Getting Started in Consulting

How can you transform what you know into a thriving business that improves others’ lives and bankrolls your freedom? In Getting Started in Consulting, Alan Weiss argues that the key lies not in selling services but in marketing value. He contends that independent consulting is first and foremost a marketing enterprise—your role is not to push expertise but to help others recognize the unique improvement your insight can offer. This shift in mindset—from selling work to offering value—is what separates struggling consultants from million-dollar practitioners.

Weiss insists that before learning proposals, fees, or business plans, you must develop a success-oriented mindset built on confidence, clarity, and the unwavering belief that your knowledge solves real problems. Consulting, he says, is not about methodology—it’s about results. Your aim is to create need, not respond to it. The book teaches you how to position yourself as a peer of decision-makers, discover your economic buyer (the one who can actually write the check), and identify the value distance—the gap between what clients think they want and what they truly need. The greater that distance, the higher your fees and your impact.

Changing How You See Yourself

To succeed, Weiss notes, you must drop the employee mentality and embrace the entrepreneurial one. Your first product is not your report or your process—it’s you. He urges readers to define their one-sentence value proposition by answering: “After I walk away, how is the buyer better off?” This exercise prevents you from focusing on methods (“by planning,” “through workshops”) and centers your business around outcomes (“increased sales,” “reduced attrition,” “better leadership”). That statement becomes the north star guiding every decision and conversation you have with clients.

Support Systems and Emotional Readiness

Weiss is blunt about what derails solo consultants: not lack of skill, but lack of support. You need a coalition of people who believe in you—spouses, peers, and mentors—because going out on your own is isolating. He describes how personal relationships can either be rocket fuel or quicksand for your career. His advice: involve your partner in your plans, share your progress daily, and demonstrate that your transition is grounded in logic, not whim. He also introduces the idea of a personal support system—trusted friends, colleagues, and local business owners—to keep you balanced and prevent ego-driven overreactions to every success or rejection.

Building from Basics

Weiss strips down the idea of a startup to its essentials. You don’t need office space or expensive gear. A quiet home office, a reliable phone, and basic supplies are enough. You can save tens of thousands—and even fund your children’s education, as Weiss did—by resisting the illusion that professional status comes from fancy trappings. Instead, invest in professional help: a good attorney, an insurance agent, an accountant, and a bookkeeper. These people keep you compliant and focused on what matters—marketing and value delivery, not paperwork.

Momentum Over Perfection

Perhaps Weiss’s most compelling argument is that momentum beats perfection. Don’t overthink your launch; take action fast. His checklist includes reconnecting with everyone you know for referrals, joining networks and professional associations, and setting up your basic infrastructure before you leave your current job. He believes most disciplined consultants can make their first sale within six months and build sustainable income in a year. Preparation matters, but belief—the conviction that you offer real value—is what propels you forward.

“Logic makes you think, but emotion makes you act.”

This recurring theme in Weiss’s philosophy underscores that consulting success is as much about emotional engagement—yours and the client’s—as it is about analytical rigor.

In sum, Getting Started in Consulting opens by redefining the profession around mindset and marketing. Instead of seeing yourself as a vendor, you become a partner. Instead of selling hours, you sell improvement. Weiss’s proposition is simple but profound: if you see your role as helping people rather than selling to them, you’ll not only make more money—you’ll also build a business that’s built to last.

Once your mindset is in place, Weiss says you must master what he calls marketing gravity—the set of forces that pull clients toward you without cold-calling or chasing prospects. Consulting isn’t a numbers game of endless outreach; it’s the art of being so visible and credible that buyers find you. This section outlines how to build that gravitational pull through authenticity, generosity, and intelligent visibility.

The Marketing Gravity Wheel

Weiss presents a literal model—a wheel of marketing tactics arranged from pro bono work at the top to networking at the bottom. Each spoke represents an activity that spreads your expertise outward: writing books, publishing position papers, doing interviews, speaking at events, maintaining newsletters, and earning third-party endorsements. The idea is not to do everything but to pick four or five activities that fit your strengths and repeat them consistently. If you teach or speak only once a year, nothing will stick; if you do it every month, your network expands exponentially.

Pro Bono and Visibility

Early in your career, Weiss advises that “working for free can make you rich.” He’s not talking about unpaid corporate work—never do that—but offering genuine expertise to respected nonprofits. His examples include helping a theater group with strategy or coaching an executive director at a YMCA. These projects connect you to boards, donors, and sponsors who are often your future buyers. It’s philanthropic marketing: by contributing talent to a worthy cause, you demonstrate your value and meet decision-makers organically.

Books, Speaking, and Publishing

A book, Weiss quips, is a “business card on steroids.” Even writing one early—with or without a commercial publisher—builds third-party validation. Media appearances, interviews, and articles function the same way. If you’re quoted in a local business journal, people assume you’re a thought leader. Speaking at Rotary clubs, chambers of commerce, and trade events does more for visibility than ads ever will. He provides fee schedules for beginners ($5,000 for a keynote, $7,500 for a workshop) and reminds readers that most engagements should be free if buyers are in the room.

Networking as a Process

Weiss is adamant that networking is not an event—it’s a process. Collecting business cards at mixers is worthless; cultivating ongoing conversations is priceless. He describes his five-step method: leverage distance (strangers are more objective than old colleagues), find unique multipliers (people connected to many buyers), identify nexus people (those who can introduce you to one buyer), practice reciprocity (give value before asking for help), and build contextual connections (shared causes create equality). This framework turns every dinner, charity event, or seminar into a springboard for future opportunities.

“If you don’t blow your own horn, there is no music.”

Weiss’s mantra captures the unapologetic self-promotion that underpins marketing gravity—you must be your own publicist without being obnoxious.

Referrals: The Lifeblood of Growth

One of Weiss’s signature tactics is mining your existing relationships for referrals. He instructs new consultants to categorize everyone they know into potential buyers, uncertain contacts, and non-buyers, then reach out systematically. Calls are better than emails, and meetings are best. His suggested script focuses on curiosity and guidance, not selling: “I’d love your advice on where I should be headed with my new venture.” This conversational openness builds trust, and referrals emerge naturally. In his experience, disciplined consultants who follow this method often generate business within thirty days.

Marketing gravity flips the standard sales model. Instead of chasing prospects, you create a world where prospects chase you. Every blog, speech, and collaboration adds mass to your orbit. Over time, your reputation becomes the magnet that pulls buyers in—making selling not a chase, but a conversation about shared success.

Weiss famously warns: never pitch to anyone who can’t sign the check. The third major pillar of his system is identifying the economic buyer—the executive with both authority and budget to pay for your services. Consultants waste months courting gatekeepers who love meetings but lack power. Understanding who decides—and how to reach them—transforms your entire business trajectory.

Saint Paul and Viral Marketing

In a delightfully surprising analogy, Weiss compares effective marketing to Saint Paul’s role in spreading Christianity. Paul turned early believers into evangelists, creating exponential growth without technology. Likewise, your consulting vision spreads faster when you engage decision-makers—not intermediaries. Each satisfied buyer becomes your “apostle,” endorsing you to others. The lesson: go directly to those who can influence others, not those who manage forms and schedules.

Avoiding the Quick Sand of HR

Weiss calls human resources departments “La Brea Tar Pits” of organizations—places where consultants vanish. HR can say no but never yes. They focus on process and compliance, not outcomes and ROI. He recounts his persistent challenge to find a single Fortune 1000 CEO promoted directly from HR—he never could. His advice: treat HR and other staff departments as possible conduits, never clients. Use polite but firm language to escalate toward the true economic buyer. Lines like “I must meet the person controlling the budget” reframe your credibility. If resistance remains, call the decision-maker independently—a bold but necessary move.

The Three Tactics to Reach Decision-Makers

• Rational self-interest: Show gatekeepers it benefits them to connect you upward—they get credit and efficiency.
• Guile: Invoke ethics (“I must meet the fiduciary authority”) to nudge them toward action.
• Force: If blocked, bypass them directly (“Should I mention our conversation when I contact your boss?”).

Seeing Yourself as a Peer

When you do reach true buyers, Weiss insists you must approach them as equals. Even if their offices are larger than your home, your expertise makes you their intellectual peer. He outlines how to embody professional parity: read business publications daily, understand industry issues, observe organizational dynamics, and maintain confident, conversational behavior. You’re not there to impress; you’re there to collaborate. Consultants who speak with insight and poise build trust faster than those offering slide decks or jargon.

“If you see yourself as less than the buyer, you’re merely applying for a job.”

Weiss’s counsel reframes consulting not as submission but as partnership; you exist to enhance their world, not inhabit it.

Finding the economic buyer is part detective work, part self-respect. It requires discipline, directness, and the courage to bypass bureaucracy. But once you master it, you stop pitching to people who can’t pay—and start working with leaders who can truly value what you offer.

Weiss’s process for securing contracts hinges on one meeting: the buyer conversation. In that hour, you establish trust, identify issues, and reach what he calls conceptual agreement—a shared understanding of objectives, measures, and value. When done right, proposals become confirmations, not negotiations. This chapter is a masterclass in turning dialogue into partnership.

Building Trust in Minutes

Consulting is a relationship business, and trust is the entry ticket. Weiss’s ritual sounds simple but is meticulously structured: arrive on time, groom professionally, travel light, speak conversationally, and pivot questions back to the buyer. Never open a laptop or drink coffee in their office—it distracts and dilutes presence. Instead of pitching, he suggests starting with, “I’m not sure what I can offer yet; tell me your top priorities.” The goal is authenticity, not performance. You earn trust by listening and giving the buyer oxygen to think aloud.

Dynamic Capture: Focusing on Real Issues

After trust comes what Weiss calls dynamic capture: steering the conversation toward core issues while filtering distractions. He uses the metaphor of a boat ride guided by invisible channels—your role is to keep the discussion within productive boundaries, summarizing and paraphrasing as you go. This approach helps clients articulate priorities in their own words while positioning you as the solution to their biggest problems. When you identify the right “value basket”—the combination of needs that your expertise fulfills—you establish control of the channel.

Conceptual Agreement: Objectives, Measures, and Value

This triad forms the cornerstone of Weiss’s consulting methodology. Objectives focus on outcomes (“increase margin,” “improve teamwork”), not deliverables (“run focus groups”). Measures track progress—sometimes quantitatively (sales reports) and sometimes qualitatively (“less interdepartmental conflict”). Finally, Value answers the question, “What will these results mean?” Weiss urges consultants to monetize half of all value statements so buyers see the return on investment explicitly. Three value points per objective, he says, create a compelling narrative.

Pouring Concrete and Going for the Close

Before leaving, Weiss advises to “pour concrete”—cement the deal verbally by confirming alignment. Ask about potential obstacles or upcoming changes. Confirm decision authority (“You’ll be making the final call, correct?”) and timing (“If I send this proposal tomorrow, when can we review it?”). Then use an assumptive close: “Which option will you choose?” Never ask if they’d like to proceed—assume they will. This blend of structure and confidence can turn a single meeting into a five-figure engagement.

This chapter reframes selling as problem-solving. When you control language, you control relationships—and when you control relationships, business naturally follows. Weiss’s method teaches you how to end every buyer meeting not with hope, but with commitment.

If one idea differentiates Weiss’s philosophy from traditional consulting, it’s his rejection of time-based billing. Charging hourly, he says, is not only financially foolish but ethically flawed—it rewards inefficiency and punishes mastery. The foundation of freedom and profitability lies in value-based fees, where compensation reflects outcomes, not effort.

The Ethical Conflict of Time Billing

Weiss exposes the moral paradox in traditional pricing: clients benefit from quick solutions, consultants profit from long ones. This misalignment breeds mistrust. By tying fees to results, you align your motivations with your client’s success. He groups value into four categories—organizational tangible (profit, reduced attrition), organizational intangible (reputation), personal tangible (promotion), and personal intangible (status or reduced stress). Your fee should honor all four dimensions of improvement.

Formulas for Setting Fees

To price effectively, Weiss recommends calculating a 10:1 return ratio: if your project saves a client $1 million, charge $100,000. Factor in annualized savings, peripheral benefits, and emotional impact. He teaches that at the start of your career, fees follow value—buyers pay for demonstrated improvement—but later, value follows fees. High prices signal high quality, just as buyers assume the most expensive wrench or surgeon must be better. Once your brand grows, increasing prices reinforces trust rather than weakening it.

Options, Not Negotiations

Weiss’s proposals always include three escalating options to move clients from “Should I do this?” to “How should I do this?” Each level adds scope and fee but fulfills all objectives ethically. He warns never to negotiate price without removing value—otherwise buyers assume they can keep bargaining. Instead, offer full payment discounts or premium pricing for personal delivery. He lists fifty factors for raising fees over time: eliminate low-profit clients, focus on value creation, refuse RFPs, and confidently walk away from bad deals.

“Since a client is best served with a speedy resolution, and consultants charging time benefit from long ones, hourly billing is unethical.”

This principle underlines Weiss’s crusade for value-based pricing—doing right by the client means doing well for yourself.

By pricing for impact, not hours, you transform consulting from labor into leverage. High fees become not arrogance but evidence of high value—and as Weiss often reminds readers, clients will never suggest you raise your rates, but they will gladly pay more when you show them why it’s worth it.

After sales mastery comes lifestyle mastery. Weiss shows how consultants evolve through four stages—survive, alive, arrive, and thrive—each separated by what he calls watertight doors. Crossing from scarcity to abundance requires sealing old habits: stop chasing every dollar, stop fearing slow days, and start valuing discretionary time as wealth itself.

From Scarcity to Abundance

In the early phase, you hustle to survive, taking any project that pays. As your competence grows, you stay “alive”—sustainable but not selective. You’ve “arrived” when you choose clients intentionally, and you “thrive” when clients seek you. Weiss warns that many consultants plateau because their mindset lags behind their income. Flying coach on 12-hour flights or hoarding cash reveals survival mentality. True abundance means declining inconvenient clients, taking vacations without guilt, and reinvesting time and money generously.

Solo, Not Alone

Weiss’s formula for freedom: stay small, outsource smart. You don’t need staff, assistants, or payroll headaches. Solo work offers autonomy; employees bring bureaucracy. Hire specialists only for what you can’t or shouldn’t do—bookkeeping, travel, printing—and pay them situationally. He quips that people often hire assistants out of laziness, not necessity. Procrastination is fear dressed as busyness. Handling your own calls and emails makes you directly accessible and respected.

Generating Passive Income

Weiss expands “passive income” beyond royalties—it’s any income earned with minimal labor, ideally from home. You can sell ebooks, recorded webinars, podcasts, or subscription newsletters. Recycle old materials into new formats—your past IP is gold. Later, you might host retreats or livestreams near home (Weiss runs them from his Rhode Island property). The secret is a smooth payment system: secure merchant accounts and automation for sales. Passive revenue builds within your accelerant curve—it attracts new clients while enriching existing ones.

“I can always make another buck, but I can’t make another minute.”

This aphorism sums up the transition from trading time for money to creating abundance through leverage and brand.

The deeper lesson is that growth is both financial and psychological. Abundance means earning well while living well—comfortable, disciplined, and unafraid to spend time on what matters.

Weiss ends with the ultimate destination of consulting success: thought leadership. Beyond income, consulting offers the chance to shape how others think. In doing so, you build not just a business but a legacy—a brand that lives when you’re “not around.”

Building Your Brand

A brand, Weiss explains, is a uniform representation of quality—and, more personally, how people speak of you when you’re absent. Strong brands convert reputation into revenue. He urges attaching your name to everything (“Tom Allen’s Ten Methods for Growth”) so ownership and recognition become inseparable. Stay visible through newsletters, handwritten notes, and consistent contact long after projects end. Clients should remember your name when opportunity arises.

The Vault: Becoming a Trusted Advisor

At the top of the accelerant curve lies the vault—trusted advisory work. Instead of project-based consulting, you provide ongoing counsel for a monthly or quarterly retainer. The buyer pays for access to your “smarts” whenever needed. Fees start around $7,500–$10,000 per month, typically prepaid for three months and noncancelable. Duration matters less than responsiveness; your worth is in being there at crucial moments. Weiss’s famous metaphor: you’re like fire insurance—valuable precisely because crises are rare.

Intellectual Property and Idea Capture

Your creations—models, stories, diagrams—are your true capital. Weiss urges constant IP capture: jot down or record ideas immediately before they vanish. Revisit them; keep what resonates. He confesses to producing hundreds of new concepts this way, from the “accelerant curve” to the “value distance” and “watertight doors.” Organized thinkers become thought leaders because they turn fleeting insight into tangible frameworks.

Passion and Ability

Borrowing from Michelangelo, Weiss likens career mastery to sculpting “David”—you carve away everything that doesn’t belong. In consulting terms, focus on what you love and excel at, discarding distractions. Passion without ability leads to frustration; ability without passion creates burnout. The sweet spot is where both align, and that’s where lifelong success resides.

“You are what you create.”

For Weiss, consulting is art—the practice of transforming expertise into ideas that outlive you.

Weiss concludes with an enduring call to action: believe in your own value first. Your mindset shapes your actions, and your actions create your legacy. The first sale, as he insists throughout, “is always to yourself.”