Course Content
Communication in a Consulting Role
- Recognizing the primary inhibitor to successful communication and influence
- Exploring typical barriers to communication
- Dissecting and overcoming barriers
Consulting and Customer Service as a Five-Step Process
- Exploring the role of internal or external consultant
- Five points to the consulting star
- Developing positive ongoing client relationships and long lasting rapport
- Customer service as 90% relationship and 10% product
Setting Goals and Understanding Implied Consulting Contracts
- Setting mutual goals
- Changing "requirements" and "features" to business issues, e.g.,financial constraints, user needs, skill level and misperceptions
- Recognizing differences in communicating and decision-making styles that can be misperceived as conflicting goals
- Turning negative situations into positive ones through reflecting,interpreting non-verbal communications, and asking leading questions
Problem Solving and Diagnosis
- Dealing with negativity
- Partnering through problem solving
- Making phone calls and voice mail messages seem like in-person interactions
- The research process: A consultants role with a subject matter expert
- The interview process: Questioning to uncover the real needs and bring the client to your side
Presenting Ideas, Recommendations and Solutions that Sell
- Preparing for dealing with resistance
- Ten most common resistance behaviors and how to deal with them
- Preparing for the feedback meeting; gathering allies, designing collaborative dialog
- Presentation openings and closings that grab; presentation formats and styles
- Persuasion techniques for getting others to say "yes"
- A strategy for leading an undecided client toward decision-making
Follow Through
- The difference between follow through and follow up
- Partnering with other internal clients, becoming one voice to external clients
- Mastering the points on the Consulting Star to bring it full circle
Wrap Up
- Q & A
- Action planning and accountability
