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IT Consultation and Essential Skills: Do You Have the Right Tools?
By Joshua Feinberg
In order to be involved in IT consultation, you need to have essential process skills. These tools of the trade are far more important to IT consultation than simply having technical abilities. A consultant needs to have interviewing skills, group skills and negotiation skills. A good consultant also needs to be capable of collecting and interpreting data and also must have mastery of time management.
Can You Interview?
Success in IT consultation requires trustworthy client relationships. Interviewing techniques can help clearly establish client needs. Being adept at asking the right interview questions of clients can also help the clients themselves better identify their own issues.
Team Work
In IT consultation, you have to be able to work well with groups of people. As a consultant, you will be expected to manage disagreements and keep group discussions flowing and focused. Providing a positive and open atmosphere will help ensure success.
Negotiate
The process of negotiation starts before the project itself. An IT consultation firm has to negotiate a contract, a timeline for completing a project and the right fees. You will take your negotiation skills to the project too in order to determine who will be involved and how the tasks will be completed.
Collecting and Interpreting Data
Successful IT consultation firms use different data collection tools and have methods for making observations. Interviewing employees, giving out surveys or even facilitating group discussions will help you get valuable feedback.
Once you collect the data, you need to be able to interpret it and manage both relevant and irrelevant information. You may need to have knowledge of statistics. Interpreting data well will help achieve a positive outcome.
Managing Time
The last important IT consultation skill is time management. You need to be able to complete projects in a timely fashion within the projected budget. Delays will cause your firm to lose money, and you need to be able to prioritize in order to finish tasks as promised.
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About the Author
Joshua Feinberg helps computer consultants get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training at http://www.ComputerConsultantsSecrets.com
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