If someone seeks independence, growth and a good return on skills and knowledge in the new Information Age, consulting may represent the ideal career path. This book is aimed at the newcomer to the profession, the executive seeking opportunity or the experienced consultant. Based on the author's 20 years of research on what the most successful consultants actually do, this comprehensive guide helps readers to build and sustain high-quality and highly profitable professional practices. Even in current tough times, small practices are growing at nearly 30 per cent a year. In a period when an increasing number of newcomers are drawn to consultancy, the book provides proven skills and management consultancy models for direct applications in a special toolkit section. At a time when accreditation for the profession is under serious discussion, this book should enable even the experienced advisor to learn the professional way to: make networking equitable, profitable and genuinely client-centred; write business-winning proposals which avoid giving services for free; set fees to maximize value to the client and profit for the consultant; write and use simple contracts and why the contract is an essential marketing tool; use the nine low-cost/no-cost ways of winning professional exposure; write a brochure/newsletter; ensure up to 80 per cent repeat and referral business; sell abstract, high-value services; use the key intervention strategies; and learn the common body of knowledge - the basis of accreditation. Newcomers to the profession will discover all of the above and to meet their special needs there are chapters on - assessing their potential for success in a helping profession, setting up and building a professional practice and how to get early bread on the table.