Consulting Tips - The Role of the Consultant

To consult means to "seek advice from," as in seek advice from an accountant or an attorney. Thus, it would seem that clients are also consultants in that they are the ones who are usually seen as seeking advice. An expert is someone who is very skillful; having much training and knowledge in a special field. There might or might not be a connection between our training and our knowledge and skills. From this, it follows that a consultant, if he or she is indeed an expert, must be an effective learner, that is, capable of acquiring knowledge and skill from experience, whether or not that experience involves training.

Expert, experience, experiential, and experiment -- these words all have a common Latin root -- experiri, meaning to try, to test, to prove. A consultant, then, is above all else empirical, that is, willing to try things to see what happens.

A consultant is usually outside the client organization. Consultants learn about their clients from observing them and it is what they learn about their clients that they eventually share with their clients.

A consultant, then, is someone who helps others profit or learn from their own experience. A really good consultant also helps clients see the value of their experience and so their fees are rarely seen as exorbitant.

In order to meet the differing needs of a wide range of companies, consultants offer their expertise in many different areas. Long-term consulting, which is also referred to as relationship consulting, involves a long-term commitment to a company. Over the course of many years, a consultant will continue to monitor a business and discuss possible changes with executives. Consultant training will help you develop some of the necessary relationship skills and advise the client on how this kind of consulting is different from consulting on a short-term project.

Short-term consulting, however, is operated with a specific objective in mind.

Companies hire a consultant (who is often an expert in a specific area) to advise them on a particular topic. One of the most common topics of short-term consulting is technology consulting, for businesses wishing to improve their technology infrastructure. Other companies might hire a consultant as they consider expansion or a merger. Perhaps a business needs advice on workplace issues or on globalization options.



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Tips for Writing a Web Development Proposal

Writing a professional and effective proposal is highly essential for web development service providers for procuring quality projects at regular basis. Those who neglect and underestimate the importance of proposal writing are usually stuck at very low levels in the industry

Mentioned below are some of the most essential elements of a web development proposal along with some tips for each section:

Background: This section is usually the first section of the proposal. You should include a small and impressive background content in this segment along with all the relevant company information such as achievements, qualifications, skills etc. Try to make this segment interesting. Remember, you are trying to sell your web development services so make it look worth buying.

Project Overview: There are no shortcuts to success and same applies here.

To make a proposal effective you will have to analyze the project thoroughly and spend some time over it. Try to understand the product or services offered by the client along with the targeted audience and their behavior. A pictorial representation or a rough site map will go a long way in impressing the client.

Do not forget fine details: Make a section for “Special Considerations” where you can mention and display all the fine details that you have assessed and related services you wish to offer to the client. This section could include information regarding security, market trend for industry, language issues etc.

Site Map: To maximize your chances of getting the project you should add a site map or flow chart to demonstrate various pages of the website.

Show the navigational features in highlighted mode to provide a clear idea of the navigational structure. The more effort you put in this segment, the better chances you have of getting the project. You can also include a small description for each page to provide a much explanatory view.

Development Timeline: This section will explain the development process of each page. It will also include the approximate time duration for completion of the project. Various milestones should be mentioned according to which the payments will be made by the client.

The cost of the project: The cost of the project should be quoted in this segment along with a complete detailed distribution of the cost. Mention all the third party services and cost incurred over them in this section. These services usually include hosting, domain name registration and outsourcing services fr various sections of the project that cannot be developed by you. Try to quote reasonably according to the current market trends as over quoting the project may make you lose it.

Terms and Conditions: It has been noticed that web development services are usually delayed due to the negligence on part of the client. Improper feedbacks and long gaps in communication are the main reasons for delay in projects and rise in the development cost. Make sure that you convey your expectations and requirements from the client in simple and straight forward words. Also mention your liability in case they fail to do so.

These steps will help you in creating an impressive web development proposal that will increase your chances of procuring desired projects. Hope this article helps you in acquiring new business opportunities.

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