If you walk into a room with a business consultant and let them speak for a few minutes, chances are, you will not understand half the things they're saying, it's almost like consultants have their own language.
If you have any involvement with this industry or want to learn more about it, there are several terms and acronyms you should be familiar with. In today's post, we will be going over some of the most commonly used buzzwords and phrases that business consultants use daily.
Business Consulting Buzzwords
Action Plan - Plan of steps that need to be taken to achieve a specific goal.
Adding Value - Value is being added in some aspect/ area.
Benchmarking - Comparing one data set with one from industry peers.
Best Practices - Processes and procedures that are thought of as correct or most effective.
Big 3 - The world's three largest strategy consulting firms by revenue.
Big 4 - The world’s four largest management consulting firms by revenue.
Capacity - The time and energy you have available for additional tasks.
Core Competencies - a defining capability or advantage that differentiates a company from its competitors.
Deck - Most likely a PowerPoint presentation.
Deep Dive - an in-depth examination or exploration of a topic.
Deliverable - The final project that consultants give to clients at the end of a project
Feedback - Critique given to a document, presentation or action to improve it.
Leverage - Another word for use, “we can leverage this data set…”
Playing Catch-Up - Getting up to speed, joining an existing project.
Re-Inventing the Wheel - Doing something that someone has already done previous research/ work on.
Business Consulting Acronyms
AP - Accounts payable
AR - Accounts receivable
B2B - Business to business
B2C - Business to consumer
CPC- Cost per click
CTA - Call to action
CR - Conversion rate
EBITDA - Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization
GA - Google Analytics
KPI - Key performance indicator
MECE - Mutually exclusive and completely exhaustive
ROA - Return on assets
ROE - Return on equity
ROI - Return on investment
P/E - Price to earnings
P&L - Profit and loss
SEO - Search engine optimization
SWOT - Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
CAO - Chief analytics officer
CDO- Chief data officer
CEO - Chief executive officer
CFO - Chief financial officer
CIO - Chief information officer
CMO - Chief marketing officer
COO - Chief operating officer
CSO - Chief security officer
CTO - Chief technology officer
CPA - Certified public accountant
GC - General counsel
HR - Human resources
PM - Project manager
PR - Public relations
R&D - Research and development
There's no doubt that after first glance, this list can feel overwhelming, but you can trust me when I tell you, that after a couple of weeks of surrounding yourself with it, you’ll know these terms like the back of your hand.
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Are you interested in the consulting industry? Parametric Pro Consulting Foundations offers more in-depth knowledge on this article as well as several other topics to prepare you for a career in business and consulting. Check it out here!
