Test your consulting skills

Set out below are some consultant situations and you are invited to think about them. As with most things in consultancy, there is no right answer! If you want our thoughts on the situations, then click to get them. But give them some thought before doing so - and, of course, your conclusions may be different from ours.

1. A new prospective client calls you up. "We need someone to work with us on a critical project. It needs to be done yesterday! So could you start tomorrow?"
   It falls in your area of expertise. So why should you hesitate - or should you hesitate at all?
   Click here for Elevation Learning comment
2. You are meeting a client for the first time. During your conversation you realise that you don't have previous experience of doing this type of work in the client's business sector - although you have done similar work elsewhere. The client then asks, "Have you done this type of work in our sector before?"
   How should you respond?
   Click here for Elevation Learning comment
3. The client says, "It's a good idea to have someone responsible for the project from our side. Sam will be responsible. I'd like you to work with Sam, and he will report to me on progress from time to time."
   Is this helpful?
   Click here for Elevation Learning comment
4. The client calls you to one side and says, "I'm not entirely happy about Pat [one of the members of your consultant team working on the project]. Could you consider replacing him?"
   Pat is an essential member of the team but seems to have got off to a bad start with this client.
   How do you handle this?
   Click here for Elevation Learning comment
5. The client has not done the work that they are meant to do in the project, which means that the timetable is slipping. Part of the problem is that they seem to be distracted by other priorities.
   What should you do?
   Click here for Elevation Learning comment