by Michael W. McLaughlin on February 8, 2010
It’s exhilarating to learn that you’ve won a new project. But that moment is often followed by the sobering realization that you now have to make good on your promises. Or, as one consultant put it, “The good news is that we won the project. The bad news is that we have to do the project.”
In last month’s issue of my newsletter, The Guerrilla Consultant, I wrote an open letter from a client to a consultant that expressed what most clients want to say at the outset of a new project. I got quite a few suggestions to write about the flip side of that–what a newly-hired consultant would have to say to the client.
My take on that second letter is the subject of this month’s issue of The Guerrilla Consultant.
Enjoy the article.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on February 5, 2010
Industry surveys are a staple in the marketing programs of most consultants, but they are time-consuming to design and execute. The Alterra Group, which focuses exclusively on the unique needs of professional services marketers, offers some interesting insights on getting the most mileage from survey research.
To guide your thinking on how to make survey research pay off, the firm just published a short piece, Ten Ways to Boost the ROI of your Survey Research. My attention was drawn to their advice about hypotheses and stories, which are two elements many people struggle with. The authors warn against making your survey’s hypotheses so broad that you can’t cover the topic, or so narrow that it’s hard to uncover interesting findings.
They also urge us to look for the story in the research, instead of just focusing on the data. Devising a compelling narrative for your survey findings may take longer than simply regurgitating facts. But a story will open doors more quickly and your audience will be more receptive.
For a great refresher on maximizing the value of your survey research, follow this link to have a look at the rest of the article.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on February 4, 2010
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, PwC released its 2010 Annual Global CEO Survey report.
Generally, things look a lot better this year than in 2009. In the survey of 1,200 chief executives in 52 countries, 81 percent are confident about revenue prospects for the next twelve months, up from 64 percent a year ago. And 31 percent are “very confident,” up 10 percentage points from last year’s low.
The jobs picture remains murky. Even though almost 40 percent of the respondents plan to increase headcount in 2010, 25 percent plan more job cuts. But this is down from nearly half who axed jobs last year.
In spite of their general optimism, CEOs see a “multi-speed” recovery, which is jargon for differing economic growth rates in different parts of the world. CEOs expect stronger growth in developing nations, where labor costs are lower, than in the developed ones.
Overall, the picture is one of guarded optimism. The global market is still awash in government-supplied capital to spur investment and lending, and to improve liquidity. What remains is for executives to redouble their investments in innovation, focus on growth, not cost control, and to be willing to take risks once again.
Read the 13th Annual Global CEO Survey.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on February 4, 2010
“Clients benefit from naked service because they hear what they need to hear, without having to parse through what you are saying.” – Patrick Lencioni
This month, we welcome back Patrick Lencioni, best-selling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Death by Meeting, and The Three Signs of a Miserable Job.
In his new book, Getting Naked: A Business Fable about Shedding the Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty, Lencioni tackles an issue that all consultants face: how to retain the clients you really want. We asked Lencioni about the strategies he uses to build trust and keep clients loyal.
Read my interview with Patrick Lencioni
We’re also featuring articles on boosting your creativity, how to stay at the top of your game, what we can learn from Columbus, making the most of survey research, and a report on what CEOs around the world think is coming in 2010.
Read this month’s issue.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on February 1, 2010
After more than a year of discouraging economic news, the services industry appears poised for a rebound. For most of last year, the stocks of major service businesses rallied, and analysts now predict growing client demand for services. CEOs anticipate more hiring for 2010 than in 2009, and there’s evidence of economic growth in many world economies.
Granted, the progression of any “recovery” will be uneven, impacting demand in some industries at different times than others. For some firm leaders and individual practitioners, though, good news can’t get here soon enough.
No matter how your practice fared in the past, this is a good time to position yourself to take advantage of an uptick in your market.
You can begin by looking at how you’re framing the issues your clients now face. Are you emphasizing solutions that reflect your clients’ current priorities? If you’re a change management consultant, for example, is your main message still the same old challenges of change? If you focus on succession planning, are you still stuck on the generic importance of planning for executive turnover?
I’m not suggesting that you abandon these messages entirely. But shift your focus to address the new challenges your clients must meet as they navigate their own recoveries. Once their priorities match your service offer, you have an opportunity to demonstrate value and win work.
If you try to market and sell using the same old tactics, expect to sit on the sidelines.
How are you responding to the changes in your market?
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on January 28, 2010
If you spend any time with a service provider, it won’t be long before you hear how the use of so-called “best practices” will pave the way to client success.
Using the best practices developed by other organizations, you’ll hear, will accelerate the design of a solution to most any problem. Listening to this, you’d think best practices were silver bullets.
The problem with the best practices approach is that it usually doesn’t work.
Starting any project with a canned solution narrows your focus to how you will implement that solution, instead of broadening your thinking about what should be done. I’m not suggesting that professionals blindly use the best practices of others without some consideration of the client’s situation. What can (and does) happen, though, is that teams begin with an analysis of how to make someone else’s answer work when they should devise innovations for the situation they face.
What makes the use of best practices even more dangerous is that it’s a follower’s strategy. By leaning on the well-worn solutions of others, you’re dooming your client to a future of following the pack, not leading it.
Of course, there is value in learning from the experience of others. If another organization has addressed a similar issue, it’s helpful to know what they did. And best practices can jog your thoughts and maybe even inspire you.
But as a tool for guiding strategic initiatives, it’s a real loser. Remember, one company’s best practice can too easily become another’s sunk cost.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on January 27, 2010
In your interactions with clients, there are often pivotal moments when decisive change happens. Any services sales, for example, can have multiple turning points, such as the entry of a new competitor or turnover in the client’s executive ranks. Whatever the new wrinkle, you must adjust your thinking and adapt to it.
The most important turning point occurs when the client decides to become your client—which usually happens long before you try to “close” the sale. That pivotal moment results from a subtle shift in mindset: the client no longer sees you as a competing service provider, but as someone who could really help.
It’s possible to create that crucial turning point without even knowing it. Sometimes, you make a single observation or provide an insight, at just the right moment, that resonates with the client and creates an “aha” moment. Most likely, though, the turning point you want occurs because of your deliberate, consistent, and continuous delivery of client value throughout the sales process.
What this means is that you must design your sales process with two factors in mind. First, you have to uncover the real sources of value for each client, and those change from client to client. Your sales methodology won’t help you here. Instead, your analytical skills are your strongest asset.
Second, you need to learn how your client prefers to buy services. If a client wants personal briefings on your services and you trot out the usual dog and pony show, don’t expect to change the client’s view of you. If you can design a tailored buying experience and carefully align that with how your client wants to learn, you’re on your way to creating a turning point.
It’s impossible to predict for certain when (or if) a client will experience the turning point that tips a sale in your favor. But you can create a sales process that sows the seeds for that moment. And if you do that right, expect a higher rate of sales success at a lower cost.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on January 22, 2010
Successful marketing doesn’t happen by accident. It takes insightful analysis, dedication to building a business and, most of all, patience.
Even though every company approaches the market in a unique way, the most effective marketers follow 15 principles that lead to their success.
- Marketing is embedded in every aspect of the business, from the big things (like how you deliver services) to the details, such as the look of your emails and envelopes.
- You have a market positioning vision that reflects your direction and purpose. Everyone in the practice understands and can describe it in a few brief sentences.
- Clients understand your market positioning.
- Your clients and prospects know what makes you different from your competitors.
- All members of your practice know exactly how they contribute to the success of both your business and its marketing strategy.
- You have a marketing activity calendar, and you follow it.
- Client-specific programs are at the center of your marketing strategy.
- You have patience with your marketing program, recognizing that some strategies take hold more quickly than others.
- You measure the effectiveness of your marketing, making mid-course corrections as needed.
- Your marketing strategy relies on an array of integrated tactics, applied consistently over time, rather than a start-and-stop approach.
- You place a high value on client relationship skills.
- You deliver your services flawlessly.
- You provide a positive experience for your clients, no matter how tough the project.
- Your marketing materials make a positive difference in your business development efforts.
- You make time every day for marketing the business.
You can probably add to this list, but look at each of these principles and assess how well your firm is meeting the intent of each one. For most organizations, a few small changes in how they go to market can make a significant impact on performance.
I’ve left one essential, but obvious, item off this list. You must have an in-demand service offering that you can deliver to the market. Without that, your marketing efforts may succeed, but your business will ultimately fail.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on January 21, 2010
If you’ve worked with clients for a while, you’ve probably experienced the pain of an awkward client moment. It often happens in a team meeting. Maybe the executive sponsor asks the team, for example, how the project is progressing, and then listens to a glowing report from the group.
You know that the client team members are telling the executive what they think she wants to hear, but they are soft-pedaling potential problems. How much should you say when it’s your turn to speak? Whatever you decide to do, there will be painful consequences.
If you choose to contradict the team’s view, you risk the wrath of your client teammates. If you just nod in agreement as the team spins the facts, you’re complicit in a charade that could lead to the unraveling of the project.
Naturally, events aren’t always that black and white. Still, we often face this challenge: how to communicate what we believe is important without needlessly damaging client relationships.
I think of this as the “invisible fence” syndrome. You’ve probably seen an invisible fence in use by pet owners. These electronic systems keep animals within property boundaries without tying them up. If the pet attempts to cross the boundary, a collar delivers a mild shock. It’s common to see poor Fido parked at the very edge of the boundary, dying to leap through but fearful of taking another step forward.
I’ve watched dozens of consultants in client meetings sit inside their own invisible fences when the situation called for pushing beyond the boundary. They may fear the potential “shock” of losing the sale, jeopardizing a relationship, or making waves in the client organization.
In nearly every case, though, the pain you might have to endure will be far outweighed by the reputation you’ll build for independence, objectivity, and putting the client’s needs ahead your own.
Once you pass through your invisible fence, you’re unlikely to go back. And that can mean big rewards in the quality of your client relationships.
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by Michael W. McLaughlin on January 21, 2010
There’s some truth to the saying that familiarity breeds contempt. So how do you know if you’ve been with your client too long? It might be a hint if…
• People ask why you weren’t at the client’s Holiday party
• You help interview all the new hires
• The first email box you check each day is your client-issued one
• You are a regular guest writer on the company’s blog
• You don’t need your badge to get a discount at the company store
• You are routinely invited to staff meetings
• All of the building security guards know your name
• In client meetings, no one asks who you are
• You regularly wear the client’s logo apparel on the weekends
• You are on the client’s softball team
• The receptionist recognizes your spouse’s voice on the phone
• No one uses your desk while you’re gone.
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