A business consultant is a professional who works directly with business owners on developing a business plan and identifying their marketing needs. Business consultants offer business owners a wide range of services, such as supplementing existing staff, provide expertise in a specific market, and influencing other people. To increase revenue in business, business consultants should have experience success with the previous business owners. Business consultants must also have a bachelor's degree in business management and received years of field training.

Business Consultant Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real business consultant resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Partner with PMO and lead testing effort to ensure completeness of test data sets and to manage risk.
  • Manage requirements gathering, identify KPI s, and oversee design and architecture decisions.
  • Manage various SOX, HIPAA and PCI compliance projects from the planning stages to completion.
  • Apply the specific rules for HIPAA X12, Medicaid manage care requirements and industry best practices for transaction handling.
  • Manage external technology suppliers to assure functional operations and system architecture meet the business needs.
  • Perform successful UAT - good knowledge & experience in SDLC - SQL querying and data analysis.
  • Implement cloud base ERP system - NetSuite for financial system with POS U/I for retail.
  • Develop and implement strategic business plans with bank and CPA partners to prospect new clients for ADP on a referral basis.
  • Receive level 2 ADP corporate sales training.
  • Develop migration strategies from TDM voice technologies to VoIP communications.
  • Create and maintain EDI programs for transmitting data to branches around the world.
  • Demonstrate proof of concept for automate dispatching and tracking for production SAS reporting software.
  • Conduct training programs on U.S. HR laws and best practices for firm's European employees.
  • Educate potential clients about the benefits of SEO, user reviews and online brand exposure.
  • Champion the development of the search strategy and review of SharePoint as the enterprise search product.

Business Consultant Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 10% of Business Consultants are proficient in Data Analysis, Project Management, and Strong Analytical. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Business Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Data Analysis, 10%

    Contributed by finding new data analysis & material analysis methods and insightful information on variables using Correlation and Statistical Analysis tools.

  • Project Management, 9%

    Launched consulting business specializing in program development and project management for organizations that educate, support and provide services to entrepreneurs.

  • Strong Analytical, 8%

    Demonstrate strong analytical and problem solving skills and provide interpersonal and collaborative skills Build strong relationships with vendors and clients

  • Analytics, 7%

    Developed 2 user interactive analytics solutions for monitoring medical product spend and identifying actionable savings in Tableau.

  • Healthcare, 5%

    Assisted management of client engagements in business risk and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance focusing on the Healthcare, Manufacturing and Technology industries.

  • Tableau, 5%

    Performed BI analysis using Tableau and generated reports that forecast sales and performance to upper management.

"data analysis," "project management," and "strong analytical" aren't the only skills we found business consultants list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of business consultant responsibilities that we found, including:

  • Arguably the most important personality trait for a business consultant to have happens to be analytical skills. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "management analysts must be able to interpret a wide range of information and use their findings to make proposals." Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that business consultants can use analytical skills to "performed data mining and visualization, calculated various metrics, identified problem areas. "
  • Another commonly found skill for being able to perform business consultant duties is the following: communication skills. According to a business consultant resume, "management analysts must be able to communicate clearly and precisely in both writing and speaking." Check out this example of how business consultants use communication skills: "influenced operations management strategies through collection, analysis, and communication of business process metrics. "
  • Interpersonal skills is also an important skill for business consultants to have. This example of how business consultants use this skill comes from a business consultant resume, "management analysts must work with managers and other employees of the organizations where they provide consulting services" Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "managed the installation of management systems, key performance metrics and improved business processes through strong facilitation and exceptional interpersonal skills. "
  • A business consultant responsibilities sometimes require "problem-solving skills." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems" This resume example shows how this skill is used by business consultants: "conduct system analysis for erp software solution for process and pharmaceutical manufacturing clients. "
  • As part of the business consultant description, you might find that one of the skills that might be helpful to the job is "time-management skills." A business consultant resume included this snippet: "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on time." This skill could be useful in this scenario: "processed weekly payroll in a timely manner in order to meet corporate deadlines. "
  • See the full list of business consultant skills.

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    What Program Management Consultants Do

    A program management consultant is responsible for analyzing project requirements based on clients' specifications, developing quality improvement techniques, and reviewing project deliverables. Program management consultants work closely with the project team to identify project initiatives and resolve complexities that may arise. They also inspect the resources and materials to be utilized during the project and determine cost-reduction processes without compromising quality and efficiency. A program management consultant coordinates with the clients for progress updates and informs them of any plan adjustments as needed.

    We looked at the average business consultant annual salary and compared it with the average of a program management consultant. Generally speaking, program management consultants receive $13,943 higher pay than business consultants per year.

    While their salaries may differ, one common ground between business consultants and program management consultants are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like project management, strong analytical, and healthcare.

    As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a business consultant responsibility requires skills such as "data analysis," "analytics," "tableau," and "business analysis." Whereas a program management consultant is skilled in "management program," "hr," "scrum," and "sigma." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

    Program management consultants tend to make the most money in the technology industry by averaging a salary of $107,612. In contrast, business consultants make the biggest average salary of $89,294 in the technology industry.

    On average, program management consultants reach similar levels of education than business consultants. Program management consultants are 1.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Contractor/Consultant?

    A contractor is a self-employed businessperson who agrees to work for a fixed price. His/her job involves the evaluation of clients' needs and actual performance of work. On the other hand, a consultant is a skilled independent businessperson who provides expert teaching and training in a specific market by assisting existing staff for the improvement of operations, problem-solving, and development of strategies. His/her role is to assess clients' needs and provide expert advice and opinion. However, both individuals are not employees, since they came from outside of the organization to perform such services.

    Next up, we have the contractor/consultant profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to a business consultant annual salary. In fact, contractor/consultants salary difference is $2,403 lower than the salary of business consultants per year.

    A similarity between the two careers of business consultants and contractor/consultants are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "data analysis," "project management," and "healthcare. "

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, business consultant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "strong analytical," "analytics," "tableau," and "business analysis." Meanwhile, a contractor/consultant might be skilled in areas such as "post implementation," "medicaid," "opportunity analysis," and "hr." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

    Contractor/consultants may earn a lower salary than business consultants, but contractor/consultants earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $88,122. On the other side of things, business consultants receive higher paychecks in the technology industry where they earn an average of $89,294.

    In general, contractor/consultants study at similar levels of education than business consultants. They're 2.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Business Advisor Compares

    Business Advisors are consultants responsible for implementing business strategies to improve financial and operational efficiency. They are involved in preparing financial budgets, recommending a change in the operational process, identifying new business opportunities, evaluating a marketing strategy, and reviewing supplier and labor contracts. Business advisors also help to manage risk by performing risk analysis and consumer behavioral analysis. They are involved in report preparation and work to maintain open communication with different departments to implement change.

    Let's now take a look at the business advisor profession. On average, these workers make higher salaries than business consultants with a $9,255 difference per year.

    While looking through the resumes of several business consultants and business advisors we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "project management," "strong analytical," and "healthcare," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from business consultants resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "data analysis," "analytics," "tableau," and "business analysis." But a business advisor might have skills like "business strategies," "excellent organizational," "sql," and "lean six sigma."

    Additionally, business advisors earn a higher salary in the technology industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $92,206. Additionally, business consultants earn an average salary of $89,294 in the technology industry.

    Business advisors typically study at similar levels compared with business consultants. For example, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of an Implementation Consultant

    An implementation consultant is a professional who travels to various job sites to help clients with the installation of different software and hardware solutions. Implementation consultants must be knowledgeable of the software application so that they can conduct training sessions for internal and external customers. They develop system teaching aids such as training handbooks, demonstration models, and multimedia visual aids. Implementation consultants must also obtain technical certification, particularly on the specific software and hardware they install.

    The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than business consultants. On average, implementation consultants earn a difference of $7,019 lower per year.

    While both business consultants and implementation consultants complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like project management, strong analytical, and healthcare, the two careers also vary in other skills.

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "data analysis," "analytics," "tableau," and "business analysis" are skills that have shown up on business consultants resumes. Additionally, implementation consultant uses skills like technical support, erp implementation, implementation process, and custom reports on their resumes.

    In general, implementation consultants make a higher salary in the pharmaceutical industry with an average of $90,837. The highest business consultant annual salary stems from the technology industry.

    Implementation consultants reach similar levels of education when compared to business consultants. The difference is that they're 4.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.