Here's how you can attract clients by embodying the most important qualities in an executive in Consulting.

Build trusted relationships and execute on promises given. Everything is about trust clients must trust you because you represent your firm. They need to see you as someone they will call when they need solve some problem. Also be sure it’s not only you who talks about you. Hence publishing and speaking at conferences is a powerful tool to increase your visibility and thus demand from people to work with you. Also it’s good monitor errors of competitors and make sure client knows he can call your when they are unhappy with existing supplier. It’s about being their first choice. Consulting thrives on trusted relationships. This concept goes back to ancient times and has roots in us living tribes which requires trust for to survive.

This can start from even the very first interaction. Usually, in the consulting sales cycle, you may often meet someone who is not the senior-most leader, such as a CXO, or the final decision maker. Even then, be extremely customer centric and interested in their situation, exploring details and even providing the outlines of a possible way forward to resolution. If you do meet the CXO and/or decision maker, again, be relationship and service oriented more than opportunity and revenue oriented. They should sense that you understand the situation and care for their success. Throw in a strategy workshop, for example, or a couple of discovery hours. They see the outcome, they know your value, and higher chances you get the assignment.

As an experienced consultant, its advisable to be at the forefront of  any industry. The area of expertise is in converting cutting-edge trends into workable solutions for a variety of customer demands; it goes beyond simple skill sets. Keeping a close eye on best practices and processes, & provide customised insights that produce observable outcomes.

Think like that client - pre-empt the client queries and concerns. Be prepared with support information to address them on the spot. And then top it with 1 or 2 additional points that you thought of but were not asked. Tread this part carefully with humility to ensure that you do not sound boastful. Actually how you convey also depends on your personality.

As a consultant, the big value proposition is the ability to use industry experience and expertise gained over time to solve complex problems that clients either do not have internal expertise in or the bandwidth to deploy. If a client needs a consultant, it is almost always for a strategic, business critical priority, or an operational priority that is not easy for them to solve and needs outside expertise. Something specific like technology or process implementation (post-decision) is usually tactical and more of contract work, though if it is before the decision has been taken, it could involve consulting. So keeping strategic value in focus, especially in business growth and financial terms becomes critical.

Absolutely. Starting from the strategic business priorities is key, 100%. This clearly conveys the business-focused perspective as a consultant, and creates a certain level of connect/confidence. This already implies that the consultant can think of market, customer, competition, revenue and profitability. Along with this, however, the ability to connect strategy to execution throughout the initiative/assignment is also a crucial aspect to convey, because one of the key concerns of leadership is the tendency of initiatives to die a slow, expensive death due to lack of execution rigor.

Communication is critical to success. Strategy rests on communication. As a consultant, expect to be inundated with ideas/thoughts/suggestions/problems from various departments of your client. Sift through them. Prioritize using the 2x2 matrix. Club the similar ones. Identify the biggest issue. Detail it out thoroughly. Develop a solution that attacks its root. Prepare a comprehensive execution plan. Game on.

Communication if the situation allows should go a step deeper. Help your client not only in understanding your perspective. A step further would be to help the client with them communicating it further to their internal stakeholders. You could summarize your content, give a jist ensuring that critical points are not missed/communicated appropriately, provide easy to convey visuals like graphs and diagrams, etc.

Communication is both art and science, with a powerful impact on the target audience if crafted and delivered well, whether it is in-person, online or offline. A crucial element of communication is the infusing of "presence" - whether it is body language and gravitas in a meeting, or gravitas and inspiration in an intranet post or email, or the energy exuded in a town hall or all hands meeting. Of course there are still the other equally important elements such as content, format, colours, fonts, visual appeal, strategic value, clarity, benefit call-outs, engagement, motivation, etc. Comprehensive communication is critical to success.

It was my first board meeting as company head. The chairman, an industry doyen, had built one of the greatest communication groups in the country, sat back silently as I read out the bad news. I didn't hold anything back. Our biggest client was leaving. Our dues were beyond bounds and the employees were restive. I could sense the unease and panic of the other board members in the deadly silence that followed. Then cutting through all the insecurity, we heard the chairman take a customary slow drag from his cigarette and speak softly and firmly as he exhaled, "Rajan, no worry, that's the past. I trust you. Now tell us your plans." I did better. I showed them. His commendation letter that followed 6 months later, is my greatest treasure.

Not only building stronger relationships with clients, emotional intelligence in communication comes through, and provides confidence to the hiring leadership that the consultant will be able to navigate the political and people landscape with greater ease. Especially true in large initiatives that will include transformation or change as part of the consulting assignment, involving large parts of the organization. Emotional intelligence can go a long way in managing the stress of change.

Once, during a high-stakes project for a major financial services client, I leveraged my emotional intelligence to navigate a particularly tough situation. The client was resistant to some of the new digital transformation strategies we proposed, mainly due to concerns about disrupting their current operations. Recognizing their apprehension, I took the time to understand their fears and constraints. Instead of pushing our original plan, I empathized with their situation and suggested a phased approach. This would allow them to gradually adapt without overwhelming their systems. This experience underscored how crucial emotional intelligence is in building trust and facilitating collaboration in consulting.