 PCC NewsletterNews & Information for the Pittsburgh Consulting Community
July 2011 |
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Greetings! |
The Pittsburgh Consulting Community will be taking the summer off so we don't have any events planned for July and August. We do have growing interest in additional Consulting Mastermind Groups so now's the time to get in an application if you are interested in participating. Kickoff maybe mid- to late July, depending on the member's schedules. More details are below. A preview of coming attractions:
Keep your eyes on your email or our LinkedIn discussions for more events and information.
Have a safe and enjoyable summer!
Michael Couch
Michael@mcassociatesinc.com |
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Consulting Mastermind Group | |
"This Mastermind effort was an unbelievable boost to my business - but more importantly to my confidence as a consultant."
Consulting Mastermind Group Member
The next Consulting Mastermind Groups are now forming.
- Are you ready to start or grow your consulting business?
- Do you want to explore specific topics and diverse views about the business of consulting within the context of a group?
- Are you willing to learn from your peers?
- Are you willing to assist others in growing their consulting business?
- Are you willing to invest time, money, and energy into starting or growing your consulting business?
- Are you willing to give and receive help, advice, criticism, feedback, and encouragement from a group of link-minded peers?
If you answered yes to these questions than a Consulting Mastermind Group is for you. Download and fill out an application, email to Michael@mcassociatesinc.com and I'll follow up with a phone call. (If you have problems with the application form, send me note and I'll email to you.) Drop me a line at the same emial or call 412.952.9036 if you have any questions.
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The Phase Zero Advantage - September 8 | |
After taking the summer off, the next Consulting Community event is scheduled for Thursday, September 8. A member of our Community, Brian Cubarney of ClearBrands Inc, will be presenting a workshop entitled The Phase Zero Advantage.
Brian will be presenting three punch-through-the-clutter strategies for uniquely distinguishing your consulting business. This session is focused on consultant owner / entrepreneurs who seek to connect more effectively with prospective check writers and referral partners.
You will discover how to:
- Clear the communication fog that holds most businesses back
- Avoid the "promising proposal" chase and start closing new client engagements on-the-spot
- Boost their refer-ability from a 3 to 10
Attendees will also receive a free copy of "The 5 Brand Pitfalls - A mini-guide to avoiding the consultant commodity trap."
Mark your calendars for September 8 and watch your email for more details. |
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Featured Consultant - David Baker | |
David Baker is Managing Director and CEO of Human Capital Advisors. Human Capital Advisors (HCA) provides solutions in human capital management and recruitment for small to medium sized companies (25 - 500 employees). HCA develops cost effective people solutions to aid in attracting, hiring and retaining top employees by customizing a strategy that will improve the overall cost effectiveness of the client's investment in people. HCA meticulously executes against the strategy, becoming an integrated, go-to resource for your day-to-day HR management needs.
Human Capital Advisors (HCA) helps their clients by:
- Recruiting for executive, management, engineering and manufacturing positions.
- Providing cost-effective turnkey solutions in human capital management and organizational effectiveness
- Providing a complete, customized HR package affording clients an entire HR team without expending the financial resources for a full-time HR staff
- Creating a new HR department or resizing an existing department
- Designing, acquiring, managing and delivering human capital services, enabling organizations to shift business strategies into operational realities
Dave has been in HR for more than 30 years and has built more than a dozen HR departments from scratch. As a partner with one of the largest venture capital firms in the country, he has recruited both C-suite executives and difficult one-of-a-kind engineering roles.
Dave is the author of The Everything HR Kit (AMACOM 2011), the perfect HR Toolkit for small and medium sized companies. It has 130 ready to use tools in it's accompanying CD including Handbooks, HR Metrics, Performance Management programs and dozens upon dozens of tools to start your HR department from scratch.
David Baker
Human Capital Advisors
724.263.5773
djb@hcadvisors.net
www.hcadvisors.net |
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Lots of Value in Value-Based Pricing | |
Our workshop on Value-Based Pricing for Consultants was well attended and received rave reviews. The purpose of the workshop was to learn how to use value to price consulting services.
I thought it would be worthwhile to share what some of the participants learned from the workshop:
"I thought that your class about Value-Based Pricing was wonderful. It helps me to plan my approach to my clients. You did a good job involving everyone and I cannot wait to practice what I learned."
"I truly enjoyed the entire event....It really was well done and I think everyone benefitted from it....The give and take in my group was excellent. I also felt that you did a very good job of getting people to realize that there is no one answer or silver bullet to pricing."
"I thought your presentation of the material was excellent and introduced some new resources I was unfamiliar with. The case study worked well and the use of stories made the concepts both practical and memorable."
". . . it's going to take some effort to break set - not only from daily/ hourly rate but from capabilities/ methodology. This is a much more valid way of doing business and I know I'm going to have to put effort into it."
"The Value Based Pricing Workshop helped me nail the value I deliver . . . the case studies based on his own experiences in value-based pricing provided valuable insight into how it works and how to make it work for you. The most valuable takeaway for me was the insightful and indispensable Value Map exercise that mapped my unique capabilities to client values - exactly what every consultant needs to address."
We'll plan on repeating the Workshop in the future and will make it a core part of the Mastermind Groups content. |
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Consulting Trends from Kennedy Consulting Research | |
Here are some interesting updates from the Kennedy Consulting Research and Advisory Wire, a great market research resource for consultants:
Strategy Clients Going Global Seek a Few Good Firms
Kennedy's research on Strategy Consulting reveals that, as companies go global - or at least multinational - they want to work with a few consultancies that can readily support all locations. So those clients considering new markets want advisors with feet on the ground in the destination country. However, clients don't want to manage a large portfolio of locally based firms.
More on this research...
Manufacturing Clients Driving Diverse Benefits Consulting Demand
Kennedy analysts have found that domestic manufacturers are driving demand for myriad Benefits Consulting services on everything from worker health, productivity and absence concerns, to managing retiree health and pharmaceutical costs. Meanwhile, multinational manufacturers are grappling with the legal, tax and compliance challenges that come with managing employees across international borders. Plus, the unions and work councils that are more prevalent among manufacturing firms create additional complexity - and perhaps opportunity - for Benefits consultants due in part to the contractual obligations of their benefits offerings.
More on this research...
IT Strategy Consultants Leading the Way for Clients Looking to Harness Social Computing Data
With the explosion of social networking - and the potential for engaging communities - companies must create multiple tools that monitor and measure their customer's involvement levels. Kennedy analysts have discovered that many IT strategy consultancies are being called upon to help clients with this evolution.
More on this research...
To subscribe to the Kennedy Wire visit www.KennedyInfo.com/Consulting/Kwire |
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PCC LinkedIn Group |
Start a discussion, look for resources, ask a question, find a colleague
The Consulting Community's LinkedIn Group has grown to over 500 members. If you haven't connected to the Group yet, now's the time. It's a great source of informative discussions, news and information about Community Members. We've also linked the news feed from the Institute for Management Consultants so that you can see the invaluable "Daily Tips for Consultants".
It's a restricted group, so click here to request to join and I'll approve your membership. |
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The Pittsburgh Consulting Community and the Consulting Mastermind Groups are sponsored by:
Michael A. Couch, President
412-952-9036 |
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