INVEST IN YOURSELF

The decision to offer consulting as a means of leveraging the company's experience and expertise "has definitely been worth it. It has helped build this business. It brings in small jobs, but sometimes the small jobs lead to much bigger ones."

Plenty of business owners like have found consulting to be a way to fortify an existing venture without overextending it. For an existing entity, consulting "is easy to get into, with minimal investment.

Adding consulting services can not only help a business capture clients it otherwise couldn't, but it also can accelerate the maturation of a company and its existing client relationships. 

Is your business primed to add consulting as a deliverable? Consider the following before making a determination:

• Are the knowledge, expertise and best practices accumulated by your company marketable and valuable to others?
• Are clients asking you for a level of support beyond what you currently offer?
• Does your company have the resources and capacity to allocate to consulting?

The signs suggest your company is ready to get into the consulting game. But there's more to making the leap than simply announcing to the world that you're now a consultant, "'If you build it, they will come' is a pretty dangerous model."

Here are some tips for doing it right from business owners who have gone that route:

Be methodical. Once she resolved to add consulting services, Panzitta took six months to research the competitive landscape and plan her roll-out. Meanwhile, a start-small approach benefited Market Force Information. "We started with one person [consulting]," says McGarr. "We didn't know if consulting would be the answer for us."

Put the right people in place. Once you've spotted a consulting niche, you want to mobilize to fill it before a competitor does. Now is no time to mess with long learning curves. So from the get-go, deploy consultants who know the market(s) they'll be consulting in. "To me, the key is the people you put in place," says McGarr. "They should have the domain expertise to talk [the client's] talk and know their business."

According to Delia, "front-line or hands-on experience in the area in which he or she is consulting is key to delivering meaningful and actionable advice to the client." Adds Arriola, "It helps if you have two or three people [on staff] who you're comfortable placing with a client for months at a time--whatever it takes to handle the assignment."

Be patient. Consulting services may not produce huge results overnight. "We were a trusted data vendor," says McGarr, "but we weren't a trusted consultant. It takes time to build credibility."

Document diligently. You're charging consulting clients a pretty penny for access to your blueprint for success. That blueprint better be detailed, adaptable and actionable, says Arriola.

Leverage relationships. To uncover consulting prospects, "you need to be comfortable asking clients to stick their necks out for you and make some introductions," says McGarr. Early on, consider charging clients below-market rates in exchange for referrals or proof points.

Exploit online channels. Social networking, blogging, squeeze page and ad words are valuable, low-cost vehicles for spreading the word about your consulting service, says Dr. Michael Anderson of startaconsultancy.com.

Watch for openings. Train yourself and your sales force to listen to clients and prospects to spot opportunities to bring up your consulting services when a situation warrants.

Follow up. Don't leave implementation of your recommendations to a client to chance. A positive outcome is critical, especially for a fledgling consultancy in need of glowing references, so stay in touch with clients, says Arriola, "to be sure they are continuing to execute the plan you put in place.

Don't underestimate the importance of oversight. Set clear goals for consultants and regularly monitor their progress toward meeting them, says Panzitta. It's a way to gauge whether consulting work is delivering as promised--for your clients and internally, for your company.

Don't lose sight of the stakes. The performance of a company's consulting services will reflect--positively or negatively--on other facets of the business. Are you prepared to put your company's good reputation on the line by venturing into the consulting arena to grow? "That," says McGarr, "is the innovator's dilemma."