Whether you’re an experienced NetSuite aficionado looking to join the world of consulting, just beginning to dip your toes into everything ERP, or just looking for your first job, it’s important to prepare yourself for what may be ahead. Achieving any career goal comes with preparation and hard work. The path to becoming a NetSuite consultant requires a lot of both.

Being NetSuite gurus ourselves, we spoke with our own NetSuite ERP consultants and technical superstars to put together a guide highlighting just what it takes to become a NetSuite consultant.

Do you have what it takes to be a NetSuite guru? How can you be an asset on an ERP implementation team? We’ll stop blabbering on now so you can find out.

Qualities of a NetSuite Consultant

The word “consultant” may still be obscure to some. What does a consultant do? Well, they consult?

Jokes aside, working as a consultant requires a range of abilities, more than just a technical background in NetSuite and ERP. As a consultant, you’ll need to dazzle your clients with NetSuite technical knowledge, great people skills, as well as the ability to be well spoken, persuasive, and knowledgeable about the inner-workings of business processes and operations.

NetSuite consultants need to be able to help companies improve their overall performance by providing relevant business solutions to solve company pain points and reach shared goals. 

Some Qualities That Will Make You a Superstar NetSuite Consultant Include: 

1. Understanding the Inner-Workings:

Where do a company’s pain points stem from? It’s much easier to solve a problem within an organization when you are able to understand how a company’s ecosystem connects with each other, and how a company’s business processes should work. 

If you understand how a company should work, you can more easily identify where things are going wrong.  

Before configuring or customizing a feature or fix for an issue, really understand the purpose of it, if it’s going to actually benefit anyone, and how it may affect the company’s current processes. 

Essentially, before you do anything, talk to your client and understand their business. Involve yourself in the business process review and assessment for every project. Knowledge builds credibility.

2. Build Relationships With Clients: 

Any good NetSuite consultant will be constantly interacting with their clients along the way and providing solutions to their problems. Keeping your clients informed and involved along the process builds trust and facilitates communication. It’ll also help you learn about your clients’ business quicker, and even help you pick up on things you may have missed.

A good NetSuite consultant creates long-lasting relationships based on trust and empathy, becoming a trusted advisor to the client, even long after their initial NetSuite implementation. 

3. Learn to Work Under Pressure: 

It’s inevitable that, when dealing with large scale ERP projects and fast-paced businesses, you may find yourself in stressful situations within your role. Take a second, breathe, and continue. 

A good consultant will need to be patient with their clients and bring them peace of mind by saying the right things at the right time, keeping their clients informed, and offering solutions. Diagnose problems quickly, come up with an action plan, and involve your client in the solution so that they can see any progress for themselves. 
No matter what comes up, staying true to this formula will help you keep your cool.

4. Exceptional Business Insight: 

A big part of a NetSuite consultant’s job is helping clients find opportunities to further optimize and scale their system and their business.  

To do so, you need to understand their business and its current situation. Find out their goals, business processes, setup, and pain points in order to provide value-added improvements.

A consultant’s ability to perform a detailed business process review is key to ensuring solution selection, fit, and scalability for future growth. It allows you to get a detailed view of the business processes that are holding your client back, find opportunities to increase efficiency, save time & money, and even customize their NetSuite instance.

5. Seek More Knowledge: 

A NetSuite consultant should always be hungry for knowledge. All software products evolve, and so should your knowledge of them. From new or removed feature sets, to pricing structures, customizations and modules, you need to stay current with the latest UI, backend, and certifications for new products.

Now that you know which qualities can make you fit for the job, it’s time to learn how to get that job. 

Tips for Becoming a NetSuite Consultant 

As with any career, you can’t just get to your end-goal without some prep. We spoke to our own recruiters about what they look for in NetSuite consultants and what they suggest if you’re looking to get into the field. 
 
To help you out, we put together some handy tips that will help you sky-rocket your way to the top!

  1. Get That Certification:

    If you have the experience, get the certification. That extra bit of backing will give you so many more points when it comes to credibility, determination, and expertise. For companies, someone who has done the work to get certified, shows that they are determined to pursue their field, and are looking to grow and evolve - hopefully within the company of their choice.

    Each certification must be renewed every year with a brief test, and they may be expensive, but they’ll pay themselves off when you land the job of your dreams.
  2. Never Stop Learning:

    NetSuite launches major updates to their instance twice a year, which means you need to constantly update your knowledge and keep up to date with the list of new features and enhancements.

    Find specialized sources to help you learn and stay updated. When applying for a job, companies will expect that their NetSuite consultant will be a NetSuite expert. You can be that expert.

    To help you out, we put together a guide on NetSuite’s latest update:

  3. Brand Yourself:

    Branding, branding, branding. Do we sound like marketers now?

    But seriously, if you want to be noticed, you need to build a name for yourself as a NetSuite consultant. Participate as much as possible, go to events, meetups and courses. NetSuite has a variety of events, like SuiteWorld, which bring together NetSuite consultants and partners from all over the world. Many ERP partners have events of their own, as do NetSuite user groups, so look them up and get on with networking.

    Every industry activity is a chance to promote yourself, generate connections, and discover the latest industry trends.

  4. Create a Portfolio:

    What better way to present your experience than with a neatly packaged portfolio, topped off with a bow. If you have some experience, even if it was just an internship, start creating your own portfolio. Add as much detail as you can to really make a case for yourself.

    Portfolios are the most professional way to show your experience and will help your resume to stand out from the rest. It will also show companies that you are passionate about what you are doing and taking your career seriously.
  5. Know Your Professional Value:

    In order to sell yourself, you need to understand your worth and make companies understand how you can be of value to them.

    If you are overqualified, focus on talking about why you would like to work in that company. If you are a little under-qualified, focus on promoting the idea that you will learn and gain experience.

    Researching a company thoroughly before applying for a NetSuite consultant position will help you tailor your answers. Do you know which services the company offers? What do you understand about those services? How can you add value to them?

    Every company has its own set of needs. Show them why they need you.

What’s Next?

There are many NetSuite-related jobs on the market, the key is to find the right one where you can develop your skills, improve your knowledge and generate new business relationships. With a variety of NetSuite partners out there, it’s no doubt that you can find the one who’s values and interests align with yours the most. 

Key advice for any NetSuite consultant is to find an organization that actually invests in their talent and help them achieve their personal goals, alongside company goals. 

GURUS Solutions is always looking to hire new talent, check out our available positions to see if there’s one for you. 

Good luck!

GURUS Solutions: NetSuite Consultants & More

GURUS Solutions has been a 5-star NetSuite partner for 8 years running. We are NetSuite experts, offering our clients the best Cloud management software paired with a leading approach to solidifying back-office infrastructures.
 
We’ll help you leverage knowledge from over a decade of experience with a diverse portfolio of NetSuite projects, within many different industries.
 

Our team boasts:

  • A specialized process for optimizing your daily operations with reduced risk.
  • 14+ years of experience working with NetSuite and the Cloud.
  • 5-Star NetSuite Partner for 8 years in a row.
  • A unique & collaborative approach to any project.
  • Experience with a vast number of industries.
  • Over 2100 successful projects completed.
  • Resources across all of North America.

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À propos Alyssa Lamberti

Alyssa Lamberti is a resident Blogger, Writer, and Marketing Content Specialist for GURUS Solutions. She comes from a background in English Literature, having graduated with a degree in English Literature from Concordia University, and has worked in Marketing and copywriting for companies in the tech and media industry. 

Like a true Montreal native, when she isn’t writing about ERP, you can catch her trying to find her zen at a yoga class or drinking iced coffee with a novel in her hands. She’s a fan of modernist fiction, prose, and anything from Milan Kundera. She has only a single weakness – her kryptonite is cat memes.