Table of Contents

1. Differentiate Management Consulting For Your Customer Organization NEW!
2. Writing An "Elevator Speech" NEW!

Differentiate Management Consulting For Your Customer Organization

1. Explore your customer organization for other sources of consulting. Examples include departments possibly named Organizational Effectiveness; Executive Coaching; Mentoring Program; and Professional Development/Training, to name a few. Maintain the list for sharing the resources with managers in your own future consulting.
2. List the services that are provided by each consulting source, describe their target audience, and identify their “home base” within the organization (e.g. human resources, training department, occupational health, etc.). If available, describe the consultant’s intended outcomes. Use that information to identify areas of opportunity for your EAP services, such as under-served managers within the organization.
3. When possible, interview a consultant from each source, to explore the background and qualifications necessary for their work. Understanding their background will suggest differences in the skill sets between other consultants and the EAP.
4. Using the knowledge gained from these steps, and the content of this column, write a “30-second elevator speech” describing the essential elements of your EAP-based consulting for managers.

Writing An "Elevator Speech"

Follow these guidelines for creating your own elevator speech.

1. Visit the EAP Management Consulting Knowledgebase and peruse the sections on Defining Management Consulting in EA Settings and EAP Philosophy of Consulting. Borrow snippets that best describe your work.
2. Re-connect with the EAPA Core Technology, which touches upon consulting to management in several of the technologies. Is there something there for you to use?
3. Identify your key stakeholders and audience… knowing your target audience should help you tailor the message.
4. Make a list of your unique services relating to working with managers and supervisors. Use what is unique about your EAP to make your speech “pop” for the audience.
5. Draw from your knowledge of the host organization to add vocabulary that draws from the workplace culture.

Read a blog entry about Elevator Speeches