People to People Democratised Consulting

What Consultants and Companies Want

Whether you are the consultant or the client, you are likely to want to remove the transaction costs, bureaucracy and barriers that keep you from performing at your best. So it’s time for the top-end consulting industry to shake free from the shackles of antiquated consulting models and move on with the digital-age. We have already seen this happen at the lower-end freelance market, but top-end specialist consulting is about to follow suit.

Consulting Disrupted

As a veteran independent consultant since the 90s, I have helped some of the biggest names on the planet at their offices throughout the world. In that time I have passed on an endless stream of opportunities to friends, colleagues, agencies and consulting firms, and sub-contracted work out to other independent consultants who I trust.

I have watched the worlds’ largest consulting firms engage independent consultants for $1500 per day and bill them to the client for $3000 per day, with other 3rd parties such as contract recruiters also taking their cut.

With affordable digital solutions available, this old-style consulting model has had its day, and will, over the next five years, become an antiquated thing of the past.

Digital Tools Enable New Ways of Working

It is time for client consultancy needs to more frequently fall directly into the hands of independent consultants, bi-passing the need for intermediaries such as larger consulting firms and agencies. And it is time that companies remove the bureaucracy and costs of relying on 3rd parties to find the temporary consulting expertise they need.

Many independent consultants have not been strong on marketing themselves, but simple digital solutions are helping to change that — at least for those that are prepared to accept that the way to win business has changed from what it was “in the good old days”.

The Future of Consulting

Before digital capabilities, intermediaries were key to connecting people, but it is no longer the case. In this era of social, mobile and data, companies, employees and consultants are increasingly in direct communication with one another, giving rise to people-to-people models that will render intermediaries such as traditional consulting firms and agents, superfluous to their needs. And we will one day reminisce with our grandchildren about how such profiteering took place for so long, because experts and companies lacked direct connections with one another.

If you are an independent consultant, or an employee who aspires to enjoy the benefits of being one, sign up to iPro — which will help you equip yourself to win more clients using digital.