How to become a consultant: 7 tips and strategies

Consultancy as a profession might be unclear to some. It can seem vague and nonspecific, because there are so many different types of consultants, and consultations have no common template.

In actual fact, once you explore the topic, consultancy is not only a very clearly defined profession, but also a viable career path for many and a respectable profession.

If you’re interested in how to become a consultant, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on the subject: we’ll discuss what a consultant does, what are the different types, the skills needed, and the steps towards becoming one yourself.

Put simply, a consultant is someone who is an expert on a particular subject or profession, who is brought on or consulted with to provide advice. There is no legal standing on the term ‘consultant’, making it something anyone can adopt if they choose to or if the situation makes it so.

For example, a lawyer with two decades experience in the field may never have worked as a consultant before. However, if a film studio contacts them to provide advice for a film about a type of law in which they specialize and they agree to offer advice, they then become a ‘legal consultant’ and will be billed as such in the credits.

Full-time consultants, however, will usually have a business and provide consultancy on their chosen area of expertise. These are the kind of consultants we will be discussing in this blog post.

Consultancy is a diverse profession, as you can probably imagine. Because of the liberal application of the profession, independent consultants increasingly crop up in various areas. The advent of complex digital technology provides more of a need for consultants than ever.

In the interest of simplifying the diversity of consultant types a bit, we’re going to break them down into six categories that cover the different ways in which consultants work, across all possible professions.

Strategy consultants work at the highest level of consultancy. Board members and management of usually large companies will bring in a third party to solve a problem they are unable to do internally.

Problems of this nature include things like declining sales with no clear reason, disagreements among shareholders that can’t be solved, and crises with a CEO or CxO-level position.

Consultation at the management level tends to be focused on specific departments. HR may need an external consultant to sort an organizational issue or something specific to an employee which they are not equipped to deal with.

Operations consultants are brought in to assist with the daily operations of a business. Operations managers can intervene to improve primary functions (sales, marketing, etc.) or secondary functions (finance, HR, legal, etc).

Typically working closely with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a company, financial advisory consultants are brought in to give expert advice to your company’s finance department.

There’s no legal requirements for calling yourself a consultant, making the question of qualifications somewhat unclear. It comes down to what each organization needs from you, and whether or not you are able to deliver on it.

That said, certain preparations can go a  long way in helping you build a more successful consultancy business. Clients who see your high-level qualifications in appropriate areas are more likely to take you on.

It’s a good idea to at least have a bachelor’s degree if you’re going into consulting. It’s a good idea to choose a business degree if you want to become a consultant, because this kind of degree gives you insight into a broad range of business issues.

Since many consultancy jobs are finance-related, finance and accounting degrees are ideal qualifications as well.

Others include:

• Management
• Economics
• Marketing
• Publications
• Law

Beyond these degrees, if you wish to focus on a very specific area of consultancy, you’re better off choosing a more focused degree and obtaining higher qualifications.

Experience in the field is probably where your clients will look next, once they’ve determined the kind of education you have. However, experience is going to serve you well on the job.

Consultants are hit with many different problems from a variety of businesses of all different types and sizes. This makes problem solving and creative thinking important skills, but it always helps if you’ve come across these problems before.

There are a few ways to gain reputable experience as a consultant before taking on clients, however:

Starting your own business: the best way to gain experience about all the problems you might face from clients? Start your own business! Consultants are often individuals with one or two careers behind them already, and reach the stage when their experience is valuable to others. Getting into the startup game early is the best way to test solutions and face problems your clients will inevitably have.

Offering consultancy to a friend or family member: you may be perfectly competent as a consultant, but without concrete experience it can be difficult to convince clients. This is why you can approach friends and family members for some experience. They’re likely to be more aware of your competency and offer you the chance to build up your profile.

While not necessary to gain clients as a consultant, a few certificates strung up behind your desk can’t hurt. Even consulting in a specific field requires you to perform a broad range of activities, becoming a kind of jack-of-all-trades.

Fortunately, there are a few relevant certifications you can obtain to boost your profile both generally and specifically:

• Consulting certifications: independent consultants can back up their business with global or local consulting degrees
• Project management: consulting involves a good deal of project management, making this a useful certification to have
• Financial management: knowledge of financial terms and concepts is crucial in consulting
• Data analytics: business today is largely digital, making digital expertise a must in consulting

Ultimately, whether you are a good or successful consultant will come down to the skills you bring to the profession. Consultants need an arsenal of skills that enable them to solve a variety of problems, keep calm under pressure, and observe situations in a solution-minded, realistic way.

Each of these skills can be learned and practiced. Let’s go over them so you can better understand what is required of you in this role.

Interpersonal skills are crucial in consulting. As a consultant, you are entering someone else’s domain and offering advice on how to handle problems. In this way, you have to be sensitive to their plight, understanding of the situation, and constructively critical of the problem.

All of this comes down to good communication.

Exhibit confidence. Clients will want to see that you are confident in the assertions you make about the problem, and in the solutions you provide. If you don’t seem sure about what you’re saying, your clients will be unsure of your ability to handle the situation. When putting together your solutions, make sure you have considered every counter-problem. Remain confident even when your solutions are being interrogated.

Develop relationships. You are entering into a professional relationship of sorts, and you should treat it as such. To what kind of communication does your client respond? Is this better handled in boardrooms, on video calls, or out to lunch? Understand your client as a person and approach them as such.

Be clear. Avoid jargon, roundabout explanations, and excessive technicalities. Your clients will work in different fields so while some terminologies will be transferable, mostly you will need to be understood in clear, universal terms. Practice your solutions on friends and family who don’t have knowledge of the field, to make sure you’re being understood.

Demonstrating leadership at work doesn’t necessarily mean managing a team. It’s more akin to being the authority on a certain subject and assisting others in an effective way.

This is key for consulting. When you answer a client’s call to help solve a problem, you are agreeing to then become the authority on the subject. You will be expected to win favor with the employees and convince management of your solutions.

Here are some of the qualities you can demonstrate to show leadership:

• Thought leadership (authority on the subject, passion for the topic)
• Professionalism (being available for contact, attentive in meetings)
• Positivity (infectiously convinced of success)
• Receptivity (listening to new ideas, learning from others)
• Humility (not seeking praise, team-oriented)

Critical thinking is the act of assessing a situation, identifying a problem, and formulating a solution with the available information and resources. It also denotes parsing through existing solutions and research, determining which is useful and which is not.

Fortunately, critical thinking is very teachable and can easily be learned. Most university degrees require significant critical thinking, so chances are you already have a good understanding of the concept if you have been to university.

Of course, a degree isn’t necessary for the skill and if you haven’t been practicing it since earning your degree, it’s likely you need to refresh your critical thinking skills.

When approaching a problem, here are a few questions you can ask yourself to ensure you are thinking critically:

• Am I considering my own biases? How much of my experience and prejudices are coming into my proposed solutions here? How much is already included in the problem itself?
• Am I investigating my sources? Beyond the reputability of the institution, is the research I’m using sufficient? How can I cross-cross check and better evaluate my sources?
• Am I thinking several moves ahead? Is my solution merely going to create further problems in the future? Have I considered the knock-on effect of the changes I am about to make?
• Am I playing by the rules? Am I paying attention to the parameters and requirements set on me by my clients? When am I thinking outside the box and when am I flouting the rules?

Consultancy requires adaptation to be a constant state of being. Not only are you familiarizing yourself with new fields of work as you take on new clients, but you are expected to absorb new problems as they arise, adapting to inevitable changes.

Teamwork and collaboration are some of the most effective ways to encourage adaptation in your consulting work. Take on suggestions, incorporate feedback, and encourage new ideas to be brought to the table when solving problems.

As an independent consultant, you will be running a small business or working as a freelancer. This requires a solid foundation of self-motivation in your daily life, so that you keep seeking and acquiring new clients, stay on top of budgeting, and focus on ways to grow your consultancy business.

Here are ten general tips for self-motivation as a small business owner or freelancer:

1. Utilize your calendar
2. Contribute towards your goals every day
3. Master the art of to-do lists
4. Get better at budgeting
5. Do your taxes early
6. Take help where you can get it
7. Stay mentally and physically healthy
8. Protect yourself from fraud
9. Have a back-up plan
10. Don’t lose sight of enjoyment

A consultant is a professional problem solver. Clients and companies are likely to seek a consultant when they identify a problem in their business which cannot be solved internally.

To perform their duties, a consultant will likely set up a business and create a website. This website will display their credentials, experience, areas of expertise, and guarantees. They can then use social media and traditional channels to seek clients, the way any usual online business would.

Once a consultant has obtained a client, it is then their responsibility to get to know the client professionally, and somewhat personally, in order to solve the problem in the way that suits them best.

Although there is no singular path to becoming a consultant, there are some suggested steps you can take to get there in an ideal way. This path reflects the one taken by many freelancers and business owners, with some important tweaks to turn you towards consultancy.

To add some specificity to our guide, we’re going to refer to becoming a marketing consultant in most of the steps. Having a concrete example will give some useful context to the path of becoming a consultant.

If you’re looking to become a consultant after a long career in a field like marketing, legal, etc., then your best bet would be to choose this as your field of expertise. You already have the knowledge and experience, plus contacts and potential clients.

If however you’re starting out and choosing marketing as your field in which to consult, it’s time to get qualified. Clients will want proof you’ know what you’re talking about, so make sure you have one (or, ideally, more than one) of the following qualifications:

• Certificate (digital marketing or consulting)
• Diploma
• Bachelor’s degree
• Master’s degree

You may be able to get each of these qualifications in general consulting, however it is better if you combine your expertise with a degree, and your consultancy with experience. So complete a BA and an MA in digital marketing and gain some experience as a consultant once you’ve graduated.

This is where you get to etch out the kind of business you want to run. Any freelancer or business owner should create a business plan, which will include your business goals and achievements for the year.

What these goals are, is up to you. It’s important to consider reasonable, achievable goals, ones which reflect the growth of your business, and ones which push you to achieve more.

As a marketing consultant, your goals won’t differ much from that of any other kind of consultant. Some common consultancy goals, with methods to achieve them, include:

• Establish clientele (via professional networking methods, online and offline)
• Foster good working relationships (check in regularly with previous clients)
• Create a financial plan (via budgeting and good accounting)

Consultancy is a broad field, and you may be tempted to stretch yourself thin in order to gain more clients. The better approach, however, is to hone your skills by appealing heavily to a niche market. Even within a niche or target market, you will still be expected to handle a variety of problems and adapt to different scenarios.

Your target market is simply your core customer base most suited to your services. As a marketing consultant, the kind of target market you should establish is one that reflects your specialized skills within the field. If you have a degree in marketing, then perhaps it would be the particular type of marketing that you majored in.

Decide whether your target market fits into one of the following types of marketing:

• Business to business marketing (B2B)
• Business to customer marketing (B2C

Each of these types requires very different approaches, and will further define your target market. Beyond this, What kind of marketing techniques are you best suited to consult on?

• Outbound marketing (message delivery methods to audiences)
• Personalized marketing (using historical data to create personalized experiences)
• Partner marketing (two companies partnering to deliver one message)

And so on. If you are specially suited to consult on personalized marketing campaigns because you focused on data collection in your marketing degree, you can establish this early. This will encourage clients to come to you based on your strengths, thus defining your target market as a consultant.

Registering your business is easier than ever in today’s digital world. Whether you want to register as a freelancer, business creator, or SME, you can get it done in only a few clicks.

As a consultant, registering as a business or freelancer is ideal. Most consultants work independently, and this makes it imperative you register as a business. With a Qonto business account, you can have access to:

• Accounting software
• Local IBAN
• Physical and digital payment cards

And anything else you might need to run your business as an independent consultant.

Separating your personal and business expenses is crucial as a consultant, or any type of self-employed worker. Qonto’s business banking account is tailored to anyone running their own business.

As a consultant, you can let Qonto take care of the red tape and focus on building your clientele, creating your website, and marketing your services—to build the best consulting business you want to build.

Setting your rates is all about understanding what your business costs and how much you can charge to keep it growing.

As a consultant, you likely won’t need to purchase too many materials, and may not even need to rent a separate office space. Consultants can usually borrow from their clients, and won’t need more than themselves and a laptop.

This should help define your rates. Other than this, check salary websites in your region to help determine the most appropriate charging rate for you. Consulting rates in Germany tend to average at about €39 per hour.

Networking as a consultant means attending events and making yourself known in your target market. So, as a marketing consultant, once you’ve built your website, established your credentials, and set up your business, you can network with clients in the following ways:

• Attending expos, exhibitions, lectures, etc.
• Following relevant hashtags, accounts, and notable figures
• Attending co-working spaces and talking to business creators
• Leverage your LinkedIn

Relevant for all consultants—not just marketing consultants—your marketing strategy defines how you will establish yourself and continue to grow as a business through marketing efforts. Hubspot uses the ‘Four Ps of marketing’ to help users craft their marketing strategy:

Product: What is your product?

As a consultant, your product is your consultancy service. Name and describe each service you provide to clients as a consultant.

Price: What do you charge?

Clearly lay out the price for your consultancy services. Likely, you will charge hourly for your services as this is common with most consultants.

Place: where are you based?

Where you work will define the kind of clientele you obtain. If you work remotely and acquire clients globally, make sure you have sorted out all the necessary paperwork for this.

Promotion: How will you market yourself?

Identify the marketing channels you are most comfortable with and employ them to market yourself. Diversify your marketing efforts as you become more adept in other areas.