In our sixth blog of the series, we present another way to further differentiate your consulting practice: get training in ISO 20700.

ISO (the International Organization for Standards) standards are internationally recognized by many industries. Consulting prospects and clients recognize the ‘ISO’ initials and intuitively know they are synonymous with quality. Adding the ISO 20700 training credential badge to your marketing collateral, your CV (Curriculum Vitae) or resume, or even your email signature, adds to your credibility. 

What is ISO 20700 for Consultants?

The management consulting profession is one of the few unregulated professions, at least in the U.S. CPAs and professional engineers are examples of state regulated professions. In the state where I live barbers, electricians and cosmetologists are state regulated, but management consulting is not.

There are no guidelines for good practice for consultants to management. There is no common framework for clients to appraise consultants and evaluate their work. As a result, there can be misunderstandings between clients and consultants.

Further, many clients lack an understanding of the full value a consultant assignment can bring because most consultants don’t spend enough time communicating and confirming their value proposition before, during and at the end of the consulting engagement.

What Is ISO 20700 for Consultants?

ISO 20700 is the first international standard for the service sector and is a milestone for the management consultancy profession. It is a guideline, not a compliance standard. ISO 20700 serves as a benefit for consultants and clients alike. Unlike everything else in this series, ISO 20700 is the property of ISO and is concerned only with managing a consulting project.

ISO 20700 is primarily a set of checklists which help the consultant and the client seek clarity and agreement on key success factors. The success factors include size of project, duration, cost, impact, relationships, standardized or custom offering, privately or government funded, industry specifics, etc. 

The structure of the ISO 20700 guidelines training is about three main phases of an engagement – Contracting, Execution, and Closure – with an aim to improve transparency to achieve better results from projects. Furthermore, it is a flexible guideline, not a straight jacket, allowing consultants to incorporate their own methods and approaches. Finally, it applies to all consultants, whatever their size or specialism, including solopreneurs, partnerships, associations, governmental and non-governmental organizations and internal consultants.

ISO 20700 Used as a Differentiator

As mentioned above, once you are trained in ISO 20700 (note: one is not certified, rather trained in the use of the guidelines), you are granted permission to use the IMC USA ISO 20700 badge in your collateral, including email signatures, should you wish.  And, as asked earlier, isn’t there cachet to using the ‘ISO’ letters?

And, not insignificantly, the ISO 20700 checklists, in which you are trained to use, are incredibly powerful communication tools to improve your dialogue with prospects and clients – all which leads to healthier and more complete conversations.

Will any other of your competitors offer this assurance?

Get Trained in ISO 20700

Learn more about the ISO 20700 training on IMC USA’s ISO 20700 training page.

Next, in the final blog in this series, we will try to put it all together for you and paint a vivid picture of the things you can do to further separate yourself and your practice from the other consultants, especially those who nominally offer the same skills as you.

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 author of a new book, Supercharge: A New Playbook for Leadership. David coaches business owners beyond start-up to success and on to significance as Chair of The Consultants Peer Group (TCPG) and the High Country Peer Group (HCPG). He is the 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.