Becoming a Contract Controller

Chapter 7Hired Gun Skills—Part 2

“I found out there is more to me than I imagined.”Ron Rael, Leadership Coach

Introduction

After completing this chapter you should be able to

• Apply the Gap Analysis to uncover your client’s goals and deficiencies.

• Use a defined process to sell someone on your ideas and suggestions.

• Proactively manage the client’s expectations.

• Find multiple ways to market yourself through social media, visibility, and networking.

Dual Service Skill Cluster

In this chapter, we will concentrate on four high-level skills that may be new to the person wanting to become a contract Controller or CFO. Yet, you will need these to be successful. Whether you decide to continue as a Hired Gun, this skill set will serve you well throughout your career.

Several of these skills—selling your ideas, marketing, and managing client expectations—are usually foreign to the typical Controller. A comment I receive when covering these speaks volumes about how accountants typically define themselves.

“If I wanted to sell something, I would have gone into marketing!”

Mastering these high-level skills takes time and practice.

More Special Skills the Hired Gun Needs

More special skills need by the Hired Gun include

• Future visioning

• Selling your solutions (convincing others about your ideas)

• Managing a client’s expectations

• Marketing professional services

Skill #5: Future Visioning

Many of the projects that you are hired for will be messes created by people who are visionary but lack ...