Chapter
List of figure and tables
1
What is information consulting?
An information professional: to be or not to be1
The possible roles: the demands on which information consultants reflect
Consulting encompasses a wide range of roles and activities
2
Advantages: why information consulting might appeal to you
Sense of control over one’s time
Sense of reward from helping clients
Satisfaction from leveraging one’s experience
Freedom from corporate politics
Freedom to ‘pick and choose’
No ceilings on your earnings
3
Challenges: realities to consider
Need for flexibility and being available
Finances: are the necessary resources in place?
Can you tolerate a slow ramp-up? Should you work part time or subcontract?
The degree is only the beginning
Are you a consulting personality?
Qualities that may trip you up
4
The starting point: make a business plan
General company description
Products and services, their features and benefits
The outlook for the targeted business sector
Identifying costs, funding and fees
Intellectual property and copyright
Code of Professional Conduct for the Information Consultant
6
Building trust and marketing your services
Understanding makes reputation and detects niches
Your ‘business attire’: creating and maintaining image
Word-of-mouth: happy clients do marketing for you
Electronic promotional brochure
7
Client relations: the key to success
The request for proposal (RFP): to bid or not to bid?
Yes, I can help (informal inquiry)
Preliminary discussions: what, exactly, are you selling this time?
Helping the client’s decision
Signature in hand: now the work begins
The art of the client relationship
Delivering the deliverables: report, presentation, discussion
Wrap up … and setting up for the future
8
Advice from other information consultants
‘Just one more clarification’: agreeing to deliverables vs delivering in advance
Keeping your integrity: what to do if you’re told what to do
Maintaining poise and neutrality while getting people to open up
Encountering concerns outside the official project scope
The unforeseen circumstances
Who said that? Protecting the trust client staff place in you
Losing objectivity or being seen as taking sides
Do you take the money and run when what the client requests disagrees with what you believe is needed?
Working with clients in the same industry
Coping with the disappointment of burning the midnight oil … only to see the report collecting dust
You’re good, and don’t you forget it
9
Take a leap from being a librarian to becoming an information consultant
Assessing the demands for the information professional
Culture makes the difference
Expert practitioner ‘falls into’ consultancy
Ways of repositioning the librarian profession and schools
10
The clients speak: from a client’s perspective
The motivation to use an information consultant
How to find the right consultant
The ‘top five’ list of consultants’ qualities
Clients’ advice for future consultants
Case study 1: change management through the development of a new thesaurus
Case study 2: information professional projects on current awareness bases
Case study 3: client acquisition with more effective order registering
Case study 4: managing information and customer care centre
Case study 5: reorganising information management using process management approach
Case study 6: a holistic and organised approach to appropriate information consumption and sharing among knowledge workers
Case study 7: intelligence system at the Corruption Prevention and Strategic Information Secretariat to improve prevention and prosecution of corruption
List of figure and tables
1
What is information consulting?
2
Advantages: why information consulting might appeal to you
3
Challenges: realities to consider
4
The starting point: make a business plan
6
Building trust and marketing your services
7
Client relations: the key to success
8
Advice from other information consultants
9
Take a leap from being a librarian to becoming an information consultant
10
The clients speak: from a client’s perspective
Information Consulting
：Guide to Good Practice
( Chandos Information Professional Series )
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