Comments on: Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?

By: Fred H Schlegel

Fred H Schlegel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:16:12 +0000

Hi Brad, I took your suggestion and got to writing. Ended up posting it at my home. Thanks for the fertile idea. Fred Fred H Schlegels last blog post..Should You Brand By What Prospects Look For… Or By What You Want To Stand For?

By: Should You Brand By What They Look For Or By What You Want To Stand For? – Frog Blog

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:56:00 +0000

[...] Brad Shore, president – Word Sell, got me asking these questions through a lively conversation at his blog asking, “Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?” [...]

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:17:08 +0000

Hi Cath, If your main business is selling a product, people will probably not think of you as a coach or consultant. I'm curious about your reaction to Terry's comment to embrace your "label". Brad Shorrs last blog post..Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?

By: Cath Lawson

Cath Lawson — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:12:13 +0000

Hi Brad – I’ve avoided it by not becoming a consultant I did think about it but I’m working on developing a product & I think I’d struggle to do both.

I don’t like the word consultant, or coach. so if I was offering this type of service I think I’d need to find some different SEO keyphrases.

Cath Lawsons last blog post..Do You Give A Toss If You Offend People?

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:57:05 +0000

Terry, So true - you make some incredibly important points. I remember having a real battle some time ago, when there was a movement afoot at my company to change the titles of sales people to something like Sales Consultant or Account Manager or some such thing. The change in words never made any difference in performance. perhaps we should have left the titles alone and put Emerson's quote on the back of everyone's business cards. From a search standpoint, whether people want a Professional Friend or a Business Journey Guide, they search for a consultant. Maybe Emerson's way is the best strategy ... it's certainly the simplest SEO strategy. Brad Shorrs last blog post..Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?

By: Ask the leadership coach » Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?

Ask the leadership coach » Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants? — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:51:23 +0000

[...] Miriam Salpeter posted a noteworthy aricle today onHere’s a small snippetBy Brad Shorr • March 25, 2009. wondering-man Trigger Words – When Branding and SEO Collide. Many consultants I work with dislike referring to themselves as consultants. They think the word consultant has a bad connotation and … [...]

By: Terry Heath

Terry Heath — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:35:48 +0000

Brad, I've worked with many salesmen. They often don't want to be associated with the connotations "salesman" can conjure up. So guess what word they choose to rebrand themselves with? Consultant. And consultants want to be coaches. And coaches want to be professional friends. And we all want to be something other than [insert horrible label here] and would much rather be thought of as [insert warm and fuzzy label here]. We call marketing "bigification" and we call self improvement "destuckification" and everyone is totally confused about who does what. Maybe that's because we're more worried about selling ourselves by using labels that we are about focusing on how those who already know and love what we do, and how they could tell someone else about it. Maybe we're asking some label to define us to the world because we are afraid of being who we really are and allowing that authenticity to come across. Maybe we're just afraid and we think words are the solution. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary." Let's use the words that people will understand, and concentrate on how we do our business. Terry Heaths last blog post..Synergy and Three Little Maids From School

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:02:32 +0000

Hi Fred, Wow, you have an incredibly insightful perspective on this issue. Thank you for sharing your comments here and enriching this particular conversation. It's funny - as I was reading your comment, I thought, Fred should write a follow up to this post on his blog. Or, you're welcome to write a guest post here at Word Sell. I love your point about partnership - a cure that is worse than the disease! The whole concept of "partnership" can blow up in your face so easily. Great observation! Brad Shorrs last blog post..Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?

By: Fred H Schlegel

Fred H Schlegel — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:08:42 +0000

Hi Brad, Your question raises the issue – When some have poisoned a term due to poor execution, should you run from it or use those negative experiences as points of competitive advantage. Lawyers, dentists, car salesfolks all face the same quandary – But the truth is, when you need a dentist, you want a dentist…. preferably a nice pain free one.

In my mind the term consultant has a different meaning from agency, supplier, freelancer and employee. It accurately describes the kind of working relationship you are looking to have with a customer – a relationship which may include discussing difficult issues and disagreement as well as the fact that you are bringing a specific set of practiced skills to the party that would be difficult to hire any other way. It is up to us as individuals (and groups) to both protect our clients from poor practice as well as separate ourselves from that poor practice.

Brad, in addition to your points about becoming invisible SEO-wise, alternative terminology can actually focus attention on all the negative attributes you are trying to avoid. (For a while every agency and consultant I spoke to was going to be my ‘partner.’ All that term brought to mind was two things – I was billed in 6 minute increments for this partnership and their full risk was the 30 day payment cycle….. not quite a ‘through thick and thin partnership’ in my mind.

There are ways to not be a consultant. But if you are one – don’t hide, compete.

Sorry, I think this turned more into a post than a comment. Must be some deep fear of consultants I didn’t know about.

Fred H Schlegels last blog post..Fear, Banking and Bring On The Wolves

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:34:46 +0000

Hi Jim, Thank you for stopping by and sharing your experience. You anticipated my question to Jackie about "coaching" just as I was typing it. It's easy for me to sympathize with your plight, having been a salesman for a good part of my career. Nothing sends someone running the other way like hearing, "There's a salesman on the phone." Unfortunately, the "bad actors" in the sales professional stigmatize the entire profession. I get the feeling something similar has happened in the coaching and consulting field. It is a huge challenge for message strategy and content development, for sure. Brad Shorrs last blog post..Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?