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The One Sentence Challenge

March 31, 2011 By 4 Comments

one sentence description of your businessCan you distill the purpose of your business, latest project, or your career into a single sentence?

A single sentence brings clarity to your purpose, helps you communicate that to others, and sets a foundation for how you’ll achieve your purpose. Most importantly, the process of crafting a single sentence forces you to define precisely what you want to achieve for your business, project, or career.

Scan the New York Times Bestsellers List and you’ll see how novelists condense the plot of a book into one sentence (One-armed juggler races against time to uncover the mystery of his Mother’s terminal illness.)

Don’t talk about yourself in that one sentence, but emphasize what you’ll achieve for others (Project Life Raft creates new educational opportunities for underprivileged children by recycling computers and books formerly owned by others.)

Try to limit your sentence to 20 words or less. Pyramid Consulting helps clients land more profitable customers at a lower cost of acquisition.

Strive to be specific. For example, The Rain Group says “…we help companies with complex products and services develop an army of rainmakers – top performers who drive robust revenue growth.”

Few things bring your business or project into focus more effectively than a single sentence description. You can build your project plan, marketing plan,  or career plan around that 20-word description.

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t struggle to get that single sentence exactly the way they want it–myself included. Still, it’s worth the effort to try.

What’s in your sentence?

 

Filed Under: Business Life, Managing Your Business, Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

If You Are Really Different, Why Aren’t You Differentiated?

March 23, 2011 By 3 Comments

mwmclaughlinMost consultants I know believe they are different from everyone else in the market, which makes sense. After all, who thinks they are just like every other service firm out there?

If everyone believes they have unique abilities, why do so many service firms look exactly alike to prospective clients? I can think of two reasons.

First, copying the practices of other companies in the services business runs rampant. People search for “best practices” and competitive intelligence to piece together how they want to communicate with the world. Instead of using that information to build a unique spot in the market, they “borrow” the ideas of others. The result: most service firms look identical to clients.

Second, in an effort to reach as wide a market as possible, lots of service companies generalize the description of their service offerings to the point that all meaning is lost. Think consultants who “manage change” or “design business strategies.”

Granted, what many consultants actually do for clients is similar. Web designers, for example, offer similar services to their clients. The same holds true for marketing strategy firms, cost reduction specialists, and copy writers.

So, what’s the source of differentiation in a crowded market of me-too companies? For a rich source of differentiation, consider how your business does its work.

Clients are usually in the market for a core service like a training program, an operations assessment, or a new marketing strategy–with the hope of achieving a desired future state. And most consultants’ marketing communication does a good job of highlighting core services.

But most clients also value the distinctive benefits of working with a particular consultant. Those extra benefits present opportunities to differentiate any service offer.

Consultants have more options for differentiating their core service offers than channels to watch on TV. For instance, some clients will appreciate your twist on designing a blogging strategy, but they may really value how you create self-sufficiency once you leave. Or, your prospective clients may like your hands-on approach to rolling out a training program, but they also value your quarterly follow-up program to measure results. The possibilities for finding points of differentiation are endless.

As you look at how you’ve differentiated your business, ask yourself three questions:

  1. Is my service offer just a me-too one? You can review the web sites of other service providers as one way to answer this question.
  2. What are the unique ways I serve my clients? What are the aspects of your work that your clients value? Your approach to projects, how you interact with others, and the way you deliver your services offer lots of opportunities to differentiate your business.
  3. What one new thing could I do to differentiate my offer? Start with something small and build it out. Begin with one area of new value that you can describe to clients.

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a commodity service, as long as you clearly communicate to your prospective clients all of the things you do for them–and how you do it.

Filed Under: Managing Your Business, Marketing, Selling Tagged With: , , , ,

You Don’t Like to Sell?…Really?

March 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Selling your servicesI’m amazed when consultants tell me that they don’t like (or want) to sell. Some seem to think that the whole sales thing is completely beneath them. Then there are others who believe that they aren’t any good at selling. My reaction to both views is, you’re kidding, right?

For the reluctant seller (and there are fewer of them than some people think), I have one question: If you don’t like selling, how much do you loathe your work as a consultant?

I could understand resistance to selling if your job was to cold call people at dinner time and use high-pressure sales tactics to convert them to a new cell phone plan.

But your job is to help clients bring about change. You usually have to do that in an unfamiliar environment, working under tight deadlines, and facing resistance from the very people who need to change.

To overcome those odds, you spend a lot of time selling ideas and proposed actions to those who don’t want to change–or worse, to those who are indifferent. No matter how good an idea is, or how receptive clients are to it, you have to sell it.

The point is that if you can’t sell your ideas to others, your projects (and career) will hit the rocks. The simple reality is that to sell your services, you must be great at selling ideas. And many consultants do that exceptionally well.

Sometimes we already have the answers to our toughest problems, and don’t even know it. For consultants, the answer to the sales challenge is not so much about the mastery of specific sales techniques, useful as they may be.

If you feel that you need to improve as a seller, you don’t have to look very far for clues on how to do that. Just think about the selling (and re-selling) you do in your work with clients to make change happen in their organizations.

And if you really don’t like to sell, you’re probably not satisfied being a consultant either.

Filed Under: Managing Your Business, Selling Tagged With: , , , , ,

Perspective

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What's your perspectiveI’ve never met a client who said, “Just get me any consultant in here.” Clients want a trustworthy person who knows their industry, business, and the issues they must tackle. In response, most professionals make a critical mistake in communicating their expertise. They focus only on what they’ve done, not on what they think.

You can show a prospective client a laundry list of relevant past clients and summaries of the projects you’ve completed. Showing clients what you’ve done is a good start, but it’s not enough. You also have to demonstrate how you think.

One way to capture your client’s imagination, and differentiate your business, is to show clients how you see the world–to express your particular point of view.

Often, that perspective is about where your client’s industry (or business) is headed in the future. Instead of resorting to clichés like “the rate of change is accelerating,” offer a definite view about what your clients can expect in the future. Make a logical and believable case, based on extrapolation of facts and trends, about how your clients’ businesses are likely to change next year, in five years, or in a decade.

You don’t have to rely only on forecasting the future. It’s equally powerful to have a strong view on how clients should be doing things in the present. Maybe you focus on three key challenges your clients are grappling with now. Create a point of view that defines those issues, points out the implications of maintaining the status quo, and offers a general approach for addressing those issues.

Whether you’re talking about the present or the future, be specific. Avoid generalizations like “succession planning will become more important in the next three years than ever before.” Instead, tell clients where and in what ways succession planning issues are likely to be most acute.

Don’t tell clients that leadership skills will be in short supply as baby-boomers retire. Tell them which skills they will need to lead their organizations in the future and how to cultivate those skills.

A bold, forward-looking perspective can engage clients in a dialogue about their issues and your ability to help them. If you want to convince clients that you know your stuff, few things work better than a thoughtful perspective on what matters most to them.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Managing Your Business, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Overwhelming

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Chances are you’ve had clients decide not to implement your recommendations. Hard as it is to face, sometimes the problem lies with you, not them.  It may be easy to paint a picture of a client’s intended destination, and people will nod in agreement–that’s exactly where they need to be.

But the process, learning, and commitment you ask of people to make that journey is often enough to overwhelm them. Experts can freeze their clients into inaction by making unrealistic assumptions about what it takes to accomplish a new task. Once you’ve built a plan with such flawed assumptions, expect resistance to change.

The challenge: Never take for granted the depth of your own knowledge. Remember, the things that seem easy to you now weren’t always so simple. So keep the beginner’s perspective in mind as you conceive of projects and chart your client’s path.

Are you overwhelming anyone?

Filed Under: Business Life, Client Relationships, Consulting Process, Managing Your Business Tagged With: , , ,

Clueless Consultant on Coaching

March 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Clueless Consultant, Managing Your Business Tagged With: ,

Waiting

March 9, 2011 By 1 Comment

Remember the last time you had to wait for something? Maybe it was in a long line, or for a delayed flight, or for a report from a co-worker.

When we must wait for very long (or think we’re going to have to) it makes us feel unimportant. Our minds start asking questions like “Isn’t there some way around this?” “Can someone else help me?” And “Should I continue doing business here?”

When we make people wait, we take away what they value most: the ability to control what they do with their time. We transform a positive expectation into frustration. People spread the word about annoying wait times–that’s a misery everyone relates to.

Is someone waiting for you?

Filed Under: Business Life, Client Relationships, Consulting Process, Managing Your Business Tagged With: , , ,

Before Your Next Sales Meeting

March 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What do you suppose is on a prospective client’s mind before a sales meeting with you? I think an email to you from that prospective client might go something like this:

My team is looking forward to meeting with you and we are excited about the prospect of working together. Before we get going, I’d like to lay out my expectations for our meeting.

To begin with, we recognize that you’re interested in selling your services to us. Here are three tips to make that whole process easier and worthwhile for all of us.

The journey is important, but first we need to be sure of our destination.

Lots of service providers are quick to tell us how their approaches and methods will bring us fast, reliable results. We know that tools and approaches can make a project go more smoothly, but until you’ve really shown us where we’re going, we won’t be listening.

We need to know what the future will look like for us if we complete this project. And we need to know about it in a clear and compelling way. So we ask you to focus first on our destination, instead of how we’re going to get there.

Value breaks down barriers.

In this company, multiple people are involved with the decision to approve any sizable project. And, there’s always someone with lots of questions about why you and why now. The only way my team can mobilize people around our project and break down organizational resistance is with an explicit view of the value we would get from working with you.

Our expected value serves as a motivator to action–it’s the heart of our internal sale. So once we’ve defined a post-project future, let’s work to quantify the value we’ll achieve by reaching that future. Of course, it will be difficult to make those calculations, and we will have to make some assumptions. But people won’t be receptive to undertaking a complex project without substantial value in return.

Give us possibilities.

We have ideas about what we need to do and how to do it, but we’re not the experts. We’ll look to you to open our eyes to the possibilities we haven’t thought of. All we ask is that you recognize that we’re the experts on our business. We want collaboration on realistic options and opportunities, not theories.

Together, we can devise a plan that emphasizes the future state we’re aiming for, expresses the value of reaching that state, and gives us options for how to get there. If we can do those three things, you’ve got a great chance of landing this project.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Managing Your Business, Selling Tagged With: , , ,

4 Strategies to Build Your Business with Your Existing Clients

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Once you’ve started a project and it’s going well, it’s common to look for new ways to help your client. In many cases, though, the highest hurdle in uncovering new opportunities is the client’s lack of knowledge about other ways you can bring value.

I’ve actually seen a consultant ask a client sit through a discussion of his firm’s capabilities to help the client learn what his firm could offer. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you why that’s a dumb idea. Still, if you want to build new business, you have to do something to get things moving. Here are four strategies to help.

  • Be Curious. Ask lots of questions. When you’re meeting about the project, use some of your time to ask about company issues, new priorities, and, recent developments. If you’re not devoting a part of every meeting to discussing the client’s business, you’re missing an opportunity. Your curiosity–and the knowledge you gain–will demonstrate your commitment to your client’s business and lead to discussions of new projects.
  • Be a Conduit. Find ways to share the experiences of others with your client. Offer to connect your client to others you’ve worked with who share similar issues, for example. Tap your network of people and resources and freely share ideas and solutions. If you want your client to think of you when there’s a new opportunity, you’ll need to be viewed as a source of ideas and value.
  • Be a Catalyst. Bring innovative ideas to your client on a regular basis. Don’t focus only ideas that you think will lead to the next sale. Bring your best ideas–and practical ways to implement those ideas–on any issue your client faces. Take initiative. Collaborate with your client to find ideas and high-value projects you can work on together. As soon as you’re viewed as a someone who can translate ideas into action, you’ll get better access to others in the organization and more opportunities for new projects.
  • Be Consistent. Be in touch with your clients, whether there’s a project opportunity or not. Don’t wait until there’s a sales lead to make contact. Bring ideas, be a conduit, and be curious, even if it doesn’t lead to an immediate sale. Your behavior between the sales is your client’s real test of the type of consultant you are. Pass that test, and you can expect to see opportunities come your way.

Of course, you won’t sell anything  new if you’re not delivering your services flawlessly. So, be sure your project is humming along before you focus too much attention on looking for new work.

Taken together, these 4 strategies are a “client-first”–not a “sales-first”–approach to managing relationships, educating your client, and finding new opportunities for projects. it’s not easy marketing to existing clients, but with a client-first mindset and these 4 business-building strategies, it will be more productive and profitable.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Consulting Process, Managing Your Business Tagged With: , , , , ,

Podcast: Daniel Burrus on Seeing the Future

March 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Meet the MasterMinds: Daniel Burrus on Flash Foresight

Dan Burrus, futuristDaniel Burrus is the author of the bestselling new book, Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible, and Technotrends.

Dan is one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and business strategists. He’s the founder of Burrus Research, a firm that monitors global advancements in technology-driven trends to help clients understand how technological, social, and business forces are converging to create untapped opportunities.

I asked Burrus how we can use the futurist’s tools to guide our businesses and help clients find those new opportunities.

Listen Now

Run Time: 18 minutes

Find out more about Daniel Burrus at www.flashforesight.com and www.burrus.com.

Filed Under: Industry Trends, Management Consulting News, Managing Your Business, Podcasts Tagged With: , , , ,
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