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What does a Consultant do?

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Talent.com talent.com
Answered March 01 2021
Career Expert at Talent.com
Consulting will vary across niches and industries, but broadly speaking, a Consultant usually falls within one of four categories. 

  • Strategic Advice
Advising Consultants are there to problem solve. They are looking to provide their clients with specific solutions tailor-made to help them achieve their goals. The Consultant should have enough experience and knowledge of this business problem to confidently offer a concrete plan or proposal to meet their needs. For example, if a business is looking to improve its social media marketing, it can hire a specialized Consultant to build a one-year social media strategy.  

  • Done-for-you Service
A done-for-you service is outsourcing work to someone with more in-depth knowledge and experience in the field. Using the same example of social media marketing, if a business does not have the staff or capital resources to implement a social media strategy, they can hire a Consultant to execute it. If you start a consulting business and offer a done-for-you service, you may do the work yourself. If you are more established, you can hire staff to help you or refer your clients to trusted third parties for a fee.  

  • One-time Training
In this scenario, companies hire a Consultant for one-off training or learning. They may help a company decide which CRM to use, or maybe a new law or regulation has been passed which businesses need help implementing to be compliant. If you are looking into launching a consulting company, you can build a training course that addresses your customers’ needs and then deliver that course either in person or online. Following the above example, if you are an expert in social media marketing, you can design a class to give small businesses the tools they need to succeed in social media marketing. 

  • Ongoing Coaching
In this case, the Consultant checks in periodically with the client and offers feedback and coaching to help them succeed. In the same example, you could offer a client a one-year social media marketing plan and periodically check-in, be available to answer questions, offer feedback/suggestions, and generally be present for your client.  

Average Day of a Consultant

Since Consultants work in so many different niches, there is no single average way to spend the day. However, many Consultants split their day between generating new leads, meeting new potential clients, and working for their existing clients.  This work may involve phone calls, meetings, emails, and so on.

Since many Consultants rely on data to make their recommendations to clients, they need to ensure that their data-capture systems are operating correctly and that the client is interpreting the data correctly. For example, a baby sleep Consultant may ask a parent to use a sleep-tracking app on their phone for a week, then look over the data with them and explain where improvement is needed. 

One of the perks of being self-employed is setting your schedule and having the flexibility to work in time to go to the gym or spend time with your family. Many Consultants also make mentorship a big part of their days and mentor up-and-coming Consultants or work with their mentor to determine what they can accomplish.
Easteregg!