• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Dancey Growth Group

  • Home
  • About
  • VICE Analysis™
  • Blog
  • Contact

August 21, 2016 by Stephen Dancey 1 Comment

Keeping Your Briefcase Full

Keeping Your Briefcase Full Image

My grandfather recently told me the story of a consulting engagement he had in 1972. My grandmother asked him, “What makes you qualified to be a consultant?” His answer? “I charge a lot and I come from out of town!”

After we finished chuckling, I thought about the mindset of hiring an outside professional to come into an organization. Are price and distance really the determining factors?

Price:

I’ve heard from multiple professionals in the industry who say that charging enough is critical as proof of value. The immediate thought when someone sees a low price is to question the value of the service they are getting. (I learned as much as I increased my rates trifold in the first six months).

In addition, people continually underestimate their own expertise. For many industries, there are no number of certifications and letters after your name that will convince a small or medium sized business owner that you are an authority worth hiring. More often, the social proof of referrals, testimonials, case studies, and fit in an organization will be the deciding aspect.

Distance:

When I think distance, what I really hear is ‘outside of the organization’. I have been on both sides of the coin-inside when an outside professional has come in, and outside as the ‘experienced professional’.

In both cases, communication is the key to success. Institutional buy-in, cooperation, and a true desire to teach or learn are the means to accomplishment in the organization. When all parties understand their roles, how the outside presence will affect them, and can see what the path forward looks like, then they can fruitfully move forward under the baseline expectations.

My grandfather also told me he brought an expensive leather briefcase to his gig. He said it was because successful people carried briefcases, and it was a signal that he was for real. Of course, it was completely empty. My advice though, is that you’d better be careful-any professional will be exposed in the long run if their metaphorical briefcase is empty.

Sorry Pop!

Filed Under: Employee Relations, Mismanagement

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Steven V Dubin says

    October 31, 2016 at 8:31 am

    Business card, please! Well written!

    I thoroughly enjoyed your story. One note, a GOOD consultant not only borrows your watch to tell you what time it is – but suggests what you should do with that time and how to do it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Find us on the Web

Find us on Linkedin

Find us on Twitter

Find us on Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Write and Wrong
  • Keeping Your Briefcase Full
  • Great Expectations
  • Productivity Through a New Lens
  • Grabbing Coffee? How to Jolt Your Small Business

Footer

Dancey Growth Group

A fresh look at your business can be an eye-opening experience. We provide a new perspective that helps fine tune your day to day processes to grow your company. Our detailed approach ensures company-wide alignment with your growth goals. Contact us to find out more.

Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • VICE Analysis™
  • Blog
  • Partners
  • Other Services
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Tags

Biometrics Bosstones Customer Retention Efficiency Market Basket NBA Networking New Year Vacation

Search

Tweets by @stephendancey

Copyright © 2025 · Executive Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in