is very crucial to a business. They could create a sales plan that is flexible, meaning that it can change as your company grows. Having a plan is always a great idea, no matter what it is being used for. The key is to make the plan and sticking to it. If a company is suffering because of sales, a consultant will come armed and ready to provide a cure. The best thing to do is let them come in, fix the problem and let the selling begin!

Business Plan – What would you like to see?

One of the things I get asked the most is for help with an entrepreneurs business plan.  While this has drummed up a lot of business for my firm I’m wondering if I could give my blog readers the same tool that I use to do this?  Over the years after working on nearly 1000 business plans I’ve created a 100 point review process that is straight forward and easy to use.  It is an outline of the major elements of a business plan in a structured organized manner.  This simple tool is what helps me to see if someones plan has what it takes to become a business.

What I’m now considering is do I keep this idea to myself so that I can continue to sell it or do I post it on my blog so everyone else can use?  Secondly, if I post it on my blog – how should I do it?

Ideas:

• I could make the list a free PDF Download with subscription to the site.   This is a great marketing tool that many people use to get more subscribers.

• I could post the list to my site directly.   I like this idea because I would be able to better explain the list this way.  I would also be able to create 100 pages of content off of this list if I was to link each line of the list to a page describing what I mean.  The problem here is that the search term ‘business plan’ is a very competitive keyword.

• The other option is to keep the list private and continue to use it internally which means I can keep charging for it.

I’d like to ask my readers what they think?  Leave me a comment below and the person that gives me the best idea will get a $25 iTunes Gift Card.

How to Get Employees Excited About Your Business Vision

I read an article today and I wanted to get feedback from other readers about what was in this article.  The article was from Inc Magazine and was about getting employees excited about your business vision.  While I thought the article had some good ideas all of these ideas seemed to be geared towards large organizations and analysis from elite organizations.  This can sometimes be good but often I ask myself why don’t they write these articles to that small business owners like myself can easily interpret and implement the ideas?

I want to breakdown this article and then apply it as I see it to the small business world.

About the Owner: The article starts with the idea that ‘to a business owner their venture is their baby – If only they could get their staff to think the same way’.  Well that’s all fine and dandy to talk about.  Here is the bottom line – It’s never going to happen.  People will never feel they have the same investment in a business because to put it very simply – they don’t.  If you as a business owner are striving to get your staff to work as hard as you are then you are only disappointing yourself.   Don’t fall victim to the any motivational hoopla that tells you different.  A good measuring stick is the 80% rule – If your staff is working 80% as hard as you (the business owner) then you have a great staff!

Clear Communication: In the small business world you have to approach communication differently then in a large corporation.  If you have lets say 10 employees do you think it is important for everyone to understand your latest sales proposal to a new client?  While this might depend on the type of business we are talking about but in most cases the answer is no.  The reason for that is that a small company needs to be more reactive then a large business.  The owner of a small business will on most cases make all the major decisions with out consultation.  This is OK!  As your company grows and your staff expands you will see opportunity to involve more people.

Keeping an Open Ear: I do like this par of the original article.  I’ve met a lot of business owners who have their office on a separate floor from their team.  This kind of hands off approach is a recipe for disaster.   I personally have an office in my call center so that if my door is open I can hear each and every phone call.  I’ve also in the past sat down at a desk in my warehouse every day for a month so I could get a feel for the happenings in my bookstore.  You have to be present to manage.

Measuring Engagement: Here is where they got really technical and referenced a study done by MIT.  Wouldn’t we all love to have our businesses evaluated by an MIT Grad?  Well actually I wouldn’t.  While having all the respect in the world for these amazing grads I still think a business owner of a small business with the proper tools will understand their business better.  To measure engagement with your staff you need to watch, listen, and learn.  My favorite method for this as a business consultant is to let the staff member teach the owner how to do a task.  During this instruction period the owner is not allowed to correct any mistakes that they may perceive.    What does this do?  It gives the owner the perspective of the staff and it gives the staff a level of interaction that allows them to develop confidence in their skills.  When this type of training is implemented in a small business comprehensive results show improvement in all business elements.  Most importantly profitability.

Are all Businesses Created Equal? They should simply delete this section of the article.  I work closely with numerous non-profits and I don’t think many non-profit executives at a chapter level would agree with the statements made in Inc’s Article.  Staff members at all levels are more concerned about time off, pay, and how not to do work (in 80% of cases).  This is not a non-profit nor it is it a small business problem – it is a problem for everyone.

Maintaining Engagement as your Business Grows: As your company grows some staff members will gain seniority and a level of experience that is vital to the continued success of your company.  If you choose to continue growing your relationship with these members you need to be sure to support this growth with renewed goals and challenges.  If you let them slide into laziness it will only be your fault as the business owner.

Is Employee Engagement Exploitative?  This is true.  In the rare case that you find a staff member who is in the 20% meaning that are truly motivated, they want to do more, and they have personal goals in mind then you need to cradle their ambitions and reward them for their success.  In todays world where I’ve had people quit because they could collect more money from unemployment you have to face staff members with a sense of entitlement.  This entitlement sentiment is anti-productive and can be contagious if found in your company.  As a small business owner you need to know when you owe a staff member (for accomplishment) versus when a staff member thinks you owner them (because of an entitlement sentiment).

I intended for this post to be somewhat controversial.  So I’d love to hear what you have to say.  The people who sometimes live in the large corporate world want to dictate to small business owners how they should run their business often don’t understand the small business world we work in.  As the owner of a Multi-Million Dollar Company that I started with my own hands I feel my review of this article is fair and more relevant to the world of a small business consultant.

To view the original article from Inc. Magazine please visit: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/08/how-to-get-employees-excited-about-your-business-vision.html

Business Consultant – How to Interview a Business Consultant

What to look for when doing a business consultant interview

This article covers key factors to think about when interviewing a business consultant.

When you interview a potential employee for a position, there are certain things you will ask and certain things you will look for. These same rules apply when hiring a business consultant. By interviewing them, you are doing the best you can to ensure that you are getting the right person for the job. Here are a few key points to remember when hiring a consultant.

Look at their body language and take note of their personality. Are they up-beat? Do they have a positive outlook? Are they optimistic? You can mentally ask yourself these questions while you are doing the interview. You do not want to be stuck with someone who has a sour personality or has no drive or motivation. If they are working for you, their attitude can have an impact on everyone around them.

Pay attention to how well they listen. If you are communicating with them, and they do not appear to be listening to what you have to say, chances are when it comes time for their services, they will not hear you out. The business consultant needs to be effectively communicating with you. This is a very critical element.

Be sure to ask them what their expectations are, and what they expect from you. If the ground rules are not laid out ahead of time, there will be confusion. If you expect certain things from them, let them know so can they make sure that they are taking on a job they can handle.

It may be a wise choice to give them a situation and have them analyze it. When they are doing this, take note if it takes them a while to come up with an answer, or if they stumble. This is very important because if you do hire them, they will have to analyze the situations that your company is facing. They need to be able to produce realistic solutions to complicated problems.

The interviewing process is one that needs to be thorough. Just by doing the interview you will gain perspective on what they really have to offer.  Finding the right business consultant ins’t easy put the steps above will give you greater control of the process.  If you would like to receive updates about the world of being a business consultant please subscribe to my blog below.