Articles by Larry Chase - Internet Publisher, Speaker, Author and Consultant

Larry Chase - Internet Marketing Consulting

About Larry | Consulting | Speaking | Articles | Press | Newsletter | Book Excerpt | Home

Consultant Packaging

I've heard consultants say, "I'm in the business of selling hours." No company buys "hours". Then what do they buy?

According to Mac Ross (the DM Fox), firms employ consultants for myriad reasons. A few are as follows:

(a) Things are going wrong and the firm wants an outsider to observe and report what's off track.
(b) Things are going right and they want to prepare for jumping to the next level.
(c) Things want to cherry-pick best practices you've garnered from other clients.
(d) They need an outsider to say things that are impolitic for an insider to say.

A successful consultant draws a picture in the client's mind of the value they're getting for their money. This is why I created the Larry Chase Check-up By Phone as well as half-day and full-day consulting packages that clearly spell out the process and deliverables for each.

In a very real way, a consultant needs to picture his or herself as a company with services, products and the like. So the consultant conceives "Self Co." This corporation of the self has an image, a perceived target market, a voice to that marketplace, et al.

Looking at yourself as a self-contained company is a good exercise. You get to ask yourself what your marketing budget is. What plans do you have (if any) for entering international markets? Describe the look and feel of your interface, and by that I don't just mean your web site, but your person, tone of writing, and management style.

Working out the look, feel, and voice of my newly relaunched web site took quite some time. Concepting it took months. Executing it took barely two weeks. I was fortunate to work with WDFM's Co-Editor Mary Gillen.

For every service and idea proposed, ten were rejected. Mary did much more than merely "produce" the site; she helped envision it. May you be as fortunate to work with such a gifted site developer. You can witness her handiwork at such sites as http://LarryChase.com, http://www.wdfm.com, and http://www.ideasiteforbusiness.com. If you wish to get in touch with her directly, you can do so by sending mpgillen@mindspring.com or calling 703-339-7400.