Radio Exec Hopes to Air Her Consulting Talents
After 23 years as a radio executive, Selma Dodson Tyler is considering a station break--possibly a permanent one.
“I think it’s time for a change,” said Dodson Tyler, a 45-year-old Long Beach resident. “And I want to determine whether I’m cut out to be a consultant. I’ve toyed with it in the past, and people have always told me I’d make a great trainer.”
For help she went to Peter Block, a Connecticut consultant and author of “Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used” (Jossey-Bass, 1999).
Block, who reviewed Dodson Tyler’s resume and writings about her achievements, asked her to name the passions and special talents she could bring to that line of work.
Dodson Tyler hesitated. She had only hazy answers to Block’s query, she said. She loved--and believed she was skilled at--motivating, empowering and educating people. She had done this for two decades in her radio station management work, she said. She was deeply interested in psychology, spirituality and religion, but was skeptical about whether she could incorporate those interests into a consulting practice.
“You have everything you need to be a successful consultant,” Block told her. And he recommended ways she could position herself in the marketplace while remaining true to her values.
Dodson Tyler could visualize her consultancy as a ministry, Block said. She could show prospective corporate clients that she could bring spirit and passion into their workplace, boost morale, empower their employees and “humanize” their business relationships, he said.
“It’s frightening to consider,” Dodson Tyler said. “Because that’s not something I’ve ever been paid to do before.”
Block conceded that in recent years corporate leaders’ interest in relationship building has been waning. But he added that this shouldn’t adversely affect Dodson Tyler’s consultancy plans.
“Right now all they care about is shareholder value,” Block said. “Materialism has the upper hand at the moment. But you don’t need whole corporations behind you--you just need one manager at a time. The culture can be going in the opposite direction to your business, but all you need is three clients.”
Dodson Tyler can augment her chances of winning clients by positioning herself as an authority on organizational relationship issues, said Edward Meagher, chief executive of Woodstone Consulting Co., in Steamboat Springs, Colo. The more specific her consulting niche the better, added Beth Gamble, chief executive of Tucker Street Associates in Wellesley, Mass.
“From my experience, one of the most common mistakes new consultants make is describing their services too broadly, hoping that they won’t lose any business,” Gamble said. “They try to be all things to all people. But instead, they end up not getting any business, because people can’t figure out what they do.”
Once she comes up with a menu of services, workshops, classes and lecture topics that she’ll offer, Dodson Tyler can introduce them to prospective clients through oral presentations and marketing literature, said Wisconsin consultant Elaine Biech, author of “The Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond” (Jossey-Bass, 1999).
It may take a year or longer for Dodson Tyler to build up revenue exceeding her current $88,000-a-year salary. During their first year, new consultants tend to generate billings for only about 100 days’ work, Biech said.
Despite projections of a slow financial start, Dodson Tyler should be discriminating about the early assignments she tackles, said Leslie Kossoff, owner of Kossoff Management Consulting in San Mateo, Calif.
“Remind yourself that you’re building your reputation,” Kossoff said. “So if there’s a strong chance you’ll fail at a project or aren’t the best person for the job, don’t take it.”
Block encouraged Dodson Tyler to incorporate coaching, training, speaking and strategizing into her consultancy. She can begin by trying to land jobs in broadcasting, the industry she knows best. She could solicit her present employer to be her first freelance client, Biech said, because Dodson Tyler is familiar with its corporate culture.
For additional consulting experience, Dodson Tyler can co-consult with a pro or accept an assignment with an established consultancy, said Susan Silk, president of MSI Strategic Communications in Chicago.
To establish cachet as a consultant and get involved in major projects, she might consider a gig with a prestigious Big Six accounting firm, said Ray Rood, president and senior consultant of Human Technologies International in Glendora.
Years ago, the Big Six firms--and most of their corporate clients--demanded MBAs or even PhDs of new consultants. But this has changed. Field experience like Dodson Tyler’s is now considered more valuable than a graduate credential, said Kevin Ford, president of the Armstrong Group in Fairfax, Va.
Dodson Tyler can extend her consulting services to other industries by initially accepting pro bono gigs, Ford said. But she should familiarize herself with those new fields before entering them in a consulting capacity, said Tom Elliott, managing partner of Arthur Andersen’s U.S. business consulting division in Atlanta.
“A top criticism of clients is that they have to train consultants in the fundamentals of their businesses,” Elliott said.
Marketing will be a critical activity for Dodson Tyler during her first year in business, Biech said. She should plan to spend about 50% of her work hours contacting prospective clients, writing articles (to gain exposure) and studying her competition.
To network and keep up-to-date on consulting trends, she can join such organizations as the American Society of Training and Development (https://www.astd.org), the Institute of Management Consultants (https://www.imcusa.org) and the International Assn. of Business Communicators (https://www.iabc.com).
Dodson Tyler can advertise her consulting services at such online sites as https://www.guru.com and https://www.freeagent.com, said John Sequeira, a Cambridge, Mass.-based consultant, who said he receives about one lead a week from the services. And if she has the funds, she can consider hiring a freelance publicist to circulate her name and expertise in the media, Gamble said.
According to Biech, Dodson Tyler should spare no expense in accumulating top-quality marketing materials--brochures, business cards, original logo designs, stationery, customized invoices and even gold-plated paper clips--for her consultancy. Eventually, she may want to put up a Web site too, but she should be forewarned that consultants’ sites, designed to attract discriminating large and medium-sized firms, tend to be pricey.
Streamlining her numerous administrative tasks will be a top priority for someone like Dodson Tyler, who’s new to entrepreneurship. She can use consulting-friendly Web sites such as https://www.visto.com to schedule meetings, https://www.onproject.com to track ongoing projects, and https://www.openair.com to invoice clients and generate expense reports, Sequeira said.
Dodson Tyler said she’s already begun to network, research markets and formulate strategies for her upcoming transition into consulting.
“Through this work, I might actually help people effect long-term change in their lives,” Dodson Tyler said. “Sometimes, you know what you should be doing, but you need someone else to say it, to bring you back to it.”
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Time for a Change
* Name: Selma Dodson Tyler, 45
* Occupation: Radio station executive
* Desired occupation: Organizational consultant
* Quote: “I believe that what I’m called to do is minister to people in some way. But how do I look at all that I do now and decide what I can apply?”
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Meet the Coach
Peter Block has been a consultant and lecturer to governments, businesses and communities throughout the world for 30 years. He is the founder of two training firms, Designed Learning and Block Petrella Weisbord. He also is author of “Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used” (Jossey-Bass, 1999).
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