By A LAN W EISS Content provided by Kennedy Information I often hear that there are too many consultants, and that the profession is more competitive than ever. Burger King builds its restaurants across the street from McDonald's because Burger King knows that people are showing up there to buy hamburgers.
Healthy competition expands markets and is a wonderful dynamic to behold.
If you want to stand out in competitive markets, follow the precepts of Emily Woods, CEO of J.Crew, the successful clothing operation. Ms. Woods was interviewed in The Wall Street Journal in November 1999, and here is an elaboration of some of her thoughts that pertain to consultants. The initial, bold-faced sentence is hers, and the remainder is my description, as I believe the point relates to what we do in our profession. Solve problems better and faster . I went to value pricing as my strategy when I began my practice to show clients that I can help them without having a meter running, with a fixed investment cap and with the confidence that their people could ask for my help without having to request budgetary approval.