In the first four blogs of this series, we outlined three (of five) key differentiators you can use to clearly separate yourself and your consulting practice from the estimated 850,000 to 1,000,000 other consultants in the U.S. today. They were:

• Adherence to an enforceable Code of Ethics 
• Use of a Competence Framework
• Adherence to a Code of (Professional) Conduct

In this blog we will feature how an internationally recognized certification as a management consultant further allows you to differentiate yourself as a consultant.

Who Can Become a Certified Management Consultant (CMC®)?

It is important to note that throughout these blogs we make no assertion as to where you work in consulting – as a solopreneur, in a small to mid-sized boutique firm, or within one of the larger professional services firms or even internal to an organization – or what you consult in, only that you work as a consultant. The new, inclusive definition of a management consultant is (from CMC-GI):

“For the purposes of this certification scheme a Management Consultant shall be defined as one who helps organizations to solve issues, create value, maximize growth, and improve performance through the application of their knowledge, techniques, and assets to provide objective advice, expertise, and specialist skills which the organization may be lacking. 

Note: for my purposes I have shorted this definition of a management consultant to the key elements – 

“One who helps organizations through their knowledge and skills to provide objective advice the organization may be lacking. This definition shall include those consultants who work alone as a singleton, as a partner or employee of a practice or firm and those who work as internal consultants in an organization or government body whose primary purpose is not management consultancy.”

In other words, you!

What is a Certified Management Consultant®?

As said in the previous blogs most consultants focus their marketing on What they do, e.g., IT, HR, OD, Profitability, Strategy, governance, and so forth. They market their offerings and solutions according to their practice focus.

What if you were able to tell the marketplace – your prospects and clients – that you and your consulting experience has been independently and thoroughly vetted against international standards of Consulting Competence and, thus, have received a Certification of Competence?

• The vetting process of becoming a Certified Management Consultant® is a rigorous examination process dictated by the worldwide CMC-Global Institute and performed in the U.S. by IMC USA;
• The Certification as Certified Management Consultant®, CMC®, assures your prospects and clients that your engagement work, training, professional development, and ethics set you apart. [Note: there are some 8,200 CMC®s worldwide]; and
• It is accompanied by worldwide reciprocity with other country institutes, evidencing a global credential.

In short, it is the Gold Standard for Management Consulting and Ethics – your work has been independently assessed and proven, significantly beyond simple testimonials.

The Differentiating Factors of the Certified Management Consultant®

When you achieve this level of recognition, the CMC®:

• Establishes your brand as a ‘true consulting professional’ with:
• Proven excellence (client interviews, peer review), and…
• Demonstration that you deliver satisfaction, thereby…
• Building your confidence and track record.
• Joins you to a network of trustworthy consultants
• Provides a framework for professional decisions through Codes of Ethics and Conduct
• Provides proof to prospects, clients, and 
• Separates you in a crowded marketplace, where credibility and expertise matters – very few have achieved this level of recognition

How to Attain the CMC®?

There are three entry paths into the certification process:

• Basic – consultants with a minimum of three up to nine years of management consulting experience
• Experienced – consultants with 10 or more years of management consulting experience
• Management – high level managers with 20 or more years of experience including at least three years of management consulting projects.

There are in each of the three entry paths additional requirements from written exams (on Ethics, Consulting, and Competence Framework) and an oral examination (as the decisive step in the process). Study it and seek your own certification; become one of the few who have been designated a CMC®.

Get your CMC® and proudly separate yourself from the competition, internal or external.

Learn more about the profession by taking Mastering Management Consulting (MMC) course at IMC USA.

And, learn more at How To Become Certified

Stay tuned.

This blog post was printed on this IMC USA blog with permission. It originally appeared on The Consultants Peer Group blog.

The author, David T. Norman CMC®-AF, FCMC has almost 50 years of experience as a management consultant. He is the Chair of The Consultants Peer Group and CEO of David Norman & Associates, specializing in financial, operational and general management consulting services. David was the first recipient in the United States of the CMC®-AF, Academic Fellow of the international Council of Management Consultant Institutes (ICMCI) and is a FCMC, Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants USA.