Listen and understand before you analyse and consult

As a consultant you are expected to give to offer your expert advice to your customers. In Latin consult means “to discuss” and therefore implies that there must be an exchange of thoughts and ideas at first.

Even when you as a consult are able to guess what the customer would like to receive as advice, you also know from experience that no customer is the same. Therefore a dialog must take place between the customer and consultant. The ability of the consultant to listen and discuss the issue at hand will make the customer feel understood. It will also speed up the time required for analysis and makes it more likely that the customer accepts the offered consult.

The customer always has a choice to make. Therefore provide your proposed solution along with alternatives. When there is no clear choice to be made, accompany each proposed solution with a SWOT analysis.

Even though the consultant is allowed to persuade the customer to opt for a specific choice, remember that the role of the consultant is to offer advice. The decision has to be made by the customer and you need to accept the decision made.

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