The #WORLDSWORSTCONSULTANT Guide To Dropping the “Consultant” Image
STEP 5 – DON’T GOOGLE IT

Your new client has a question for you that you simply do not have the experience or answer to provide.

What are you going to do?

“Let me get back to you later… I did that a long time ago and need to check my records on another computer…”
“I’ll give you an answer tomorrow ok, I just want to be sure I tell you the right solution”

Being a good consultant means delaying when necessary to give yourself time to research the answer. Right?

So you leave the client and go back to your office or if the matter is urgent you go to the nearest joint with free WiFi so you can google furiously.

Get a few hits and some semblance of an answer. Hopefully it is correct. If not you can always use the line “It worked last time, there must be something unusual about your circumstances that I did not consider. Maybe we need a longer intensive contract to get to the real root of the issue…” 
(i.e to give me more time on google)

Seriously! Your client is not paying you because you can type a few words into google and read the top hits!

No-one is an expert at everything.

If you don’t have the answer have the courage to admit it to your client and help them to talk to someone who does. Build up your network so the chance of personally knowing someone who is actually an expert is higher and you can refer someone you trust to the task.

Don’t waste their time padding a contract to give yourself time to work out the answer… They can google for themselves. You are here because they believe you KNOW and have EXPERIENCED the answers