Consulting Fundamentals (CO10)
Consulting Fundamentals (CO10) Course Details:
As the business environment becomes more complex and the pace of technology-led change continues to accelerate, the level of knowledge that technical professionals need to have to successfully plan and implement IT related projects continues to increase. Many organizations are moving from providing commodity products, to providing professional services and complete solutions. This is equally true in the public sector, in which services are offered to the public, to businesses, and to other government departments. It is also true for internal service organizations—organizations that offer services to others within the same company or government body.
To remain competitive and ensure they are successful implementing IT-led projects internally and fully addressing the business needs of their clients, organizations need technical people who are able to consult with their clients. Professionals whose roles include significant client involvement coupled with technical work need to evolve to a more consultative relationship with their clients.
This is an interactive workshop that helps both internal and external consultants build the skills and knowledge to increase their credibility and competency as a technical consultant.
Call (919) 283-1674 to get a class scheduled online or in your area!
Prework: Preparation Phase
- Identifying a Client Opportunity
- Consulting Behaviours Benchmark Assessment
- Your Personal Learning Goals
Introduction
- Introduction to workshop
- Personal learning objectives
- The Consulting Life Cycle
- The definition and value of technical consulting
- The Consulting Competency Model
Engage the Client
- Establishing an initial relationship
- Making a preliminary assessment of needs
- The Strategic Questioning Process
- Active listening
- Recognizing and dealing with client resistance
- Confirming the scope of the engagement
Gather and Analyze Information
- Collecting and organizing data
- Establishing a clear definition of desired outcomes
- Identifying success criteria
- Analyzing the data
- Selecting the best solution option
- Developing and testing an initial recommendation
Present Findings and Recommendations
- Planning your recommendation message
- Structuring your communication to achieve your objectives
- Delivering a compelling presentation
- Recognizing and handling client concerns or objections
Plan and Implement Recommendations
- Identifying and mitigating implementation risks
- Transitioning responsibilities to project teams
- Ensuring client satisfaction during implementation
Evaluate Results and Evolve Engagement
- Ending a specific consulting engagement
- Evaluating the engagement and identifying lessons learned
- Celebrating successes
- Evolving the relationship
Connection
- Your personal action plan
*Please Note: Course Outline is subject to change without notice. Exact course outline will be provided at time of registration.
- Use the five-step consulting engagement life cycle and associated key actions to successfully consult with your clients
- Value technical consulting brings to the client, to the consulting company and to the consultant
- Assess your behaviours against the competencies required for technical consulting and identify how to leverage your strengths and close any gaps
- Increase your technical credibility and value by adding consulting skills to your current skill set
Self-study on the Consulting Skills Portal prior to class.
- Anyone in an internal or external consulting role
- Project managers
- Business analysts
- IT professionals
- Engineers
- Other technical professionals who would like to improve the outcomes of their consulting engagements by:
- Deepening their skills and competencies across the entire consulting life cycle
- Using a set of proven tools to achieve better results in current and future engagements
- Using communication techniques to better understand client needs and preferences
- Aligning decision makers to gain buy-in and commitment
- Preparing project teams to ensure successful solution implementation