Consulting and professional services are all about people – people your customers expect to be highly trained and capable in whatever areas of expertise necessary to solve their problems. Well trained staff get the job done right the first time, and delivered with peak efficiency. Research shows employees are also more engaged in their work and tend to exhibit more brand loyalty with firms that invest in their employees. RTM Consulting is at the forefront of the training industry and can provide experienced knowledge transfer and training to equip and prepare your teams for successful execution of a technology professional services and consulting business. Our training can be delivered at your location (or selected location) or over the internet covering topics for technology professional services including:

 

Skills Development for Consultants & Delivery Practitioners

Featured White Paper — From Technologist to Consultant: Soft Skills Make the Difference

Consulting Fundamentals

Succeeding as a Consultant can be challenging. Most companies invest a lot of time, money and effort on training their consultants on products and technology. But do they really know how to: effectively prepare for their consulting assignment, work as part of a project team, engage with a client, build strong relationships, diagnose and solve problems, manage client expectations, and communicate effectively – the fundamental skills every consultant needs. Designed to provide foundational competency development for consultants, this course is modular and can be adapted to meet specific need and budget. Time commitment can range from two (2) hours to one (1) full day of content. The training can be delivered to your team in a traditional classroom or virtually over the web by a qualified RTMC instructor. Contact us to learn more and discuss delivery options for Consulting Fundamentals. The course is also available 24×7 in an on-demand format. See below for additional details.

Curriculum Highlights:
  • Defining the Role of a Consultant: Key responsibilities; Attributes of a successful consultant; Understanding the different types of consultants; How is a PS technologist different from a consultant?; How is success measured as a consultant?
  • Behaviors of an Effective Consultant: Effective communication skills; Giving advice effectively; Managing customer expectations; Earning a customer’s trust; Building relationships with your customers
  • Preparing for your consulting assignment and succeeding as part of a project team
  • Understanding the Tools a Successful Consultant Needs: Navigating difficult situations; Recognizing issues and risks; Problem solving; Growing in your role as a consultant; Building and leveraging your support system

Learn what it means to be a consultant, understand the nature of a consulting assignment and how to prepare, and review the dynamics of working within a project team.

Consulting Fundamentals – On-demand Training

Course Objectives:
  • Introduce the field of consulting and understand what it means to be a consultant
  • Understand the nature of a consulting assignment and how to prepare for it
  • Review the dynamics of working within a project team
  • Discuss the essential elements of being a successful consultant with a strong focus on communications and learning the keys to better managing customer expectations
  • Learn how to take charge of your career as a consultant
Purchase Instructions:
  • Create an account and log into RTM Consulting’s learning management system (accounts are free and just require a name and email address)
  • Purchase price is $299 for 90-day 24×7 access
  • Contact us for on-demand training questions or to inquire about registering multiple participants
  • Register for the course

Advanced Consulting Skills Development

A lot of time, money and effort is spent training consultants on products and technology. But do they really know how to: effectively engage with a client; manage scope creep; effectively handle complaints and issues; and up-sell new opportunities – the skills every consultant needs. The Advanced Consulting Skills Development training focuses on enhancing the consultative skills of consulting and professional services personnel to complement their product, business, and technical knowledge. This training will help your technologists become better consultants. The six (6) courses are modular and can be customized to meet specific need and budget. Time commitment can range from one (1) hour for an individual course on-demand to 3 days of content for all six (6) courses combined with case studies. The training can be delivered to your team in a traditional classroom or virtually over the web by a qualified RTMC instructor. Contact us to discuss delivery options for Advanced Consulting Skills Development. The six courses are also available 24×7 in an on-demand format. See below for additional details.

Curriculum Highlights:
  • Role & Dynamics of a Consultant:  Defines the attributes of a successful consultant; Discusses relationship building and management; Provides tools on how to manage various types of stakeholders; Introduces how to become a ‘Trusted Advisor’ to your customers
  • Communication Strategy & Tactics:  Provides tools and techniques for communicating various types of information throughout an engagement and to various stakeholders; Discusses how to develop and deliver messages; Discusses effective meeting management techniques
  • Identifying & Capturing Value:  Defines the elements of an effective value proposition and how consultants deliver value to customers throughout an engagement; Introduces the concept of “Up-selling” and helps participants overcome the fear of it; Defines how and where to look for opportunities and leads
  • Risk, Issue & Scope Management:  Focuses on risk, issue, and scope management from a Consultants perspective; How to determine the difference between a risk and an issue; How to communicate risks and issues effectively; The importance of scope definition and management; Key communication techniques for handling situations when customers ask for more during an engagement

Learn how how to develop and communicate key messages to your stakeholders – the power of the Pyramid. A powerful tool for building and structuring messages.

Advanced Consulting Skills Development – On-demand Training

Purchase Instructions:
  • Create an account and log into RTM Consulting’s learning management system (accounts are free and just require a name and email address)
  • Purchase price is $99 for 90-day 24×7 access and may be purchased individually
  • Purchase price is $499 for 90-day 24×7 access for purchase of all 6 modules
  • Contact us for on-demand training questions or to inquire about registering multiple participants
  • Standard Engagement Lifecycle – Register for the course
  • Role and Dynamics of a Consultant – Register for the course
  • Communication Strategy and Tactics – Register for the course
  • Risk and Issue Management – Register for the course
  • Scope and Change Management – Register for the course
  • Identify and Capturing Value – Register for the course

What Our Clients Are Saying

“An important initiative this year was to invest in the development of our consultants by providing them with a high impact soft skills training program to increase their overall effectiveness. RTM Consulting enabled this by developing and delivering an outstanding curriculum specialized for consultants and tailored to our needs. This high quality curriculum included facilitation of case studies to help our consultants practice what they learned.”

Paul Hofstadler, Vice President Worldwide Consulting, Mentor Graphics Corporation

Practical Project Management for the Non-Project Manager

Many organizations have times where they find themselves asking delivery resources to step in and manage a project. But do those resources know how to: Define and Manage Scope, Manage Stakeholders, Identify and Mitigate Risks and Issues, Communicate with Stakeholders, and Deal with Escalations – the fundamental skills anyone playing the role of a Project Manager needs. This course is designed to provide a foundational Project Management competency for resources who are not traditional Project Managers. This course is available in pre-recorded e-learning modules and can also be delivered by a qualified RTM Consulting instructor in a traditional classroom or virtual environment. Contact us to discuss delivery options for Practical Project Management for the Non-Project Manager. The course is also available 24×7 in an on-demand format. See below for additional details.

Practical Project Management for the Non Project Manager – On-demand Training

Course Objectives:
  • Introduce the field of project management and what it means to be a project manager
  • Understand the difference between being a part of a project team and being responsible for managing the project
  • Learn key elements of project management – why they are important and how to apply them
  • Learn practical techniques to help you step in and successfully manage a project
Purchase Instructions:
  • Create an account and log into RTM Consulting’s learning management system (accounts are free and just require a name and email address)
  • Purchase price is $299 for 90-day 24×7 access
  • Contact us for on-demand training questions or to inquire about registering multiple participants
  • Register for the course

Skills Development for Project Managers

Project Managers continually look to enhance their project management skills and drive successful delivery. To address this need RTM Consulting has built the following project management curriculum:

Advanced Project Management Skills Development

A lot of time, money and effort is spent training project managers on methodologies. But do they really know how to: effectively engage with a client; manage scope creep; and effectively handle complaints and issues – the skills every project manager needs. The Advanced Project Management Skills Development training focuses on enhancing the soft skills of project managers to complement their methodology, business, and technical knowledge. The four (4) courses are modular and can be customized to meet your specific need and budget. Time commitment can range from one (1) hour for an individual course delivered virtually with a live instructor, to two (2) day for all four courses combined with case studies. Contact us to discuss delivery options for Advanced Project Management Skills Development. The course is also available 24×7 in an on-demand format. See below for additional details.

Advanced Project Management Skills Development – On-demand Training

Purchase Instructions:
  • Create an account and log into RTM Consulting’s learning management system (accounts are free and just require a name and email address)
  • Purchase price is $99 for 90-day 24×7 access
  • Contact us for on-demand training questions or to inquire about registering multiple participants
  • Role and Dynamics of a Project ManagerRegister for the course
  • Communication Strategy and TacticsRegister for the course
  • Scope and Change Management – Register for the course
  • Identifying and Capturing Value – Register for the course

Resource Management

Just-in-Time Resourcing® (JITR) is the holy grail of today’s professional services providers. RTM Consulting utilizes Global Resource Management (GRM), a process methodology developed for achieving highly efficient deployment of human capital as part of our Just-in-Time Resourcing® brand of human capital management services. Whether your company is large or small, efficiently managing human capital will mean the difference between success and failure. RTM Consulting, through our sister organization the Resource Management Institute (RMI), has built the following resource management curriculum:

Introduction to Resource Management

The Introduction to Resource Management course is designed to provide foundational competency development for professionals new to resource management that work in organizations that focus on project-based work. Participants primarily work in Professional Services Organizations or Internal IT Organizations. The training can be a classroom led or virtual interactive session led by a qualified RTM Consulting instructor. Contact us to discuss delivery options for Introduction to Resource Management. The course is also available 24×7 in an on-demand format. See below for additional details.

Introduction to Resource Management – On-demand Training

Purchase Instructions:
  • Create an account and log into RTM Consulting’s learning management system (accounts are free and just require a name and email address)
  • Purchase price is $499 for 90-day 24×7 access
  • Rebate: A $250 rebate is available to anyone who completes the Intro to Resource Management course and then registers for and completes their RMCP® certification within 24 months from when they completed the Intro to Resource Management course.
  • Contact us for on-demand training questions or to inquire about registering multiple participants
  • Register for the course

Resource Management Certified Professional (RMCP)®

This first-of-its-kind professional certification program is specifically designed for resource managers, promoting and supporting competency development for resource management (RM) professionals. Certification demonstrates a level of proficiency in RM theory and application, and a commitment to professional development and a career in RM. Additionally, the RMCP® program provides access to valuable thought leadership, best practices, networks and resources to help RM professionals better manage human capital productivity and utilization. Contact us to discuss delivery options for the Resource Management Certified Professional (RMCP)® program. See below for additional details.

Click here to visit the Resource Management Institute for more information on the RMCP® program including class schedules, and registration.

Advanced Resource Management

This advanced course, offered exclusively to Resource Management Certified Professionals (RMCP®s), leverages Just-In-Time Resourcing® and the foundational Resource Management competencies developed during the RMCP® certification program to provide participants with next-level development. Focus will be applied toward increasing the strategic focus and improving business outcomes from the RMO and RM processes, as well as increasing strategic partnering across the organization in support of organizational goals and objectives.

Click here for more information on our Advanced Resource Management training, schedule, and registration.

The Art of Writing an SOW

The Statement of Work (SOW) sets the foundation for the scope, financial terms (price, payment terms, etc.) and delivery terms for your project. SOWs with incomplete or inaccurate details can often result in tension and conflict within delivery teams, contribute to unsatisfied customers, and possibly introduce potential legal and/or financial risks. Poorly written SOWs, containing inexplicit terms and ambiguous scope, set a project up to fail.

SOWs require a strong process for development, approval and governance. The SOW writing course will provide your team with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to write full scope, detailed SOWs and ensure more successful project delivery. Curriculum highlights include: SOW Fundamentals, Scope Definition, Estimating and Pricing, Assembling the SOW, SOW Governance. The training can be delivered in a private, classroom environment by a qualified RTMC instructor. Contact us to discuss delivery options for The Art of Writing an SOW. The course is also available 24×7 in an on-demand format. See below for additional details.

The Art of Writing an SOW – On-demand Training

Purchase Instructions:
  • Create an account and log into RTM Consulting’s learning management system (accounts are free and just require a name and email address)
  • Purchase price is $399 for 60-day 24×7 access
  • Contact us for on-demand training questions or to inquire about registering multiple participants
  • Register for the course

Delivery Manager Skills Development

Making the transition from a delivery expert to a delivery manager role is not always easy. Most companies’ Human Resources departments help with the vital aspects of people management (hiring, firing, compensation, etc.), but few departments deal with equipping a manager with the proper skills necessary for effective execution of the operational aspects of delivery management.

Delivery management requires a fundamental understanding of the operational aspects of the job. RTM Consulting believes managing projects, and staffs which execute them, is not the same as “doing” the projects. Successful delivery managers understand how to build better collaboration with their sales teams, and the critical touch-points that mean the difference between success and failure for project handoffs. This intensive training prepares new delivery managers to hit the ground running and feel confident in their ability to help manage projects on-time and on-budget.

Contact us for more information on Delivery Manager Skills Development training.

Services Sales Skills Development

Selling services is different than selling a product. This training helps its participants understand the differences and provides the insight, context and tools to become more successful at selling services. This training also assists delivery leaders making the transition from pure delivery roles to ones that involve sales and business development. The training identifies the basics of building stronger and more valued customer relationships, and focuses on addressing their goals, problems and needs. The training will enable its participants to more effectively identify, propose and close more services opportunities. Curriculum highlights include: Role of a Services Salesperson, Identifying and Selling Value, Advanced Selling Techniques, Handling Objections to Services Deals.

Contact us for more information on Services Sales Skills Development training.

PS University Learner Paths

Featured White Paper: From Technologist to Consultant

Featured White Paper: Helping PMs Get Their Groove Back

Download the Training Catalog