Of course, you need to "know your stuff" in your own consulting field. You need to be a subject matter expert. If you're an information technology consultant, you need the technical knowledge and problem-solving savvy to give the client the expected result. Same for other business consultants, such as financial and marketing consultants. Same for consumer consultants, such as image, beauty or health consultants. If you don't know your stuff, you need to learn it at a job, or work with a more experienced consultant until you do.

Some consultants work in professions that are regulated by the law. These include lawyers, architects, and doctors, among many others. Obviously, if you need a license or certificate to do the work that will give the client the expected result, then by all means get it. Other certifications are optional. You take a test from a private company and become a Certified Network Engineer, for example. Certifications often help increase your credibility, and give an independent view of your training and knowledge. In addition, you can network with others who hold that certification.

As a consultant, you also will need interpersonal and communications skills:

* Interpersonal skills in order to close sales, and even to persuade your client to act on your advice!

* Communications skills such as making presentations and writing documents so that you can convey your value and your results to the client, in other words, so that the client can see what they've bought.

The good news is that these skills can be learned. And, you can be yourself. Some consultants are known for being difficult to deal with. That's OK - as long as they bring in the results for the client.

Finally, as a consultant, you need business management skills. You are not tying up funds in inventory or equipment, so in all honesty, the needed business skills are modest. You must keep track of your assets, cash, accounts receivable and bills. Inexpensive and readily available small business accounting and billing software can help you do this.

You need a basic level of organization to deal with a few repetitive tasks (such as getting bills out every month). This can be more complicated if you have several partners or operate in several locations, or if you delegate tasks to a staff. In The E-Myth Revisited, author and business consultant Michael E. Gerber explains how to think of your business like a "franchise" and develop procedures that can be easily applied by your personnel.

Apart from watching your cash, you must plan to focus on marketing. Far too many consultants put too much time into their technical skills and not enough into marketing. Or, even if they do think about marketing, it's haphazard and erratic. To be a real success, that won't work. Your marketing needs to be systematic and repeatable.

Know your subject matter, get needed certifications, develop your interpersonal and communications skills as well as business management, organizational and marketing skills. Master these and you should be well on your way to success in consulting.