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The Fallacy of Standardization

April 12, 2011 By 4 Comments

It’s fairly common to hear the advice that service providers should package their services into product-like offerings. That is, if they want to grow their businesses more quickly, close sales more easily, and rack up the profits.

The reasoning is that clients will have an easier time understanding and buying a “product” than grasping the benefit of a pure (intangible) service offer. To make the buyer’s job easier, each service offer should have a standard methodology (not a bad idea), a brand name, canned “deliverables,” and a set price. That way, clients would know exactly what they were getting, thereby simplifying the buying process.

As a marketing strategy, standardizing your offerings does accomplish one goal: it helps clients evaluate what you’re offering. As a sales strategy, though, the standard offer usually falls flat on its face.

I don’t remember a client ever saying, “Just give me the standard package of services you give to everyone else.” Clients want new ideas that are relevant to their unique situations. That’s what they pay for. Your standard offer may get the door open, but the actual solution you design is what leads to differentiation—and the sale.

If you rely solely on a standardized “product” for sales, you strip the innovation from your service and risk landing on the pile of commodity providers who compete solely on price. To find the path to growth, you need the right balance between standardization and innovation.

It makes sense to describe your services in an understandable way by referring to a service name, an approach to delivering the service, and the benefits others have achieved. But if you try to sell any off-the-shelf service as-is, you’re leaving out the most important part of the service—your own creativity.

Filed Under: 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: , , , , , ,

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: , , , , ,

Ann Handley on Content Rules

February 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I interviewed Ann Handley, author of the fast-selling new book, Content Rules, How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.

Ann is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, which provides strategic and tactical marketing know-how for hundreds of thousands of marketing and business professionals through a full range of online media. We talked about the concepts in her new book, with an emphasis on the specific tactics any of us can implement to build a more effective content.

Filed Under: Books, Managing Your Business, Marketing, Podcasts Tagged With: , , , ,

Snarketing

January 14, 2011 By 1 Comment

Snar•ket•ing (noun): Marketing communication with a sarcastically critical, testy edge.

As I was catching up on some reading last week, a print ad for a consulting firm caught my attention. Unfortunately, it stopped me for all the wrong reasons. The ad opened with a blistering (and groan-worthy) indictment of the firm’s competition. Once the ad made its case for the complete incompetence of others, it shifted gears to tell the reader about the subject firm’s value to the market, which was actually well-written, relevant, and engaging.

Problem was, I couldn’t get my mind off the ad’s snarky lead-in. Why would any firm feel the need to use the kind of scorched-earth advertising we’ve (sadly) come to expect in last-minute political ads? The tone of the ad seemed oddly out of place in the consulting world.

When a firm resorts to snarky marketing, or snarketing, readers usually learn more about the ad’s author than about the firm in question. And I’d bet that readers are not nearly as enamored with the firm as the ad writer thinks.

Snarketing is a betrayal of the intent of good marketing, which should be to attract the clients you want to contact you. Make your case to the market by proving your own value, not by trying to diminish others.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Targeting

November 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Last week, I received a press release announcing the debut of a new, bioactive bone regeneration product for the European dental market. While it was fascinating to learn about this boon for Europeans’ dental health, I was scratching my head as I tried to figure out how I got on the list to receive this press release.

I know that publicists are notorious for blasting out press releases to the world, no matter who is on the receiving end. Still, it served as a good reminder about the power of targeting. Like you, I receive lots of “business proposals,” solicitations, and other marketing communications that make no sense. Most are either poorly targeted, amateurish, or completely irrelevant, like the bone regeneration announcement I received.

If you plan to use direct mail or email for marketing, take a close look at your mailing list. Ask yourself a few questions before you send anything. Is the communication really relevant and current for those who would receive it? Will the recipients know exactly why they are receiving your message? Does your communication have a clear call to action?

If you answer no to those questions, sending out the communication would be a waste of time and money. Your goal is to move your readers to open, read, and act on your communication. You’ll fail to achieve that goal, and just annoy people, if you blanket the world with your message.

Use your scarce resources wisely and focus on your target market. Oh, and don’t forget to ask your dentist “if bioactive bone regeneration is right for you.”

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Is Your Thought Leadership a Waste of Time?

August 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

My colleagues at SourceforConsulting.com spend a lot of time sifting through the “thought leadership” work that consultants send into the market. I empathize with one of their contributors, Zoe Stumpf, who wrote, “I’ve recently spent some time looking at the thought leadership produced by a selection of global consulting firms and, to be quite frank, I now need a bit of a lie down.”

Why? Because too much of the so-called thought leadership in the market is an uninspiring mix of old ideas and unsupported claims. That’s unfortunate, especially given that Source for Consulting research shows that thought leadership plays an important role in clients’ hiring decisions.

In the context of a selection decision, clients will most likely check out a firm’s thought leadership–that is, if the work has relevance to their business and industry. Source for Consulting found that 62 percent of thought leadership fails that important test and doesn’t focus on a particular sector. Of the remaining 38 percent of thought leadership material:

  • 82 percent isn’t eye-catching or topical enough to attract a client’s attention
  • 74 percent doesn’t say something sufficiently new or different to make a lasting impression
  • 85 percent is not based on enough hard data to convince a client to take it seriously
  • 99 percent doesn’t create an effective link to the firm’s consulting services.

The message: If you’re engaging in a thought leadership strategy, ask at least these three questions before you publish:

Does the piece say anything new or different? Or does it offer a new insight on an old idea? If you’re just offering me-too ideas, you’re wasting your time.

Do you have proof for your conclusions? If you make specific recommendations for changing the direction or methods of a business, you need evidence to support your ideas.

Is there a connection between your thought leadership and your service offerings? If your clients can’t see how your ideas tie to your capabilities, you’re squandering the marketing opportunity that thought leadership offers.

In the last month or so, the largest 25 consulting firms in the world published almost 500 new books and articles. And their websites contain more than 16,000 pieces of thought leadership. You can save yourself from drowning in that sea of words, but you must focus on client needs, be rigorous in your analysis, and make the connection between your ideas and your work.

Filed Under: Industry Trends, Managing Your Business, Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Set Your Ideas Free

March 25, 2010 By 3 Comments

Anyone in a professional services business understands the marketing and selling power of even one good idea. Clients seek out the advisers they believe have the best ideas. And projects are often won or lost on the strength of ideas, which are like currency for the service provider. They can help you gain access, influence, and work.

With all that at stake, it’s no wonder so many service providers are protective of their ideas. As a result, they may hesitate to offer their best ideas until clients sign on the dotted line. This reluctance is most often rooted in two fears.

The first fear is that someone will steal your ideas and use them without giving you due credit. Second, you may worry that prospective clients will take your idea and try to run with it on their own, leaving you out in the cold.

Your ideas aren’t meant to be bottled up. Still, lots of people are swayed by that little voice in their head that warns them, “You’re giving away too much. If you provide free consulting, they won’t need you.”

If you fear that people will use your ideas without giving you credit, no need to fret. If your ideas are any good, someone will definitely pilfer them. Sometimes you’ll get credit and other times, you won’t. You can be sure, though, that anyone who needs to steal your ideas probably won’t be able to do much without you.

As to clients snatching your ideas and attempting to do the work without you, I’ve seen that happen, and you may have too. But this tactic rarely pans out well for clients.

The beauty of a good idea is that it’s your creation. Someone may pinch your general idea, but they’ll have a tough time trying to generate the results you’d create. An idea isn’t really a good one until someone makes it a reality. If you’re not there, it’s a lot less likely that your idea will succeed in the way you intended it to.

Sure, it’s frustrating when you suspect that someone is trying to pick your brain without any intention of hiring you. Sadly, it happens more than any of us would like. Obviously, you have to keep your antennae up to prevent that situation, and walk away when you think someone is taking advantage.

But resist the urge to be stingy with your ideas. Have confidence in your own brain power. As a colleague once remarked, “Let them take my ideas. I have plenty more.”



Filed Under: Marketing, Selling Tagged With: , , ,
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