An unfortunate reality of our business is that we don’t win all of the projects we propose on. It may not be fun to dissect your sales process to learn why you lost a project, but it’s a great way to sort out—and put to good use—the signals you’re receiving from the market.
A client once told me that one consultant’s reaction to losing a project was to warn the client that he (the client) was making a big mistake and would regret it. This approach is not likely to earn much respect from clients. Instead, the goal should be to convert today’s bad news into future wins.
You Can’t Win ‘Em All
“We liked your proposal, but…”
When a client call starts like that, you’d probably rather endure a two-hour wait at airport security than listen to the bad news coming. Once you hear, “we’re going with another consultant,” it’s natural to try and swing the apparent loss to the win column.
Through questions and clarifying comments, consultants have been known to persuade clients to reconsider a decision. If nothing else, most consultants try to keep the door open for future opportunities by asking if it’s ok to stay in touch. It’s rare for a client to say “no” to that request, which is a small victory.
If the decision to use another consultant is final, though, there’s still a wealth of market intelligence buried in that decision that’s too valuable to leave unearthed. To vastly improve your odds of winning in the future, figure out the meaning of the signal the client is sending you.
Why Guess?
Your first reaction will probably be to assume you know why a project went to someone else. Maybe you lost because the client hired the CEO’s nephew, not because your proposal was considered inferior. The only way to find out what you need to know is to ask the client the right questions.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/when-a-client-says-no/
Monday, June 16, 2014
Friday, June 13, 2014
What’s Your Point of View?
As the cashier handed me my change, I asked about the name tattooed
across her knuckles. “That’s my daughter’s name. She’s the center of my
life and I want everyone to know,” she told me.
My first thought was how painful it must’ve been to have each of those letters tattooed on sensitive fingers. Then I was struck by the power of that tattoo to clearly communicate the cashier’s perspective and commitment.
I wouldn’t suggest that consultants start tattooing themselves to show the world what’s important to them. But you can almost always find ways to sharpen the clarity of what you do, believe, and offer to clients. And that clarity of purpose will help differentiate you in the market.
Clarify Your Purpose
We live in a world of short cuts. That’s especially true when we process new information. When visitors look at a web site, for example, they instantly categorize what they see to decide if there’s anything worth reading.
In fact, one study shows that site visitors will read only about 20 percent of the text on a web page before moving on. In response to this reality, many consultants load up their home pages with descriptions of their “unique” qualifications and “superb track record of results.”
If you get that information onto the first page–or so the reasoning goes–you have a shot at holding a client’s attention. It’s common to see consultants apply this same logic to the design of sales proposals, presentations, and client meetings.
But if you really want them to stop on your site, read your proposal, or listen to what you have to say, make your purpose and commitment to clients as clear as if you had tattooed it on your knuckles.
You’ll have more success in all your marketing and selling efforts if you state boldly and confidently what your practice stands for. Instead of serving up boring claims about how you help organizations “manage change,” grab and hold clients’ attention by showing them your compelling sense of purpose.
Offer thought-provoking perspectives on the issues clients face, and they’ll read far more than 20 percent of what you’ve worked so hard to write.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/whats-your-point-of-view/
My first thought was how painful it must’ve been to have each of those letters tattooed on sensitive fingers. Then I was struck by the power of that tattoo to clearly communicate the cashier’s perspective and commitment.
I wouldn’t suggest that consultants start tattooing themselves to show the world what’s important to them. But you can almost always find ways to sharpen the clarity of what you do, believe, and offer to clients. And that clarity of purpose will help differentiate you in the market.
Clarify Your Purpose
We live in a world of short cuts. That’s especially true when we process new information. When visitors look at a web site, for example, they instantly categorize what they see to decide if there’s anything worth reading.
In fact, one study shows that site visitors will read only about 20 percent of the text on a web page before moving on. In response to this reality, many consultants load up their home pages with descriptions of their “unique” qualifications and “superb track record of results.”
If you get that information onto the first page–or so the reasoning goes–you have a shot at holding a client’s attention. It’s common to see consultants apply this same logic to the design of sales proposals, presentations, and client meetings.
But if you really want them to stop on your site, read your proposal, or listen to what you have to say, make your purpose and commitment to clients as clear as if you had tattooed it on your knuckles.
You’ll have more success in all your marketing and selling efforts if you state boldly and confidently what your practice stands for. Instead of serving up boring claims about how you help organizations “manage change,” grab and hold clients’ attention by showing them your compelling sense of purpose.
Offer thought-provoking perspectives on the issues clients face, and they’ll read far more than 20 percent of what you’ve worked so hard to write.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/whats-your-point-of-view/
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Three Conversations That Can Make or Break Your Business
One of the things I appreciate about the consulting business is that
it’s full of surprises–like when a client sends the global consulting
firm packing in favor of the upstart boutique firm. Or the client who
chooses the premium-priced consultant, instead of a less expensive,
competent competitor.
What’s intriguing is that the consultants whose businesses do well whether times are good or bad aren’t always the ones with the best price, top industry position, or the longest track record of success. Yet, they still thrive.
So what sets these consultants apart from the rest? What you will find is that winning consultants prevail because they have higher quality conversations with their clients than their competitors do.
Not the Usual Mindless Chit-Chat
Most of the successful consultants I know are good communicators. After all, at its core, the consulting business is about conversations–with clients, colleagues, competitors, partners, and others.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/3-conversations-make-break/
What’s intriguing is that the consultants whose businesses do well whether times are good or bad aren’t always the ones with the best price, top industry position, or the longest track record of success. Yet, they still thrive.
So what sets these consultants apart from the rest? What you will find is that winning consultants prevail because they have higher quality conversations with their clients than their competitors do.
Not the Usual Mindless Chit-Chat
Most of the successful consultants I know are good communicators. After all, at its core, the consulting business is about conversations–with clients, colleagues, competitors, partners, and others.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/3-conversations-make-break/
Monday, June 9, 2014
How to Succeed with That Big Client Meeting
You don’t need to be a consultant for long to realize that you’re going to spend a lot of time in client meetings–introductory ones, sales calls, interviews, project kick-offs, status meetings, team meetings, and the list goes on.
Sometimes, though, you’ll also have to lead “big” client meetings–when the stakes are high and there is little room for error. I’m not talking about your run-of-the-mill events, but the occasions when you’re asking a client to make a significant change, commit to a substantial investment, or you have to deliver some unpleasant news.
These are the meetings that can make your hair stand on end, cause sweaty palms, and test every bit of your skill as a consultant. Maybe it’s a pivotal sales presentation, or a meeting to ask your client to make an important decision. Whatever its format or purpose, how do you make sure that you get the best outcome from your next “big” meeting?
Before You Go On
Of course, you know that you need to prepare well for a big meeting. In fact, the success (or failure) of such a meeting depends primarily on the quality of the work you do ahead of time.
And obviously, you have to cover the basics: create compelling content; find out who will attend and why; understand the role each person will play; and learn what the participants think about the topic.
Be sure you don’t overlook three other aspects of your preparation, though. First, define your ideal outcome. What result do you envision? What would you want the client to do or say? Be specific. Think about your meeting and finish this sentence, “This meeting will be a success if it results in ____________.”
Second, remember that everyone appreciates choices. For most issues, there are options; resist the urge to focus on only one. You can (and should) have a preferred solution, but be ready with alternatives too. Clients will see the logic of the best option if they also understand the pros and cons of their other choices.
Finally, many consultants believe they know exactly how to address a client’s issue before anyone else does. Some will rush off, prepare their thoughts, and design an approach to solving the problem.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/succeed-big-client-meeting/
Sometimes, though, you’ll also have to lead “big” client meetings–when the stakes are high and there is little room for error. I’m not talking about your run-of-the-mill events, but the occasions when you’re asking a client to make a significant change, commit to a substantial investment, or you have to deliver some unpleasant news.
These are the meetings that can make your hair stand on end, cause sweaty palms, and test every bit of your skill as a consultant. Maybe it’s a pivotal sales presentation, or a meeting to ask your client to make an important decision. Whatever its format or purpose, how do you make sure that you get the best outcome from your next “big” meeting?
Before You Go On
Of course, you know that you need to prepare well for a big meeting. In fact, the success (or failure) of such a meeting depends primarily on the quality of the work you do ahead of time.
And obviously, you have to cover the basics: create compelling content; find out who will attend and why; understand the role each person will play; and learn what the participants think about the topic.
Be sure you don’t overlook three other aspects of your preparation, though. First, define your ideal outcome. What result do you envision? What would you want the client to do or say? Be specific. Think about your meeting and finish this sentence, “This meeting will be a success if it results in ____________.”
Second, remember that everyone appreciates choices. For most issues, there are options; resist the urge to focus on only one. You can (and should) have a preferred solution, but be ready with alternatives too. Clients will see the logic of the best option if they also understand the pros and cons of their other choices.
Finally, many consultants believe they know exactly how to address a client’s issue before anyone else does. Some will rush off, prepare their thoughts, and design an approach to solving the problem.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/succeed-big-client-meeting/
Thursday, June 5, 2014
What You Can Learn from the Airlines
rom the time you book an airline flight until that plane lands, your pecking order in the airline’s customer hierarchy determines your travel experience. To the airlines, all customers are not equal—they are segmented and managed according to profitability, loyalty, and frequency of travel.
Like the airlines, professional service providers have embraced the concept of client relationship management, yet many struggle with execution. Client relationship management is based on the premise that a subset of your clients will purchase the majority of your services, and that you should manage them accordingly. All clients are important, but some take more of your attention than others.
In an interview in Management Consulting News, Jack Trout, coauthor of Positioning, says that many consultants have a misguided client relationship strategy, which “…is simply to stay on at their clients, no matter what problem needs to be solved. “ Hanging on, hoping for more work from your current clients is not so much a strategy as the lack of a coherent one.
A client relationship strategy that differentiates your clients can reduce your cost of sales, simplify your approach to complex relationships, help you deliver services to clients more efficiently, and increase the profitability of your practice.
More Eggs in Fewer Baskets
At the core of a productive client relationship strategy is a shift in mindset. Consultants are often too willing to chase every new opportunity, when instead they should focus on the clients they’ve got and the referrals that can flow from those clients.
Just as with an investment portfolio, though, spread your marketing resources among selected clients—don’t focus on a single one. Otherwise, you risk the consequences: If the work dries up, your cash flow slows to a trickle.
Is It Right for You?
The first step is to decide if a client relationship program is right for your practice. For larger firms with long client lists, the decision is a no-brainer. Those firms should use a program to focus investments and people on targeted industries and clients.
In smaller firms, the percentage of forecasted revenue from a client relationship program may be less than in a larger practice. Some commitment to client relationships is usually desirable. But not every consulting firm needs a formal client relationship strategy.
Build Your Client Portfolio
Choosing clients and prospective clients to include in a client relationship program is complex, no matter the size of your firm. Assign clients to action categories according to their relative importance to the firm at a given point in time. This initial classification of clients is a one-size-fits-none exercise. Let your practice, culture, clients, and business objectives guide your decisions.
Consider these questions about your clients:
Like the airlines, professional service providers have embraced the concept of client relationship management, yet many struggle with execution. Client relationship management is based on the premise that a subset of your clients will purchase the majority of your services, and that you should manage them accordingly. All clients are important, but some take more of your attention than others.
In an interview in Management Consulting News, Jack Trout, coauthor of Positioning, says that many consultants have a misguided client relationship strategy, which “…is simply to stay on at their clients, no matter what problem needs to be solved. “ Hanging on, hoping for more work from your current clients is not so much a strategy as the lack of a coherent one.
A client relationship strategy that differentiates your clients can reduce your cost of sales, simplify your approach to complex relationships, help you deliver services to clients more efficiently, and increase the profitability of your practice.
More Eggs in Fewer Baskets
At the core of a productive client relationship strategy is a shift in mindset. Consultants are often too willing to chase every new opportunity, when instead they should focus on the clients they’ve got and the referrals that can flow from those clients.
Just as with an investment portfolio, though, spread your marketing resources among selected clients—don’t focus on a single one. Otherwise, you risk the consequences: If the work dries up, your cash flow slows to a trickle.
Is It Right for You?
The first step is to decide if a client relationship program is right for your practice. For larger firms with long client lists, the decision is a no-brainer. Those firms should use a program to focus investments and people on targeted industries and clients.
In smaller firms, the percentage of forecasted revenue from a client relationship program may be less than in a larger practice. Some commitment to client relationships is usually desirable. But not every consulting firm needs a formal client relationship strategy.
Build Your Client Portfolio
Choosing clients and prospective clients to include in a client relationship program is complex, no matter the size of your firm. Assign clients to action categories according to their relative importance to the firm at a given point in time. This initial classification of clients is a one-size-fits-none exercise. Let your practice, culture, clients, and business objectives guide your decisions.
Consider these questions about your clients:
- Relationship potential – Is the client interested in a long-term relationship? Can you realistically expect to sustain a relationship based on mutual benefit?
- Compatibility – Is there a good match between the client’s long-tern needs and your firm’s capabilities?
- Profitability – Do historic and forecasted account activity and profitability justify an investment in cultivating a long-term relationship?
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
China's SOEs will struggle to cut ties to US consultants
China has ordered state-owned enterprises to cut ties with US-based
consulting companies, including McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group
on fears that they are spying on behalf of the US government, the
Financial Times reports, citing a source close to senior Chinese
leaders.
A source close to an adviser to China's State Council or cabinet that the rumor was a leader's oral instruction and had not been made official, according to Shanghai's China Business News. So far, representatives from several foreign consulting companies have responded that they have not received such notices and that their companies are operating normally.
Some analysts are seeing this as China's protest against the US Justice Department's indictment of five People's Liberation Army officers on charges of cyber espionage.
An unnamed source from the industry pointed out that foreign consulting companies had provided professional knowledge to Chinese enterprises and helped them become more internationalized. The role of these companies has been indispensable, the source added.
Banning China's state-owned enterprises from working with foreign consulting companies is part of Beijing's moves aimed at tightening safety of information, in response to the Edward Snowden incident, in which the former US government contractor made public numerous documents related to covert surveillance conducted by the United States.
There are also rumors that Chinese authorities have recently forbidden the use of the Windows 8 operating system on computers used by government agencies and that Beijing is calling for local banks to choose locally developed service providers over IBM's high-end service products.
None of these measures have been concretely verified, China Business News said.
read more: http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140604000003&cid=1102
A source close to an adviser to China's State Council or cabinet that the rumor was a leader's oral instruction and had not been made official, according to Shanghai's China Business News. So far, representatives from several foreign consulting companies have responded that they have not received such notices and that their companies are operating normally.
Some analysts are seeing this as China's protest against the US Justice Department's indictment of five People's Liberation Army officers on charges of cyber espionage.
An unnamed source from the industry pointed out that foreign consulting companies had provided professional knowledge to Chinese enterprises and helped them become more internationalized. The role of these companies has been indispensable, the source added.
Banning China's state-owned enterprises from working with foreign consulting companies is part of Beijing's moves aimed at tightening safety of information, in response to the Edward Snowden incident, in which the former US government contractor made public numerous documents related to covert surveillance conducted by the United States.
There are also rumors that Chinese authorities have recently forbidden the use of the Windows 8 operating system on computers used by government agencies and that Beijing is calling for local banks to choose locally developed service providers over IBM's high-end service products.
None of these measures have been concretely verified, China Business News said.
read more: http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140604000003&cid=1102
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Breaking Through Relationship Walls
Sometimes you do great work with a client but struggle to broaden your relationships within the client’s organization. You get stuck in a holding pattern.
Not long ago, I talked with a frustrated colleague that happened to. He’d been working with a new client for weeks, and everything was going well. But he was having no success meeting others in the client’s organization, even though he was sure he could help in more areas.
I knew exactly how he felt. I’ve been there more than once. As I told my colleague, we usually hit the relationship wall for one of two reasons: either the client intentionally blocks our attempts to branch out, or the client doesn’t know or fully understand what else we can do.
Converting a Controller
One common obstacle to extending your relationship network is working for a “controller,” and I don’t mean the accounting kind. This is someone who supports your project, but keeps a tight rein on your access to others, especially if they are not directly involved in your current project.
Typically, a controller insists on knowing about every meeting you have, wants to approve the meeting agenda in advance, and demands to review all material before anyone else sees it. Often, you have to arrange the schedule so the controller can attend every meeting too.
read more http://mindshareconsulting.com/breaking-relationship-walls/
Not long ago, I talked with a frustrated colleague that happened to. He’d been working with a new client for weeks, and everything was going well. But he was having no success meeting others in the client’s organization, even though he was sure he could help in more areas.
I knew exactly how he felt. I’ve been there more than once. As I told my colleague, we usually hit the relationship wall for one of two reasons: either the client intentionally blocks our attempts to branch out, or the client doesn’t know or fully understand what else we can do.
Converting a Controller
One common obstacle to extending your relationship network is working for a “controller,” and I don’t mean the accounting kind. This is someone who supports your project, but keeps a tight rein on your access to others, especially if they are not directly involved in your current project.
Typically, a controller insists on knowing about every meeting you have, wants to approve the meeting agenda in advance, and demands to review all material before anyone else sees it. Often, you have to arrange the schedule so the controller can attend every meeting too.
read more http://mindshareconsulting.com/breaking-relationship-walls/
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