Singing and Consulting--What's the Connection?

On reflecting about my consulting practice today, I was reminded about my singing voice.  Some people have "absolute pitch" or "perfect pitch" (usually the note of "A").  They know that note without any prompting or cues.  Others, like me, have "relative pitch."  (I can't find the "A" and, when someone else does, I can sing harmony with them around their notes.  I have sung in many choirs and have made a Christmas CD with a small chorus.  I lettered in Chorus (among other things) in High School and have had some practical experience with applying these concepts to singing.

Today I realized that my consulting practice is much like my singing.  My "relative pitch" translates to contextual consulting (rather than content consulting).  I can go into almost any organization and, within that context, can identify what needs to be changed and help the decision-makers develop a strategy for change and train employees to implement the change.

Content consulting would be for me to have a training about a specific topic I am knowledgable about and to provide that training to people.  While I have done that in the past and have several hundred hours of training available in English and Spanish, I do not consider this my best work.

Context consulting is more difficult to market than content consulting.  The actual consulting will change depending on the needs of the client organization.  When people look for consultants, they frequently are looking for content background--in human resources, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, strategy, marketing, sales.

"C-level" executives (Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers) need to function from the contextual level to make sure that all the areas of their organization are functioning smoothly.

Now I need to reflect more on the concept of contextual consulting and how to market it.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Becoming a Trusted Advisor--Independent Consulting for Businesses, Not-for-Profit Organizations, and Schools

Syms, in its advertising, says that "an educated consumer is its best customer."  There is a problem about having educated consumers as customers in the consulting services marketplace.  While there are multiple markets, three serve as practical examples--businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and schools.  When leaders in any of these three markets feel a need for consulting services, they go to trusted providers.  Businesses usually go to consulting firms rather than to individuals.  Not-for-profit organizations look for consulting firms specializing in their kind of organization.  Schools frequently look to universities as their source for trusted advisors.

Regardless of how much education and practical experience consulting professionals may have, there is no "instant" way to become a trusted advisor.  Another challenge is that, once someone becomes a trusted advisor the relationship may be considered more personal than professional--making it more difficult to charge and to collect an hourly fee.

LinkedIn.com encourages members to solicit recommendations from others in the member's network.  Recommendations can help begin to build trust between professionals.  Rather than mastering the "Google Ad Words" promotion, it is challenging to create an electronic footprint that allows for people to discover a new "trusted advisor."  Videos on YouTube may be one source for initial connections.