What are the Top 5 Skills Required by Business Consultants? How much do business consultants get paid? How to become consultant at Accenture, McKinsey

What are the Top 5 Skills Required by Business Consultants

The talents necessary to become a successful business consultant differ based on the particular sector and sort of consulting job you are interested in pursuing, thus there is no universally applicable answer to this topic. 


But all effective business must have these 5 crucial abilities, as part of their toolkit:

1. Strong analytical and problem-solving abilitiesAs a business consultant, you will be entrusted with evaluating a company's strengths and shortcomings as well as seeing possibilities and possible threats. Therefore, business consultants must possess elevated analytical and problem-solving abilities, in order to address this complex task successfully.

2. Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills: As a business consultant, you must be able to persuade clients of your conclusions and advice. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are needed for this.

3. Strong business acumen: To succeed in this sector, you must have a thorough knowledge of how businesses function. This involves understanding of accounting, marketing, finance, and other business processes.

4. Good research and writing abilities: You'll need strong research and writing abilities to develop high-quality reports and proposals.

5. Project management expertise: Managing groups of consultants and other experts is a common task in business consulting assignments. Therefore, having some project management expertise is beneficial.

Natural question may pop-up next - How much money is made by a business consultant?

As reported by ZipRecruiter, the average hourly wage for a business consultant in the United States as of January 22, 2023 is $35.06.

Although ZipRecruiter reports hourly pay ranges from $8.89 to $69.71, the bulk of Business Consultant salaries now fall between $21.63 (25th percentile) and $43.27 (75th percentile) nationwide. There may be numerous prospects for progression and improved income based on skill level, location, and years of experience given the wide range of salary for a business consultant (up to $21.63).

Payscale.com estimates that, based on 279 salaries, an entry-level Business Consultant with less than one year of experience can expect to make an average total salary of $67,526 (tips, bonus, and overtime pay included). 
  • Based on 1,072 salaries, an entry-level business consultant with 1-4 years of experience receives an average annual salary of $75,270. 
  • Based on 642 salaries, a mid-career business consultant with 5 to 9 years of experience makes an average total annual salary of $87,513. 
  • Based on 432 salaries, an experienced business consultant with 10 to 19 years of experience makes a total annual salary of $93,227. 
  • Employees who are in their late careers (20 years or more) make an average total income of $99,507.

Summary:

Business consultants could be considered Jack-of-All-Trades. They are conditioned to understand the fundamentals of a business and as they gain more experience, working projects across multiple industries, their career options broaden. Many consultants from prestigious firms like McKinsey, Accenture, BCG and others, could land in the C-Suite of many companies.