5 Books Every Consultant Should Read

Video Included At The End!

There are plenty of book lists out there for consultants. The goal of this article is to give you all the books you’ll need to take your consulting business to the next level. That’s why I have only listed 5 books instead of some 25 or 100 books that you’d never get through.

The books here will help you understand how to find clients, get clients, create offers, write proposals, and provide value you didn’t realize your clients needed.

So here are the 5 books I think new consultants should read based on my experience.

The Consulting Bible

This was likely one of the first books I read when I started my consulting journey. I was constantly running into questions like:

• How do I write a proposal?

• How do I find more clients?

• How do I increase my prices?

Many of these questions were answered by Alan Weiss’s Consulting Bible. And perhaps it’s the somewhat more pompous style in which he conveys his message that also provided me with the confidence to charge what I am worth (pompous is likely too strong of a word, but I don’t get to use it often).

Here are some of the key takeaways:

1. Establishing Expertise: This is probably one of the reasons I created the SeattleDataGuy and shared so much content. Weiss emphasizes the importance of positioning yourself as an expert in your chosen field. Part of that is giving away your knowledge for free, such as sharing on social media or writing articles.

2. Creating Value Propositions: A crucial element in consulting is defining clear value propositions explaining what you offer and why it’s unique. In fact, I realized that was a theme in many of the books below. If you can’t answer why what you do will be valuable for a client, you need to pause and reflect on that before trying to build anything.

3. Setting Fees Based on Value: This is another common theme you’ll hear about over and over again. In fact, I just put out a video on the TFA community discussing why you shouldn’t work hourly.

4. Marketing Your Services: Effective marketing is essential for attracting and retaining clients. Weiss covers various marketing strategies for consultants, including writing articles, speaking at industry events, and leveraging online platforms to build your brand.

$100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No

Alex Hormozi has done an amazing job as a creator on multiple platforms capturing the moment. Honestly, he’s probably gone beyond capturing a moment at this point. What I think he does well besides having a very catchy title is provide tactical advice. There are plenty of business books providing theoretical advice, but Alex gives you rules such as the Rule Of 100. If you actually implement this advice, you’d be shocked how well things would likely turn out. But he will challenge you.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

1. Understand Your Audience: One of the reasons I have my students and coaching clients focus heavily on their target persona is because if they don’t know who they are selling to they can’t create an offer that they want to sell yes to. This understanding allows you to create offers that are perfectly tailored to meet their needs and desires.

2. Create Irresistible Pricing Strategies: I often using pricing as a method to increase engagement in a project. If you price hourly, guess what, its easy to ignore you because you only get paid when you work. But if you put a larger price tag on the project that must be paid, your client will want to engage with you. And here is the thing, if they genuinely want to do the project, they’ll likely say yes. Now looking back to the book, Alex discusses how pricing should not just be about covering costs and ensuring a profit; it should also play a psychological role in making the offer feel like a "no-brainer.” This might involve pricing strategies that underscore the value customers receive or leveraging payment plans that make the price seem more manageable.

3. Focus on Outcomes: Customers are primarily interested in the outcomes they can achieve through a product or service. Focusing your marketing on these outcomes, rather than features or specifications, makes the offer more attractive.

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World

I like to say that everyone who wants to start a business should go through a short Gary V. phase. He can be pretty loud and perhaps obnoxious to some people with how positive he can be.

But he gives great advice, especially when it comes to understanding the basics of social media. The jabs are content that benefits your audience, engaging and building relationships, while the "right hook" represents the sales pitch and capitalizing on the goodwill you've cultivated.

Here are some of the takeaways from this book:

1. Platform-Specific Content: Content should be tailored to the platform it's being used on. Different social media have different audiences and expectations, so what works on Facebook won't necessarily work on Twitter or Instagram. Now, in practice, this is only partially true. I can often post the same content, perhaps slightly altered across platforms like Linkedin and Twitter. But it is important to consider if a platform is more visual, text-based, etc.

2. Provide Value Before Asking for Business: The jabs (providing free, valuable content) are crucial to build rapport and trust with your audience. Only after delivering consistent value should you throw your right hook (ask for sales). I was listening to another speaker recently talk about it like a bank, and the more good will you build the more you can ask for. I am not sure if there is any actual formula. Nor do I think you should view it so transactionally. You should, of course, treat people, like people.

3. The Right Hook Must Be Clear and Compelling: When you make a sales pitch, it needs to be straightforward and powerful. Confusion or complexity in your message can result in lost opportunities. Also, be clear that you’re selling. Sometimes us technical folk feel bad selling so we don’t. I once got off a call where the prospect was like, well, it doesn’t feel like you’re selling me you as the solution. Ouch.

4. Adapt and React: Social media is always evolving, and what worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. Continuously test new strategies, measure results, and be willing to change tactics. Yes, the Linkedin algorithm will change, SEO will change, but you have to keep trying. Also, good content is good content so if things stopped working it might also be due to the fact that you were relying on gimmicks more than good content.

5. Storytelling is Key: People connect with stories, not just bare facts. Your social media posts should tell a story about your brand that resonates with your audience emotionally. In fact, if I read a post that “triggers” me, and I mean around some technical topic, I sit and wonder why? Then I wonder if there is a good post idea around it because if I got triggered by someone misunderstanding a technical concept, others would to.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results

Take a step away from marketing, sales, and basic business. Let’s talk about how you can operate better. Let’s be real, we’ve all focused on many problems or projects at once. That’s where this book by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan comes in. It focuses on the importance of prioritizing a single task that will make the most significant impact toward achieving your goals. The core concept is to simplify your workload by focusing on the most important task (your "ONE Thing") and ignoring everything else that distracts or detracts from it.

Honestly, this is a mantra I have to tape to my laptop because even after reading this book I have the habit of taking on 3-4 projects all at once.

Here are some key takeaways from the book:

1. The Focusing Question: One of the main points of the book that I enjoyed was how both authors framed their core concept so simply. They posed it as a question "What's the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

2. Multitasking is a Myth: I think many of us know that multitasking for most people, isn’t a good idea. It dilutes your efficiency and effectiveness. The authors advocate for focused work on one task at a time to maximize productivity and quality. I actually think about this like a game I have started playing called Wingspan, where you are only allowed to pick one action per turn. This forces you to think, what is the optimal action vs. how can I get 10 things done.

3. Time Blocking: One of the most practical suggestions in the book is time blocking. This involves setting aside a dedicated time period each day to work on your ONE Thing, free from interruptions. I admire how Alex the Analyst often outlines his day, and I am not sure if he actually keeps to the schedule. But based on his productivity I believe he does(minus probably the occasional life getting in the way moments).

4. Big Picture and Small Focus: The most talented people I have worked with some how managed to do both big and little picture thinking. After reading this book I assume this is how. It's important to keep the big picture in mind — your ultimate goals and vision — but your focus should remain on the small, manageable tasks that will gradually lead you to your large objectives. Truthfully, this is very hard to balance.

5. Results Require Persistence: Rejection is a test to see how bad you want something. This isn’t a quote from the book, but it has a similar vibe(survivorship bias aside). There is some truth to it and I believe that Keller and Papasan had a similar idea. They emphasized that extraordinary results are directly proportional to how focused you can be on your ONE Thing.

Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen

Finally, this last book is meant to help you think about where you want your business to go as well as to help you take advantage of change. In this book, Rita McGrath offers insights into anticipating significant changes in the business environment that could dramatically affect a company's future. McGrath, a renowned expert in strategy and innovation, focuses on identifying early signs of potential inflection points—events or trends that can create significant shifts in how industries function.

Here was the main take away I had from this book:

1. Understanding Inflection Points: Inflection points are subtle changes in the business environment that, if leveraged properly, can lead to significant opportunities or threats. Although not completely an inflection point, one of the recent trends I keep pointing out is the growth of Databricks. It grew it’s revenue by about 50% last year meaning there are a lot more contracts and users. In turn, there will be a lot more work in the future surrounding Databricks. This could be an opportunity for new data consultants and possibly a threat for those who might sell services for other solutions.

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Books, especially well-put-together ones, are an excellent way to gain concise knowledge quickly. They are also a great way to help crystalize ideas and concepts you’ve already been dealing with.

Perhaps instead of wondering how to create a successful offer (because you know that's one of your many problems), you now have a basic guide.

Don’t get me wrong, there will always be nuance. But if you feel stuck, sometimes a book can be a great tool to shift your perspective.

Thanks for reading.

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