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The
Guerrilla Consultant –
a newsletter dedicated to applying the principles
of Guerrilla Marketing to the work and lives of
consultants.
2006
Is Here—Bring It On
As usual, the New Year brings a seemingly endless
stream of top ten and best/worst lists, predictions,
plus, of course, resolutions. Resistance is futile,
so we might as well join in.
Besides,
this is a good time to step back and take stock
of the fundamentals of your consulting practice
before charging headlong into the New Year. Hopefully,
the reminders in this month’s article will
prove more valuable to you than any resolution.
Oh,
and if you’re thinking about becoming a
consultant, or want to learn more about marketing
your business, join me at my next Webinar,
sponsored by Execunet, on January 12, 2006. Click
here for registration details.
Enjoy the article, and let
me know what you think.
Mike
McLaughlin
Co-Author, Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants
Get
Your Practice on the Right Track for 2006
The
consulting industry gathered steam in 2005, emerging
from its worst slump in thirty-five years. Yet
as the New Year gets underway, we face some of
the same challenges as in the recent past, like
mounting fee pressure, more sophisticated buyers,
and toughening competition. So will it be the
same thing, different day?
Well,
not exactly.
In
today’s market, a rising tide won’t
float all boats. Instead, the rewards will follow
those who lead in their markets. Expect
the gap between the winners and everyone else
to widen as clients become choosier about where
they spend their consulting dollars. The result
will be rising profits for the winners and unrelenting
fee pressure for others.
Fortunately,
it’s not as difficult to float to the top
as it may seem, especially for competent consultants.
Here are four tips to get your year off to a flying
start.
1.
Take your own advice.
“Where
no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is
surrendered to the chance of incidence, chaos
will soon reign.” - Victor Hugo
Some
consultants seem to think the need to create a
marketing plan is like a New Year’s Day
hangover—if we rest and behave for a while,
it will go away. One consultant dismissed the
idea of a written marketing plan altogether when
she said, “Why do I need to write it down?
My plan is right here, in my head.”
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“But when asked, consultants acknowledge
that they routinely advise clients to have
marketing plans for their businesses. Why
wouldn’t you follow your own good advice?” |
But
when asked, consultants acknowledge that they
routinely advise clients to have marketing plans
for their businesses. Why wouldn’t you follow
your own good advice?
Whatever
is happening in your corner of the consulting
industry, take time out to tune up or create a
dynamic marketing plan. Here are some questions
to help you:
- Is
the purpose of your marketing stated clearly
and unambiguously? What, specifically, will
your marketing efforts do for your business?
- Can
your clients, prospective clients, and others
immediately understand the substantive and quantifiable
benefits they’ll achieve as a result of
working with you?
- Are
your target markets well defined, and is your
niche in those markets spelled out?
- Are
your marketing tactics working? If so, which
tactics are working, and which are duds? Can
you double up on the winners and dump the losers?
- Is
your marketing budget sufficient to meet your
objectives?
If
you don’t have a real marketing plan, your
first action in 2006 should be to develop one.
Here’s a link to a sample
marketing plan to get you started.
2.
Walk in your client’s shoes.
Never
forget that relationships are the life blood of
a thriving consulting practice. Few truths are
as important to anyone in a professional services
business.
Those
vital relationships are based on the interactions
we have with clients during projects, in proposal
discussions, and at other points. Clients form
opinions of us every time they interact
with us, even if it’s not in face-to-face
meetings. With every interaction, you move the
client relationship either forward or backward.
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“With every interaction, you move the
client relationship either forward or backward.” |
I’ve
heard consulting clients complain about the responses
they received—or didn’t receive—from
consulting firms they contacted. In too many cases,
the process and systems consultants use to interact
with clients are inadvertently designed for the
convenience of the consultants, not clients.
The
easiest way to fix that is to ask clients for
an honest assessment of their experiences with
your firm. Find out what works and what needs
improvement. Most clients will be glad to tell
you.
Then,
step into your client’s shoes.
Call
your office and find out what your clients experience.
With fresh eyes, read all of your marketing materials
for clarity and relevance, including those on
your Web site. Look at your last five written
client communications. Can you understand them?
Would someone who wasn’t involved with your
project understand the communication?
Take
this exercise as far as necessary to develop an
understanding of what clients see and hear from
you.
3.
Conduct your project “orchestra” with
finesse.
A consultant is like an orchestra conductor who
must coordinate the efforts of talented musicians.
Just as the conductor must know which instruments
are most important at various points in a piece,
consultants must know which issues and ideas are
critical and when.
Consultants
perform a delicate balancing act from the moment
a project begins—a client will usually hold
a consultant accountable for results, even though
that consultant can rarely drive an outcome single-handedly.
Your
technical knowledge and capability are, of course,
fundamental to success. But your consulting process
skills, which you might think of as the conductor’s
wand, are equally important. The best consultants
continually strengthen their consulting process
skills to ensure that projects are completed profitably.
Here
are twelve areas of the consulting process that
impact the outcome of any project. Can you, or
your practitioners, improve on these skills?
- Project planning and management
- Scope and budget management
- Client interviewing skills
- Meeting facilitation
- Client team management
- Needs analysis and business case development
- Business process design
- Client expectations management
- Data analysis
- Summarization of work
- Presentation of findings and recommendations
- Client relationship management
As
you head into 2006, reassess your consulting process
skills. Choose two or three from the list above
and work on improving those skills throughout
the year.
4.
Thrive on uncertainty.
One
of my colleagues says that the secret to success
in the consulting business is “being comfortable
with the uncomfortable.” In the upcoming
year, we’ll all have our moments of discomfort,
but with an effective marketing plan, a focus
on the client experience, and a strong consulting
process, 2006 can be a very good year.
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