Think Like Consultant
How do I think like a consultant?
The moment you step out of the regular job circle and step into the world of consultancy, you will get the reins of your life in your own hands where you are not accountable to anyone.
Sounds fun and exciting?
According to data revealed by Statista, the global consultancy market is worth 132 billion US dollars.
While the opportunities in this field are indeed endless, it is also true that managing accountability for yourselves is way more difficult than you might expect.
You will face many ups and downs while dealing with day-to-day business operations. In such situations, you will need to make well-informed decisions in the best interest of your business.
A consultancy business requires you to not only manage and restructure your daily routine and money management habits but also need to develop a keener awareness and willingness to change and develop the deepest of your thinking skills.
That is really what thinking like a consultant means developing and internalizing thought processes that will benefit us in the consultancy world.
Top 10 ways to change how you think and shoot up your growth as a consultant
In the consultancy business, you will automatically find yourself dealing with problems and struggling with skill sets that you previously neither developed nor thought necessary. That is the real beauty of switching from a salary job to starting a business.
The world demands a lot more from you all of a sudden. But by understanding these; 10 core concepts of how thinking impacts your brain, you can find yourself a step ahead in the transition game.
- Valuing time, effort, and money
As a business owner, you should value your time and money; much more than you did before.
You are in charge of the monetary decisions you take and what you invest your time and energy in.
According to data revealed by Zippia, 82% of businesses that don't have a time management system ultimately result in decreased efficiency.
Often you might find cutting down on things you enjoyed and refreshed you after a long hard day only so that you can do better for your firm.
According to data, 82% of businesses fail due to cash flow issues.
Cutting down luxuries and overhead expenses, scheduling your routine business activities, and managing time are some must-have habits that always pay off in the long run.
- Doing more than just helping:
Building a successful name as a consultant in your field requires you to maintain and sustain long-term organic relationships; that go way beyond just helping each other.
When it comes to your customers and clients, without just helping, you must try to relate to them and be empathic to the cause. According to data by Datimize, about 81% of companies with strong client relations records outperform the competition.
- Finding the right fit :
Starting your firm means having to make a million hard decisions each day. A good one-liner to remember in this aspect (and not make any more regretful choices) is that every one of your decisions must be the right fit for the problem.
When choosing an employee, you must look for one who fits correctly to your vision. According to data revealed by Betterplace, about 84% of companies in India were highly affected by their bad hiring choices.
While coming up with a new product, you must rest assured that it solves exactly what needs to be solved. Precision during decision-making is a hidden part of mighty success.
- Developing clarity about the long-term future from the first day :
Starting a business is a lot about setting goals and planning both in the short and long term. You must understand your end goals in the long run, such as in weeks, months, or years from the initial stage, and make allowances for dynamic changes which are bound to occur.
Similarly, try to understand the market trends and the future of your profession and how you can sustain the longevity of your career in the present and future adversities.
- Being a visualizer:
Being a Visualizer means seeing clearly in your mind's eye how something will appear when it gets turned from its state of being an idea into reality.
Visualizing the success of your product or service most realistically helps you create a buffer system around its unfortunate failure, in case it needs one.
It is also good for your mental health as it provides motivation and attention.
- Thinking like your customer :
Understanding how your customer thinks in any situation is an ideal way to connect with them. It is also a great way to find solutions and assist them during the first consultancy.
Data revealed by Salesforce research found that 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience.
The first consultation with each client is your primary impression.
So, you can never go wrong with preparing yourself to mentally understand their point of view no matter what situation you face.
- Understanding thought fallacies :
Psychological fallacies often interfere with our decision-making and how we end up interacting with and helping other people.
Some common fallacies that all humans generally overlook include confirmation bias, the former effect, the control fallacy, the bandwagon fallacy, the generalization fallacy, etc.
Understanding these errors also means understanding human nature, which helps in interaction and marketing.
- Root cause analyzer :
As an entrepreneur, you must constantly be enthusiastic about looking at the root cause of all problems. It innovatively means knowing all that there is to know.
It helps in developing the correct mindset and coming up with better solutions. About 57% of successful consultants look at the root cause to ask the right question and find great solutions.
You can and should also extend this habit to looking at the root causes of success. You can often see patterns in other people's success and incorporate them into your life to achieve what they achieve.
- A deep dive attitude :
It is not a surface-level job. Dive deep into every stage of your journey to achieve the success that you dream of.
You must channel your inherent passion and an undying hunger for work and result in giving more than your level best.
About 72% of successful consultants have deep-dive attitudes.
This attitude develops throughout a lifetime. It makes you more aware and observant of yourself and others in your surroundings.
It also helps in appreciating life and falling in love with your work.
- Placing more importance on facts and figures while actively combatting face and word value:
Entrepreneurship means thinking more and thinking better than the average person would. To do so, you must guard yourself against false information.
In today's digital world, anybody and everybody can publish information; that is far from reality.
It is essential to develop a personal guide on how to verify the information we come across.
About 82% of successful entrepreneurs analyze data and information to make well-informed decisions. Keep your mind, firm, and clients away from such hogwash information trends.
Conclusion
The world of entrepreneurship is indeed very hard. As a successful consultant, it is imperative that you keep educating yourself in all fields - as much about your professional knowledge as about the work of running a business in general.
Keep learning and keep working!
