Effective Marketing Tips for Image Consultants

Do you struggle with getting more clients in your image consulting business?

Have you tried to advertise with no results?

You might be really good in your dressing and grooming skills. However, when running an image consultation business or any business for that matter, your priority is to find clients.

Here are 5 areas you can creatively market your services to:

1. Country Clubs

You could approach country clubs and speak to them about running a short talk or workshop for their members. Most of these clubs are already organsing workshops on lifestyle topics such as gardening, cooking, art classes and more. They might be looking at expanding their list of offerings. Hence you could approach these clubs to explore working with them.

2. Events and Exhibitions

Events and exhibitions are also great platforms for you to reach out to a large audience at any one time. Look out for relevant events and exhibitions that offer speaking spots. While you might be expected to speak for free, these platforms give you the exposure you need.

3. Preview Sessions

You can organise your own preview sessions to market your services too. Give a one-hour talk and excite your audience about how you can help them transform. You could also think about running a promotion and offer a special package for your audience to encourage sign-ups at the end of the preview session. Even if they do not sign up on the spot, preview sessions are great opportunities to build up your list potential clients whom you can continue to market to.

4. Spa and Beauty Services

You do not always have to do the marketing on your own. One great way is to partner up with businesses that share the same target audience as you. Think of the type of clients you are targeting and what businesses might have clients of similar profiles. Businesses that would make good partnerships for your image consulting services are those in the spa and beauty industry. These include hair salon, slimming centres, spa boutiques and more.

5. Clothes and Accessories Stores

Since your business also about dressing, tailors, clothing stores and even accessories boutiques would be terrific partners too. As it helps to promote their merchandise, they would be happy to partner and work with you too.

Each of the above-mentioned platforms offers you a targeted audience to help raise your profile as you reach out to potential clients. So, get in touch with them to explore working opportunities.

How To Hire An Online Marketing Consultant

Working with a digital marketing consultant for the first time can be a challenge due to the various factors that you need to consider. Will they understand your business or products? How will they work with you and your team? Will they deliver on what they promise and will they be affordable?

These are all important questions that you will be seeking answers for and by doing some due diligence, you are sure to find the right person for your business.

Here are 9 points you should consider as you look to hire a digital marketing consultant:

1. What is their experience?

There are different types of online marketing consultants working in different sectors and you need to be sure the person you hire has experience within your industry. For example, a B2B marketer will have different skills and experience from one that is in the consumer retail sector.

So, this is an important point to consider and you should ensure that they understand the nature of your business, industry trends and what your goals are.

2. Who have they worked with in the past?

Ask for references from past clients and check out the full list of clients they’ve worked for. This should give you a clue of their experience because if they have worked with similar businesses then you are at an advantage.

3. Which sectors have they worked in?

Some sectors overlap and an online marketing consultant that has worked within the B2B services sector will likely bring valuable skills to the consumer services sector. That’s because many of the issues around the nature of services like their being intangible and being consumed at the time they are produced are very similar.

4. Are they a freelancer or agency marketer?

With the growth in Internet access around the world and fast connection speeds, it has become much easier to work with clients and partners who are across the world. So an SEO freelancer in India for example is able to offer the same or an even better service than a local marketer.

This has also been helped by freelance websites such as People Per Hour and Elance that have thousands of registered marketers who offer a great service. Also, the rating and review systems on these sites make it easier to choose a freelancer that has the skills you require.

The other two options include employing a digital marketer or hiring an agency that has a wide range of skills and a team of experts that can help in creating online campaigns, digital copywriting, email marketing, social media and more.

5. Where are they based?

If you decide to work with a freelancer, it’s a benefit if you can meet up face-to-face to discuss strategy. That way you will build a stronger relationship and it will ensure that you are both on the same page as regarding plans for your business.

6. What qualifications do they hold?

A degree or diploma in marketing is a good start, however it is not essential especially in the online world where experience and technical skills are more important. However, it’s important to have the fundamental marketing skills of market research, customer and competitor analysis strategy and other skills which are taught at colleges and universities.

7. Do they have online reviews?

If you plan to work with a freelancer or agency, then it’s likely that they have reviews for work they’ve carried out in the past. Check out these reviews to see what other clients have to say about their skills, work ethic, experience, response times and so on. Also, if you can get references from past clients that would be extra helpful to you as you make your decision.

8. What do they charge for their services?

Hiring a consultant should be affordable for your business and no matter how excellent they are, if you cannot meet their costs then it’s better to look elsewhere. Freelancers are available at affordable rates on sites like Elance, however these sites are more suited for one-off projects and tasks.

9. Are they published or an author?

This one is not as important as the other points because there are many marketing experts that have not published articles or a book. Of course a marketing practitioner that is recognised as an expert and is published is a bonus over one that is not, because they will have demonstrated deep knowledge in their field and be respected too.

Mike Ncube is a Digital Marketing Consultant and Marketing Author and his latest book is “The DIY Guide to Online Marketing Success”. He blogs regularly about the latest digital marketing trends and he has published books, case studies & whitepapers that will help you with your campaigns.

Why Businesses Must Consider Hiring A Safety Consultant Today

To ensure that your business remains competitive, you have to provide a safe work environment for your employees. Safety and training programs can help ensure a safe workplace but it is not enough since it is very impossible to predict as well as control 100%. With this, it has become a necessity for businesses today to hire a safety consultant who can take a look at your company policies, accident prevention programs, training, and other crucial issues that might be helpful to your company and type of industry.

You must know that these professional consultants regularly attend seminars as well as meet with industry regulatory agencies. In general, they are ahead of the curve when it comes to safety and training in their field of expertise. When it comes to searching for the best service provider, consider asking referrals from your trusted family and friends. It is very crucial for you to choose only the best as you are entrusting the well-being and lives of your employees to such professional. You really have to take time in order to make a well-informed and healthy decision.

Some Benefits Of Hiring A Safety Consultant

· Training are available for employees whenever required

· It will significantly reduce overhead costs

· Services are likewise available either as needed or perhaps as specified in the contract

· Updated safety regulations

· There are annual service contracts for better savings

· You can set-up as well as check necessary paperwork for construction subs on the worksite

Indeed, consultants are the best professionals to turn into when it comes to ensuring the safety of the job sites. No wonder, more and more businesses today get help from these professionals. Consultation indeed offers great help in identifying hazards in the workplace as well as in establishing or perhaps improving health and safety management systems.

Different Services Offered By Consultation

· It can greatly help in recognizing hazards in the job site.

· Consultants can provide you with approaches or options in terms of solving a safety or health problem.

· You will receive written reports summarizing the findings of on-site reviews of health and safety.

· You will be guided in developing or maintaining an efficient safety and health management system.

· You and your employees will receive necessary training and education in the workplace or even away from the worksite.

Consultation certainly provides several benefits. And these will include recognizing and removing hazards from the work environment, preventing loss of life in the workplace, improving employee morale, protecting employer’s workers from any illness or injury, and cultivating informed and alert employees who will be responsible for their own and their coworker’s safety. For more info, check out this site.

Fulfill Your Dream of Becoming a Fitness and Wellness Consultant

The world we live in today has so many stress factors that bombard us daily, our only release is to de-stress. Consultants are all around us but are you confident about your fitness and wellness consultant. If you are a fitness and wellness enthusiast, then you may want to become what you enjoy doing, while earning in the process.

• Certification

Being a certified fitness and wellness consultant gives you the edge, because it offers you the pleasure to do what you enjoy, while helping others to achieve their goals. To get certification, there are both physical and written exams you need to sit. You can go online to find the closest facility that offers courses in your community. Most certification courses are offered by professional fitness and wellness consultants as well as local community centers. First, the basic fitness and wellness certificate is what you need; this can be done online. With the basic certificate, you can specialize in prenatal and postnatal wellness. For having a higher certification that is recognized internationally, you may want to enroll in European Fitness Association or Fitness Association of America, both offers certification of the highest standard.

• Internship

After completion of your certification course, then the fun begins. You may want to enroll in an establish wellness and fitness club to fine tune your skills, get some documented experience under your belt, so you are able to deal with clients that may come to your facility with specific cases. This will help to build your confidence when you go freelancing as a consultant. Your knowledge acquired at the facility will give you valuable insight as to the kind of standard and quality service you want to offer your prospective clients. This will also help you build a good and solid relationship with your clients and so enhance your membership. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, and when great service is given, people will know. You may choose to work in a facility after you are certified, which is not a problem, as it cuts down on overhead expenses.

• Be Unique

Another way to build your client base is to offer special services, that most if not all, other fitness and wellness consultants’ agencies are not offering. You may consider consultancy in disease management, which requires you to be very knowledgeable on the subject. Offering clients advice in this area is unique, as many persons who opt to begin sessions, on fitness and wellness have problems in areas of certain chronic diseases. Smoking, diabetes, hypertension, even recovering cancer patients are generally pleased when they are able to have personal discussions with their wellness consultants to help in these areas.

5 Challenges for Recruitment Consultants

Never has the recruitment industry been more prevalent as it is now. Gone are the days when college graduates have to go from one company to another to seek for employments. Gone are the days when hiring companies have to sit in one senseless interview after another. The recruitment consultants changed the game. They provided the much needed go-between for the employers and the job applicants.

Now, the challenge is for the recruitment consultants to do their job. And do it well. But if you’re thinking that with the number of talents graduating year after year and the increasing number of companies being set up, you are in for a good ride. Then, think again. The job of a recruitment consultant is not easy at all. There are so many challenges out there.

To give you an idea, we’ve listed down 5 of the most common challenges you will find in your job as a recruitment consultant.

1. Understanding the market. This is by far the most important and the most challenging aspect of a recruitment consultant. True, more and more organizations are hiring recruitment consultants to do the work for them, get them the best candidates in the market and present them with the best package while still keeping the companies’ interests. But, the thing is. It’s not all there is to it. Companies want their candidates and they want it fast. With the intense competition out there, you will be eaten if you do not have the perfect strategy to seal the deal. This is the very reason why there are so many agencies that closed down and headhunters who sought out other profession.

2. Building a diverse candidate database. A diverse database will help you shorten the recruitment process. Once a new client comes in, you should be ready to present to them the list of candidates you have. But with the competition out there, you’ll have to double your efforts in being the first to get to your candidates. Understand their needs, your target companies’ needs and make good your promises. It doesn’t stop in the initial contact, follow through them. If you landed them their ideal job, follow up. Ask if they are satisfied or do they need anything else. It takes a lot of effort to build that database.

3. Getting your candidates’ commitment. Not all candidates will allow you to represent them exclusively. They will be in contact with a number of recruitment consultants and see which would provide them the best job opening and salary promise. You may be aware of it. But you wouldn’t know which of the candidates are doing just that. They’ll promise to your face but when the interview time arrives, they may or may not be there. This will stand in your way in getting your clients. It’ll tarnish your image and your reputation.

4. Hiring the best recruiters. You won’t do it alone. Most of the time, you’ll need to establish a team to help you get your game together. But the problem is, with so many agencies out there, it’ll be a real challenge to get the ones on top. You’ll have to make do with mediocre ones. True, you may train them. But it takes such a long process. There are some things that words can’t even describe. They have to experience them in order to learn and while they’re at it, you’ll find it all the more challenging to handle the candidates, the clients and train these recruiters simultaneously.

5. Making your mark. Advertising any job openings should be as real and as true to the actual job itself. You wouldn’t want to overpromise your candidate and risk losing them to some other recruiter. But you’ll need to attract them to stay with you too. That’s the challenge. You’ll need to strike a balance in between. You have to use your integrity to maintain your contacts and instill trust in them.

Online Consulting – What Are Proving Ground Projects? Part I

Proven ground projects are absolutely necessary before contemplating signing any kind of long term agreements for computer online consulting. This project is the very first project that any computer online consulting professionals must complete with their new upcoming clients, that have not yet became a client. At this point is where the online consultants are proving themselves to their possible clients, showing them that they are not just talking the talk, they can indeed, walk the walk. They want you to trust that they are completely capable of providing you with the services that you would expect.

If in the end, everything goes good between the online consultant and their hopeful client, then you will know that you are on the right track towards success. By successfully completing the proving ground projects,you can rest assured in knowing that you have yourself a new steady client. This is the point in time in which you know that you have became a professional computer online consultant. You have nothing to look forward to now, other than just getting better and better with your online consulting services that you can provide for your potential clients.

Many of the times a online consultant does not pay enough attention during the proving ground projects and ends up in a long term agreement with someone that sooner than later, turns out to become quite a nightmare of a client. Do not get so caught up with the fact that you are a computer online consultant,that you do not see the horrible potential client, sitting right in front of you.

How To Make Money From Coaching or Consulting

If you are working full time as a life or business coach or consultant, your clients are your primary source of income. Let’s say you are doing fairly well… but are you accepting the maximum amount of payment for what you do, and what you can offer? If not, here are some tips on finding ways you may have missed.

Face it: you probably got into coaching because you like people and want to help them. If this is really true, money becomes a secondary concern, especially if you are in the “soft” coaching field of life coaching. While I understand this priority, I also know (as you do, of course) that when the rent or mortgage comes due, you need to be paid if you want to stay in business and coach more people.

Let’s look at your business structure a bit, i.e., How do you make money from coaching or consulting now? Find more clients? Great, but that’s only 33% of the picture!

You really have three ways to make money from coaching or consulting:

  1. Get more clients,
  2. Sell more stuff to existing clients, and
  3. Sell stuff more frequently.

Get More Clients. Most people only think of one way to make coaching money, and that is to secure more paying clients. This is the method I call “magic money bullet #1,” and is number one for a reason: it works. Getting more clients is – while not the easiest – the best way to expand your practice and have more income. If you currently have two clients, and get two more, this would double your practice, and presumably your income as well.

Part of the benefit of getting new clients is the ability to raise your base fees or rates. Existing clients may balk at price hikes, however, unless you do it in ways I go over in this article.

Sell More Stuff To Existing Clients, or “magic money bullet #2.” While this method may be obvious if you own a McDonald’s franchise (e.g., “Do you want fries with that”), what does this mean in terms of coaching or consulting?

The first part of the coaching “upsell method” is to know what brought your clients to you in the first place. Then (and only then) you can offer them more of the same, or similar. Let’s say, for example, you are coaching someone on how to build better relationships. While coaching them you happen to come across a particular product that helps with relationships, and you feel it would help them. By telling your client about that particular product you are helping your client.

If you are also an “affiliate” for that product line (similar to a sales rep or broker), you are adding to your bottom line immediately. When your client buys that product through your link or website, you earn affiliate income from their purchase. If the product is, say, an E-Book, CD, DVD, or something like that, each of these may not add a lot to your bottom line, but the commissions add up over time.

Referring clients to other (non-competing) types of coaches or consultants is another excellent way to build client loyalty and create goodwill. “Spreading the love” is not going to hurt you because, guess what, when you refer your client to someone else you help that client. When you help the client you also help yourself; they will remember you. The other coach or consultant will also remember you, and refer people back when and if the occasion arises.

Let’s say you are coaching someone on building self-esteem. Along the way, you become aware they are self-conscious about their appearance and weight. By sending them to a weight loss program that has a referral or affiliate offering, your client will lose the weight, feel better about themselves, and give YOU the credit! They will respect your future advice and refer others to you, the coach who took the risk and was generous enough to send them to a program that actually did them some good.

So it is not a matter of selling clients stuff they don’t need. People don’t buy when they are being sold to. They buy because a) they have a need, and b) they feel this thing is valuable for them at this particular time. So, for someone coming to you for self-esteem coaching, a weight loss product would be in line with your type of coaching. If you make money from the referral, even better!

Sell more stuff to your clients more frequently. Magic money bullet #3 involves time. If you sold Barbie dolls, that was easy. Barbie had (and still has) a zillion and one accessories, outfits, houses, cars, and tennis rackets – not only for herself, but also for partners Ken and others – that little girls want AFTER the initial doll purchase. Mattel Toys could practically GIVE that doll away and still make tons of money each month on these items!

What does this mean for you as a coach or consultant? Maybe set up your clients on, say, a yearly program. If that seems like a long time, look at the type of coaching you do. If you are coaching someone specifically on losing 40 pounds – and they lose the 40 pounds – the coaching is pretty much over. It would be a bit unethical to drag that out for a year.

If, however, you are coaching them to keep the weight off, self-esteem or other issues, you will have lots of programs to offer them over time. My suggestion is to set them up on a schedule: weekly, monthly – however they like to be coached – and make yours either a six-month or year-long program.

Once the schedule is set, bill them every month. Have an automatic billing routine where it either goes through their bank’s automatic payment feature, through your Shopping Cart or through PayPal’s automatic billing feature. This is a very nice thing to have and keeps you from having to chase them down.

Again, when you schedule someone more frequently, or schedule them in advance for a certain number of coaching or consulting sessions you are doing you both a favor. This way there’s not a whole lot of guess work. They know they are going to be billed every month, and you know the money is coming. This way you can focus on helping your client instead of focusing on billing hassles.

Should You Start A Business Development Consulting Firm?

If you have a lot of experience in the business world, it may be a good idea to start your own business development consulting firm. You can use your expertise to make a lot of money while also having the ability to choose your clients. What other benefits are there to establishing a consulting firm?

Charge As Much Money As You Want

When you work for yourself, you can charge as much as the market will bear. In some cases, you can make $100 an hour or more if you work for a large enough company. However, working for as little as $20 an hour is still a good rate of pay for what you will be doing for your clients.

Get Steady Work Doing Something That You Love

Once you establish yourself as an excellent consultant, you will acquire loyal customers who will use you on a long-term basis. This means that you won’t have to wake up each morning wondering if you are going to make the car payment on time or pay your mortgage this month. Since you are doing something that you love, you won’t feel as stressed or as bitter about working long hours if a client needs you to finish a project as soon as possible.

Have A Hand Getting A New Company Off The Ground

Working with small business owners can be a rewarding experience. If a company that you worked for becomes the next major search engine provider or fast food company, you can take pride in knowing that your ideas played a part in that. In some cases, you may be able to acquire stock in the company as part of your compensation package. That means that you may literally see your hard work pay off in more ways than one.

Take The Weekends Off

Although you may need to meet with a client on a Saturday every so often, you get to decide when you work and when you don’t work. If your child is sick or you just don’t want to get up before noon on a Wednesday, you can schedule many of your appointments around your schedule. This makes it easier to achieve a work-life balance that allows you to make money while also taking time to play golf or go to Florida to see your kids every so often.

Gain Connections Within The Community

Those who have political aspirations may want to make connections with business owners and others who have money in the community. Business consultants have the unique ability to show what they know while also having the ability to develop personal relationships with potential voters.

Business consulting can be a great job for a variety of reasons. It offers the flexibility that you want while helping you pay your bills at the same time. By making connections in the community, you can fulfill other goals such as running for a political office both locally or nationally. Therefore, you should seriously consider a consulting job if it is something that you think you could be good at.

Using Business Consultants to Expand Your Business

Business consultants can help take your business from small to large with a few expert tactics. Even if you never pictured yourself running a large business with international clients, meeting with a consultant may change your mind. If you’ve always hoped to take your business to the big time and attract clients from all over the world, a business consultant can help you achieve that goal. There are a number of things you can implement in your business that will not only market your business to clients but help you gain a diverse customer base. It’s just knowing how to implement them into your business that can be time consuming and confusing for the average business owner.

Create an Online Presence

One way to reach a mass number of clients and potential clients is to create an online presence. Many businesses already have a website, but just having a website doesn’t mean you have an online presence. An online presence means that your website pops up in the search engines and clients are aware that you exist because they see your business name or brand while browsing the Internet. The days of being able to create a website and wait for people to find you are over. There’s too much online competition to expect the clients to come to your website without being led in some way.

There are business consultants who specialise in creating and marketing business websites. Not only will a good consultant help you manage a website, but they’ll help you create and organize material for a business blog. The great thing about a blog is that you don’t have to personally write the material. You can use someone from your staff or have your consultant find you a freelancer willing to create a few blog posts a month. Once your name is out there as a master in your field, clients will start to make inquiries.

Customer Diversity

One thing you need to expand is a diverse customer base. Your consultant can sit with you and discuss your current client base and see what changes you could make to diversify. Sometimes it’s something as simple as marketing to a new client sector. Other times you may need to offer a new service or product in order to attract a different set of clients. Once you are able to diversity your customer portfolio, you’ll find that it’s easier to expand the business. Business consultants can help you locate a new clientele and market your services to them.

Autocratic vs Consultative Leadership

When one speaks about Leadership styles, there are several different models to choose from. However, whatever the model it is never an easy process to implement or practice a particular style of leadership and hope to get the results that was intended. “Leadership” per se is both an Art as well as a Science. The one key element that all leaders should possess is their ability to communicate their visions and values to the people they are leading and to get the people to buy into their visions and values.

The key concern is whether the leader is getting his people to ‘buy-in’ or is he trying to ‘sell’ his vision. When you want to ‘sell’ you need to be convincing and give the impression that the ideas you have are inherently beneficial to the people and therefore they should accept it. This usually is a challenging dilemma as sometimes the people you are leading might not quite see the relevance of your visions and values and may not be forthcoming in accepting them. However, if you are able to create the circumstances whereby the people feel that what you possess are important visions and values, and that by they buying into these it would benefit them well, you have created a winning formula to lead your people successfully.

If you want your people to ‘buy-in’ rather than ‘sell’ your visions and values you need to pay meticulous attention to the type of leadership style that you portray. I personally find that in this context, leadership can be classified either as autocratic leadership style or a consultative leadership style.

Autocratic Leadership Style

Autocratic leadership is one which is based on a clear top-down approach. The leader is in a position of absolute power and he can implement and do whatever he wants to get things done. Usually in an autocratic leadership environment there will not be much discussion of affairs as the people find that their voices does not carry weight in the problem solving and decision making aspects of their organization.

An autocratic leader will be the driver of his people and without his leadership the organization will not be able to function. Usually autocratic leaders like to delegate their power but at the same time having a stranglehold on all those subordinate to them. They also like to coach their people to do things the way they want it and may create a ‘my way or the highway’ kind of working environment. The impression one gets in an autocratic leadership style is that the leader is seen as some kind of megalomaniacal tyrant to be feared and followed.

Although there is some truth to this, autocratic leadership is not necessarily a bad style. In fact there are some circumstances where an autocratic leadership should be the preferred style. One instance where autocratic leadership style may be applicable is when the organization is new and the people are inexperience and thus look up to the leadership to guide them in their work. Another instance is if the people are disengaged in their job and have no clear direction and there is vast internal politicking of the kind that is disruptive and causes an emotional strain in the way the organization is being managed. Here a powerful autocratic leadership might help to re-align the organization to its original position and get the people back in shape.

The downside of all this is that an extended period of engaging in an autocratic style of leadership can strain the relationship between the leader and the people in that the people might find the leader to be so task-oriented that they may develop a sense of resentment. Further, when the leader becomes too autocratic he may forget that he is dealing with humans and not machines and might create the impression that the people are just part of the machinery. This can create a sense of dissonance in the work environment which will not be beneficial to the leader, the people and the organization in the long run. Take the cue from Dwight D. Eisenhower who said: “You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership”

Consultative Leadership

Consultative leadership is the way to go in the long run. Management Guru, Kenneth Blanchard said: “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority”. This is the very nature of consultative leadership in that you the leader will have to develop the ability to influence people rather than impose on them your authority as is the case in an autocratic leadership style. In consultative leadership style, the leader will engage the subordinates efficaciously in the decision making and problem solving process. This kind of leadership style endorses the fact that the leader is indeed the servant of the people he is leading. The people have the power to engage in consultation with the leader and are able to make suggestions which they know would be taken into serious contemplation by the leader.

Further, consultative leadership style endorses the concept of empowerment rather than delegation. When a leader empowers, he is basically giving the person concern a freehand to do what is necessary. The leader may draw up certain parameters for the person to work within and to ensure that he is kept in the loop by the person. In a consultative leadership style, the leader still has strong visions and concrete values that he can communicate with his people. However unlike the autocratic leader, the concept underlying consultative leadership style is one of administering a people-oriented kind of management rather than a task-oriented one.

The consultative leader’s role will continuously involve the development of his people and this is done by being kept aware of the needs and wants of the people. The only way this information can be gotten is by having constant dialogue with the people and clarifying the goals and aspirations that you have and synchronizing this with their personal visions. When the people get to experience this state of being they will be more prepared to ‘buy-in’ the visions and values of the leader.

In the long haul, consultative leadership will be the most appropriate one. As the organization mature, the leader has to learn to move away from delegation to empowerment. When the people become more experienced and participative in their professional relationship with you the leader, you will have to play the role of a mentor to them. Consultative leadership style will invoke in you the ability to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals under your authority and allow you the opportunity to nurture the best out of them. The parting quote by Elisabeth Dole seems apt to be mentioned here where she said: “What you always do before you make a decision is consult. The best public policy is made when you are listening to people who are going to be impacted. Then, once policy is determined, you call on them to help you sell it”.