Why coincidence, timing and luck isn’t enough as a consultant

Some of us tend to believe it’s all a matter of coincidence, timing and luck. Then there’s the group of us that know that the right preparation makes all the difference.

In sales, coincidence, timing and luck will only take you so far. If you are selling consultany services chances are you will be out of business sooner rather than later if you don’t have your product well packaged. All in line with the demands of whoever will be paying for your skills, knowledge and experience.  

Despite times of high market demand competition has never been more fierce. The number of consultants is rising and the growing gig economy drives the offer of independant specialists.

Digitalisation has in many cases decreased the distance between customers and suppliers, despite geographical distance. As if this wasn’t enough competition it’s topped off with suppliers of contingency workforce management giving rise to even higher requirements when it comes to product packaging.

Just as we are delighted when buying consumer goods in a neatly designed, eco-friendly, and other ”whatever makes you tick attributes” the experience can actually be compared to how skills, services, experience and personality of a unique consultant are presented in a B2B context. As you all have figured out by now, that packaging starts with the consultant resume.

It takes a lot for a consultant to stand out today in times of constant change, constant learning requirements and high competition. While many consultants manage this and make it a point to always be ahead or in the lead, it’s fair to say that not everyone puts the same amount of energy and focus into creating a winning consultant resume. There could be many reasons for this, for example high work load, relentless customer focus, delivering and being able to bill another hour and more…

If, however, you want to stand out from the crowd and make sure you pass the screening towards your next dream assignment as a consultant then you had better know how to create a winning consultant resume.

As if this was not enough the window to respond to an opportunity is generally very brief. Many deadlines today are in the 24-48 hour time frame. Responding immediately vastly increases your chances of getting hired as brokers of consultancy services and hiring companies all are keen on moving forward quickly.

To summarize you have to be quick at responding while at the same time offering something better, equal or at least very close to what is being requested by the potential employer. This something should be neatly packaged, easy to read, always highlighting the key characteristics, skills and experience relevant to that particular role.

By now it should be pretty clear that creating your winning consultant resume is far more important to long term success than just coincidence, timing, and luck. In fact, when it comes to sales of consultancy services it’s key, as the consultant or team of consultants offered is your product. To learn everything you need to know to succeed in this area, download our guide How to Create Winning Consultant Resumes and share it with anyone you think will make good use of it.