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Million Dollar Consulting, Sixth Edition: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice
1 pages, Audio CD
Published April 4, 2023
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5 people want to read
About the author
Alan Weiss
129 books123 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Alan Weiss is an American entrepreneur, author, and public speaker
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Alan Weiss is an American entrepreneur, author, and public speaker
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January 8, 2026
Expertise - Supreme knowledge in a given field
Content Expert
Specialize or Die vs Generalize and Thrive
Process Expertise vs Content Expertise
Job - Laying bricks
Career - Building a career
Calling - Bringing people closer to God
Consulting
Moving upstream
Moving toward the real objective, the strategic need, not the tactical implementation
Value Distance
The distance between what buyers claim they want and what one determine they really need
Wants - Prevailing Winds
Needs - Intelligent destinations
The Process/Content Chasm
Content
Subject matter at issue
Localized and specific
Specialize or die
Process
The way in which things are done and goals are accomplished
Consistent
They cross industrial, cultural and content boundaries
Processes: Decision-making, planning, strategy formulation, conflict resolution, problem solving, Innovation, negotiating, succession planning
The Thought Leader Continuum
Consultant
Highly knowledgeable in a given field of content
Expert
Viewed among the leaders in such field evidenced by publications, speeches and citations
THE expert
Viewed as preeminent even among experts -multiple books, high-speaking assignments and citations
The thought leader
Expert who dominates the field - originates new approaches and introduces new IP on a regular basis
The Icon
Thought leader who has reached near-legendary status, known globally, can attract people to come to him or her for very large fees, “wrote the book”
Expected
Predictions
Publishing
Peer referral - Peer Influence
Focus on marketing fundamentals:
Publish in sources that your buyers read
Speak at events they attend
Network in places they hang out (charity fundraisers, art group, community events
Gatekeepers
People who can say no but can’t say yes
Never spend any more than a minimum of time with them
Website
Not a sales tool but a credibility statement - often completely unnecessary
Strong marketing will generate solicited referrals.
Strong results in your projects will generate unsolicited referrals.
Your entire marketing plan is about what your value proposition is ( how you improve the client’s condition), who your ideal buyers are (who is best suited to your value and can pay for it), and how to reach them and allow them to reach you
What Brands are really about
A brand is a uniform representation of quality.
Quality is in the eye of the beholder.
Informal definition: How people think about you when you’re not around
The ultimate brand is your name
The Brand Pyramid
Brand Creation: Establishing the brand, Positioning, Analyzing impact
Brand Building: Books, products, speeches, word of mouth, Integrated, reinforcing promotion
Brand Equity: Your name, High value, Inherent equity, Leveraging
Conversion
The act of transforming a prospect into a client
Unified Field Theory of Marketing
Your Value Proposition: This is the manner in which you improve the client’s condition
Your ideal client - This is the buyer who has significant need for your value and who has the ability to pay for it, whether a corporate executive (wholesale business) or a consumer (retail business)
Marketing Gravity: This is the attraction you use in multiple media and interaction to attract your ideal buyer.
What do they read? Publish there
What do they attend? Speak there
Where do they hang out? Network there
Whom do they trust? Elevate your brand presence
The Power of the Assertive Expert
The hallmarks of an expert:
A continuing flow of intellectual property addressing contemporary issues
Predictions: They may not always be correct, but they will be good for though
Omnipresence: Experts appear in a wide variety of media and are “in the public square”
Frequency: They write a new book every year or two and have weekly or monthly columns
Citations: Others cite these experts and use their work to validate their own opinions and approaches
Critiques: People love to “take shots” at the experts to try to advance their own standing, their own visibility.
Free value is free value. Provide value that is immediately useful and applicable, not concepts and theories.
You must come across as a peer-level partner and an expert, not a supplicant.
Economic Buyer
An economic buyer is a person who has the ability to write a check (have a check issued) for your value without the approval of anyone else.
Feasibility Person (Most people in HR, Training and Development)
They have no budget of their own
They are usually middlemen and gatekeepers
Logic help people to think but emotions urge them to act.
Creating Crossover
Create evangelists
Encourage clients (buyers and non buyers alike) to spread the word.
Provide opportunity
Invite evangelists to events you host. Ask them to coauthor publications. Cute them in your books.
Use testimonials, references and case studies shamelessly
Video testimonials are extremely impressive.
Real wealth is discretionary time
It’s not what you do that’s important. It’s what your create.
Fees are based on value. Value is a function of meeting the objectives, which are business outcomes, accompanied by metrics that indicate progress.
Collaborative, Referral and Subcontractor Fees
United States: If someone derives more than 80% from one source, they may be considered an employee, and withholding taxes and company benefits would be required.
Three parts of a sale: initial project, expansion business and referral business
What are your objectives?
Use proposals as confirmations, not as explorations or negotiations
Don’t submit a proposal until you have conceptual agreement on objectives, measures of success, and value to the organization. Otherwise, the proposal becomes a negotiating document, and the options you have listed will be the point of departure to negotiate downward.
When asked prematurely about fees, reply, “ I don’t know”
Don’t be cornered. Simply tell the buyer that you can’t quote a fee until you have more information.
Respond to “ scope creep” with I’ll send a new proposal
It is better to do something pro bono than to do it for a low fee
Don’t allow yourself to be pegged as a “Cheap resource”
Never do pro bono work for a profit-making entity
At least every two years, consider jettisoning the bottom 15 percent
At year-end, always emphasize early payment
Start wit payment terms maximally beneficial to you every time
Offer incentives for one-time full payments (5-10%)
Read the fine prints, then push back
Never accept payment subject to conditions to be met on completion
Focus on improvement(innovation), not on problem solving
Always be prepared to walk away from business
“If you have to ask how much it is, you can’t afford the purchase”
Proposal writing
A proposal is a summation of conceptual agreement. The sale is made prior to the proposal.
Conceptual Agreement
Occurs with an economic buyer in advance of creating a proposal.
Objectives
Business outcomes to be achieved
Metrics/Measure of success
Indicate progress and completion
Value
The impact of meeting the objectives
You are not your resume. You are the peer across the table.
The Nine components of a proposal
Situational Appraisal
Objectives
Metrics
Value
Timing
Joint Accountabilities
Terms and conditions
Total Days To Cash (TDTC)
Never bill net 30- it usually takes longer
The Concept of Value
My fee is based on my contribution to the project and represent to a dramatic return on investment (ROI) for you and equitable compensation for me.
Hourly Rate
Arbitrary, based on time use
Create value
Promote the value
Create equitable fees for the value
Value Distance
Do you have room for me? Vs What can you do for me?
High Fee + Low Commitment = No sale
Low fee + Low Commitment = Apathy
Low fee + High Commitment = Opportunity wasteland
High fee + High Commitment = Reciprocal Value
Converting to value
Convert business outcome into value
What would that mean in savings, improvements, revenue, profit?
Value is about enhanced results, not frantic activity.
People are not paid take action, they are paid to achieve results.
Value is improved condition, improving performance and raising the bar.
Value can be quantified (Improved sales, higher market share, less attrition)
It can also be qualitative (improved aesthetics,!greater feelings of security, greater comfort)
Standards of value change.1%.
Luxury has a short half-life. Once used or applied a second time, it becomes a need, then an expectation, then barely a blip on one’s comfort radar screen.
Modern perception of failure
Speed
Minimal disruption
Autonomous control
Demonstrate Value: Behaviour, testimonials, case studies and references
Behind every corporate objective is a personal objective.
Reduce turnover
Increase profit
Improve teamwork
Create remote access for clients
Open new markets
The Attack of the Esteem Monsters
Success is undermined by low esteem, which is caused by fear. And fear is entirely removable if we have the courage of our talent
Hypertraits
The only way to coast is downhill, if you are not climbing, you’re not growing
In matters of taste, swim with the tide, in matters of principle, stand like a rock z- Thomas Jefferson
Confidence is the honest to God belief you can help others.
Arrogance is the belief that you have nothing left to learn yourself.
Smugness is arrogance without the talent
Assessment is diagnostic. Remedies are prescriptive
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
Content Expert
Specialize or Die vs Generalize and Thrive
Process Expertise vs Content Expertise
Job - Laying bricks
Career - Building a career
Calling - Bringing people closer to God
Consulting
Moving upstream
Moving toward the real objective, the strategic need, not the tactical implementation
Value Distance
The distance between what buyers claim they want and what one determine they really need
Wants - Prevailing Winds
Needs - Intelligent destinations
The Process/Content Chasm
Content
Subject matter at issue
Localized and specific
Specialize or die
Process
The way in which things are done and goals are accomplished
Consistent
They cross industrial, cultural and content boundaries
Processes: Decision-making, planning, strategy formulation, conflict resolution, problem solving, Innovation, negotiating, succession planning
The Thought Leader Continuum
Consultant
Highly knowledgeable in a given field of content
Expert
Viewed among the leaders in such field evidenced by publications, speeches and citations
THE expert
Viewed as preeminent even among experts -multiple books, high-speaking assignments and citations
The thought leader
Expert who dominates the field - originates new approaches and introduces new IP on a regular basis
The Icon
Thought leader who has reached near-legendary status, known globally, can attract people to come to him or her for very large fees, “wrote the book”
Expected
Predictions
Publishing
Peer referral - Peer Influence
Focus on marketing fundamentals:
Publish in sources that your buyers read
Speak at events they attend
Network in places they hang out (charity fundraisers, art group, community events
Gatekeepers
People who can say no but can’t say yes
Never spend any more than a minimum of time with them
Website
Not a sales tool but a credibility statement - often completely unnecessary
Strong marketing will generate solicited referrals.
Strong results in your projects will generate unsolicited referrals.
Your entire marketing plan is about what your value proposition is ( how you improve the client’s condition), who your ideal buyers are (who is best suited to your value and can pay for it), and how to reach them and allow them to reach you
What Brands are really about
A brand is a uniform representation of quality.
Quality is in the eye of the beholder.
Informal definition: How people think about you when you’re not around
The ultimate brand is your name
The Brand Pyramid
Brand Creation: Establishing the brand, Positioning, Analyzing impact
Brand Building: Books, products, speeches, word of mouth, Integrated, reinforcing promotion
Brand Equity: Your name, High value, Inherent equity, Leveraging
Conversion
The act of transforming a prospect into a client
Unified Field Theory of Marketing
Your Value Proposition: This is the manner in which you improve the client’s condition
Your ideal client - This is the buyer who has significant need for your value and who has the ability to pay for it, whether a corporate executive (wholesale business) or a consumer (retail business)
Marketing Gravity: This is the attraction you use in multiple media and interaction to attract your ideal buyer.
What do they read? Publish there
What do they attend? Speak there
Where do they hang out? Network there
Whom do they trust? Elevate your brand presence
The Power of the Assertive Expert
The hallmarks of an expert:
A continuing flow of intellectual property addressing contemporary issues
Predictions: They may not always be correct, but they will be good for though
Omnipresence: Experts appear in a wide variety of media and are “in the public square”
Frequency: They write a new book every year or two and have weekly or monthly columns
Citations: Others cite these experts and use their work to validate their own opinions and approaches
Critiques: People love to “take shots” at the experts to try to advance their own standing, their own visibility.
Free value is free value. Provide value that is immediately useful and applicable, not concepts and theories.
You must come across as a peer-level partner and an expert, not a supplicant.
Economic Buyer
An economic buyer is a person who has the ability to write a check (have a check issued) for your value without the approval of anyone else.
Feasibility Person (Most people in HR, Training and Development)
They have no budget of their own
They are usually middlemen and gatekeepers
Logic help people to think but emotions urge them to act.
Creating Crossover
Create evangelists
Encourage clients (buyers and non buyers alike) to spread the word.
Provide opportunity
Invite evangelists to events you host. Ask them to coauthor publications. Cute them in your books.
Use testimonials, references and case studies shamelessly
Video testimonials are extremely impressive.
Real wealth is discretionary time
It’s not what you do that’s important. It’s what your create.
Fees are based on value. Value is a function of meeting the objectives, which are business outcomes, accompanied by metrics that indicate progress.
Collaborative, Referral and Subcontractor Fees
United States: If someone derives more than 80% from one source, they may be considered an employee, and withholding taxes and company benefits would be required.
Three parts of a sale: initial project, expansion business and referral business
What are your objectives?
Use proposals as confirmations, not as explorations or negotiations
Don’t submit a proposal until you have conceptual agreement on objectives, measures of success, and value to the organization. Otherwise, the proposal becomes a negotiating document, and the options you have listed will be the point of departure to negotiate downward.
When asked prematurely about fees, reply, “ I don’t know”
Don’t be cornered. Simply tell the buyer that you can’t quote a fee until you have more information.
Respond to “ scope creep” with I’ll send a new proposal
It is better to do something pro bono than to do it for a low fee
Don’t allow yourself to be pegged as a “Cheap resource”
Never do pro bono work for a profit-making entity
At least every two years, consider jettisoning the bottom 15 percent
At year-end, always emphasize early payment
Start wit payment terms maximally beneficial to you every time
Offer incentives for one-time full payments (5-10%)
Read the fine prints, then push back
Never accept payment subject to conditions to be met on completion
Focus on improvement(innovation), not on problem solving
Always be prepared to walk away from business
“If you have to ask how much it is, you can’t afford the purchase”
Proposal writing
A proposal is a summation of conceptual agreement. The sale is made prior to the proposal.
Conceptual Agreement
Occurs with an economic buyer in advance of creating a proposal.
Objectives
Business outcomes to be achieved
Metrics/Measure of success
Indicate progress and completion
Value
The impact of meeting the objectives
You are not your resume. You are the peer across the table.
The Nine components of a proposal
Situational Appraisal
Objectives
Metrics
Value
Timing
Joint Accountabilities
Terms and conditions
Total Days To Cash (TDTC)
Never bill net 30- it usually takes longer
The Concept of Value
My fee is based on my contribution to the project and represent to a dramatic return on investment (ROI) for you and equitable compensation for me.
Hourly Rate
Arbitrary, based on time use
Create value
Promote the value
Create equitable fees for the value
Value Distance
Do you have room for me? Vs What can you do for me?
High Fee + Low Commitment = No sale
Low fee + Low Commitment = Apathy
Low fee + High Commitment = Opportunity wasteland
High fee + High Commitment = Reciprocal Value
Converting to value
Convert business outcome into value
What would that mean in savings, improvements, revenue, profit?
Value is about enhanced results, not frantic activity.
People are not paid take action, they are paid to achieve results.
Value is improved condition, improving performance and raising the bar.
Value can be quantified (Improved sales, higher market share, less attrition)
It can also be qualitative (improved aesthetics,!greater feelings of security, greater comfort)
Standards of value change.1%.
Luxury has a short half-life. Once used or applied a second time, it becomes a need, then an expectation, then barely a blip on one’s comfort radar screen.
Modern perception of failure
Speed
Minimal disruption
Autonomous control
Demonstrate Value: Behaviour, testimonials, case studies and references
Behind every corporate objective is a personal objective.
Reduce turnover
Increase profit
Improve teamwork
Create remote access for clients
Open new markets
The Attack of the Esteem Monsters
Success is undermined by low esteem, which is caused by fear. And fear is entirely removable if we have the courage of our talent
Hypertraits
The only way to coast is downhill, if you are not climbing, you’re not growing
In matters of taste, swim with the tide, in matters of principle, stand like a rock z- Thomas Jefferson
Confidence is the honest to God belief you can help others.
Arrogance is the belief that you have nothing left to learn yourself.
Smugness is arrogance without the talent
Assessment is diagnostic. Remedies are prescriptive
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
June 28, 2025
This book is worth the read if for nothing more than its discussions on pricing and handling written agreements and work contracts. Very useful information. 4 out of 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews