The learning and talent development consulting field has been growing and evolving over the last 15-plus years. With more professionals deciding to become consultants, there are underlying issues that arise and interfere with the day-to-day life of the consultant. Issues can include: finding opportunities to consult, knowing how to price one’s services, invoicing and getting paid, managing client expectations, negotiating changes to the work while it’s in progress, and protecting one’s own intellectual property when licensing it to clients.

In this session, you will learn how to address these key issues through examples of these situations, ideas, and processes. This session will encourage discussion and sharing of ideas from your peers. You will gain perspectives from both the consultant view and the view of those who hire consultants. This session will help you understand the myriad considerations involved in consulting and provide you with tools for thinking through and planning your approach to building a consulting practice.

In this session, you will learn:

• Strategies for finding potential clients and partners
• Developing relationships while marketing
• Methods for determining how to price your services
• What legal documents you may need to define your working relationships
• What it’s like, day-to-day, to work as a consultant
• Financial considerations of consulting

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, directors, and executives.

Technology discussed in this session:
LinkedIn, customer relationship management systems