Pre-Conference Workshops
Join us for workshops focusing on where improvements in your business practices would help most: Getting clients to buy what you sell? Delivering services with excellence? You'll leave with ideas for jump starting critical areas of your consulting practice.

 The One Page Business Plan for Professional Consultants—
Jim Horan
President and CEO, The One Page Business Plan Company
The “one page business plan” is a simple way to quickly produce a set of strategic plans that can be understood and used throughout an organization. In this three-hour workshop you’ll learn how to create a compelling first draft of your own plan on a single page, use the plan to better manage your client relationships and more.

Download Jim Horan’s Opening Keynote presentation (PDF)

Selling Professional Services—Jim Alexander
Founder, Alexander Consulting
No matter how talented you are, you will never reach your success potential unless you possess strong persuasion skills. In this highly-interactive, three-hour workshop you will learn why “selling the invisible” is such a challenge and how to deal with it…how buyers buy professional services…building trust and creating strong relationships…and much more!

Download Jim Alexander’s presentation (PDF)

Free articles and whitepapers.

Using Web-Based Tools Will Make You More Valuable to Your Clients—Ken Ketch
Partner, GroupMind Solutions
In just three hours you will learn how to extend your marketing, practice management and service delivery… make your consulting models Web-based and replicable… help your client successfully implement decisions that “stick”…improve your ability to handle larger engagements…and build a new capability that can’t be replicated easily by others.

Download Ken Ketch’s presentation (PDF)

Keynote
Break Away from the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Environment—Oren Harari
Author, Consultant, Professor, University of San Francisco
To be competitive, you've got to break from the pack and differentiate yourself, whether you are a consultant or a Fortune 100 company. The key is to stay relevant and cutting edge by continuously offering new compelling value—and that requires that you constantly reinvent yourself. In his keynote presentation, Dr. Harari will tell you how to do just that. With tips ranging from operating with “disciplined lunacy” to “taking innovation underground,” this unique speaker will change the way you look at business.

Download Oren Harari: Opening Keynote presentation (PDF)

Creating Competitive Advantage—Jaynie Smith
Founder, ICS Marketing, and President, Smart Advantage, Inc.
Jaynie Smith has taught middle market companies how to differentiate themselves from their competitors. In this session she presents you with the most valuable marketing edge you can ever have—thinking points that will help you position your organization for sustainable growth.

AMA Webcast with Jayne Smith on Competitive Advantage

It’s About the Client—Bob Brown
Founder, Consulting Intelligence, LLC
Success depends on satisfied clients. But do you know what prospects and clients really want and when they want it? In this session you’ll learn best practices for dealing with prospects and clients… which behaviors are most valued by clients…and how to prevent common problems.

All attendees will receive a FREE whitepaper, The Client Connection: New Rules for Interacting with Prospects and Clients.

Bob’s blog
Consulting Intelligence, LLC
The 2007 Consulting Survey [PDF]
Download Bob Brown’s presentation [PDF]

Breakout Sessions

Breakout 101
Get Clients Now! ™—C.J. Hayden
Principal, Wings Business Coaching, LLC
Find out how to create an endless stream of clients by doing a few simple things each day. Learn what really works to market your professional services, how to diagnose your marketing ailments, discover the missing ingredients that have prevented your marketing from being successful, and set yourself up for success with an instant marketing action plan.

Download C.J. Hayden’s presentation (PDF)

Breakout 102
Mastering Your Mingle-Ability… How to Turn Contacts into Contracts—Jacqueline Whitmore
Founder, The Protocol School of Palm Beach, Florida
Author of Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work
A majority of executives break out into a sweat thinking about meeting and making conversation with new acquaintances. Companies are looking for people who can network effectively and adapt to a variety of social and business situations. Learn the art of schmoozing and gain the self-confidence needed to mingle with anyone at any occasion.

Topics include: How to Make an Entrance • Small Talk Made Easy • Remembering Names • Art of Handshaking • Introducing Yourself and Others • What Areas of the Room to Avoid and Why • What Foods to Avoid and Why • How to Escape the Conversational Rambler • The Dos and Don'ts of Working the Room

Jacqueline’s Etiquette Tips

Breakout 103
Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Practice—R. Stephen Rayfield ESIL
Speaker, Author, Consultant, Speaking with Spirit, Inc.
If you're committed to expanding your client base, this session is for you. Find out how to capitalize on your uniqueness, learn from the competition and find business where others “fail to look.” You'll get tips on how to harness the power of the Internet, relationship marketing, how to become a media magnet and more!

Download R. Stephen Rayfield’s presentation (PDF)

The Intangible (But Very Real) Market Opportunity for Consultants—Mary Adams
Principal, Trek Consulting, Inc.
You know that we live in a knowledge economy, but where can you find knowledge on a balance sheet? How does knowledge become innovation? What are the drivers of success in a knowledge economy? The questions are fundamental to the future of your clients’ businesses, and you are perfectly positioned to help provide the answers.

Download Mary Adams’s presentation (PDF)

Panel Discussion      
Why Should I Hire You? CEOs Talk About the Value of Consulting
This conference is about effective client-consultant relationships. You’ve heard from business experts and consultants. In this engaging session, you’ll hear what clients have to say about how they want consultants to deliver expertise and insights. Bring the questions you want to ask your client but can’t. Participants include:
George Gordon, CEO, Enporion
Mahen Sanghrajka, CEO and President, Big Five Tours & Expeditions
Kelley P. Mossburg, President and Corporate General Manager, Schenck Company

Keynote
The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything— Stephen M.R. Covey
Cofounder and CEO, CoveyLink
Author of The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything
What’s trust got to do with it? The foundation of every successful consultant’s effectiveness is the confidence and trust of his or her clients. Covey brings a practical approach to building that strong foundation by developing and leveraging trust quickly. He’ll demonstrate the impact of trust in organizations and outline the 13 behaviors of trust-inspiring leaders.

AMA Podcast with Stephen M.R. Covey on How to Build, Keep and Repair Trust

Consulting with Multinational Multicultural Companies—Dr. Ann Bohara
Senior Manager, Booz Allen Hamilton
Are you working with clients who do business outside the United States, are located abroad or are new to working in the country? Join Dr. Bohara for a lively session on global diversity issues that addresses how to engage with clients while respecting cultural differences and business norms…and avoiding potential pitfalls.

Breakout Sessions

Breakout 201  
Practice Management Issues Facing Consulting Firms (or How to Help Consulting Firm Leaders Sleep Better At Night)—Jess Scheer
Senior Analyst, Kennedy Information
Are you under/overcharging for your services? Under/overpaying your consultants? Spending too little or too much time on billable activities? It’s never been more important—or more difficult to benchmark your firm’s operational performance. Learn how to do it right in this interactive benchmarking and forecasting session.

Breakout 202
Consulting Across the Generational Mix—Jim Jenkins
Founder and President, Creative Visions Consulting, Inc.
Today’s workforce is made up of four generations, each with its own characteristics, values and unique approach to work. You can’t afford to miss this session—full of practical steps for bridging gaps and positioning your services to appeal to every decision maker across the generational mix.

Download Jim Jenkins’s presentation (PDF)

Breakout 203
Technology Advancements in Consulting: Using Technology to Leverage Your Practice—Ford Saeks
President and CEO, Prime Concepts Group, Inc.
Technology is one of the best tools for ensuring that your consulting practice can operate and grow with enhanced efficiency. Learn in “nontechie” language how to select the right technologies for your business and clients. You’ll walk away with immediate action items for growing your business, keeping your clients happier and making more money.

Ford’s Marketing 101 Articles.

Forecasting the Future of Consulting—Tom Rodenhauser
Founder and President, Consulting Information Services, Inc.
In this thought-provoking session, Mr. Rodenhauser will identify current trends in consulting and predict the impact on the industry over the next decade.

This session provides an interactive forum for the professional consultant to learn how industry bifurcation has dramatically changed the client/consultant relationship.