Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants

People, People, People

Admittedly,this is a pet peeve.

Recently, I sat through a presentation given by a graphics design expert on the subject of “designing the perfect proposal.” I learned a lot during that hour, but I just couldn’t get behind one of the presenter’s key recommendations for designing a perfect proposal: include pictures of people, even if they are anonymous, in every proposal document.

“People love to see people in proposals.” He probably told us that five times.

I’d agree that it can be helpful to include photographs of the project team to breathe life into a proposal, especially if the client doesn’t know the individuals. But that use of images is not what the presenter was talking about.

He was referring to the stock images that already litter too many documents and Web sites. We’ve all seen these photos: a group of people huddled around a computer screen in a conference room, or two business people in suits and hard hats pointing at an unfinished building.

To me, that always seems fake and a waste of precious space. Now, I’m not saying there is no place for images in documents or on Web sites. But if an image doesn’t help clarify the value you’re providing, it’s an unnecessary distraction.

I routinely beat gratuitous images out of any document I create. Of course, I could be totally missing the boat—it wouldn’t be the first time.

Tip #11 of 25 – Win—Don’t Just Answer—Every RFP Question

The ubiquitous Request for Proposal (RFP) has landed with a thud on most consultants’ desks at some point. Unfortunately, few clients will abandon this medieval approach to selecting professional service providers.

So assuming you’re faced with an RFP, here are four quick tips to help you pull together an effective response.

Start with a Winning Strategy. Before diving into the writing process, develop your story. What’s the compelling story that knits together your understanding of what needs to be done? How will you help achieve the results, and where’s the proof that you can get the job done?

Don’t Just Answer the Question, Win It. Often the work of responding to an RFP is daunting, but the key is to focus on small victories—like winning every answer. Think hard about each response and focus on how each answer supports your story and contributes to winning the project, rather than simply answering the question

Avoid the Battle of the Boilerplate. Lots of RFPs are littered with boilerplate reusable elements. Just because you receive boilerplate from a prospective client, doesn't mean you should send yours back to them.

It’s tempting to cut and paste your own boilerplate into a proposal for something like qualifications. Rememer, your client will recognize that boilerplate from a mile away and ignore it. Resist the urge and customize every answer. Sure, use previous work as a starting point, but don’t over do it.

Create a High Value-to-Cost Ratio. Some argue that it’s nearly impossible to quantify the results of consulting projects. Use that myth to your advantage by placing a dollar value on the benefits the client can expect from engaging you. Let the client see the ratio of projected benefits to consulting fees.

A Note to HR Consultants

According to a recent study, the HR Business Process Outsourcing (HR BPO) trend is picking up some serious steam. The report from Kennedy Information estimates the market for these services at $32.7 billion—and growing.

It seems likely that the mega-firms will gobble up the BPO business, but the strategic planning, organizational design, and change management issues that precede a BPO decision should present a high value opportunity to help clients sort out how to proceed.

Just another $30 billion example of Thomas Friedman's assertion that the world is flat.

Closing the Sale

Sales consultant Jill Konrath hates the use of sales “closing techniques.” Her recent post, Why I Hate Closing Techniques, recalls a conversation she had with a VP of Sales about his need to help the sales force get better at closing sales.

Jill Writes: “If I've heard that line once, I've heard it a hundred times. Despite being on an important sales call, I couldn't help but cringe. You see, I will never, ever train people on closing techniques if they sell to the corporate marketplace.

Why not? When you analyze what happens when you teach sellers how to be great closers, you'll understand my perspective.”

You can read her take on closing sales. She exposes the flaws of the serial closer by looking at the process from the customer's perspective.

Having been a buyer and seller of services, I couldn’t agree with her more.

eBay for Consultants?

UK-based independent consultants now have an opportunity to join Elmo Pez dispensers, Franklin Mint coins, and Elvis art on their own eBay-like auction site.

Global Consulting Group (GCG), a UK-based executive recruiting firm, launched an online auction site for independent consultants at www.ProfessionalAssociates.com.

The concept is simple: Experienced consultants register on the site in hopes of snaring work. Prospective clients troll for consultants to work on specific assignments. Consulting firms can also use the site to fill gaps in their capabilities.

Each consultant is screened in person. And like on eBay, candidates set a reserve price for their services and a premium “buy now” fee. Once an auction kicks off, it lasts for four days, and the consultant is required to accept the highest bid.

Prospective buyers pay a handsome fee for the service. A multi-user, introductory subscription starts at roughly $5,600 per month. Bidders must wade through a 7,700-word terms of use agreement before they can enter the fray.

GCG claims to have almost 200 candidates on its system and another 1,000 or so in the wings. There’s no fee to post your resume on the site, but successful candidates must cough up a license fee and a small percentage of their earnings to GCG.

GCG executives are looking to expand the service to other professional service providers, and potentially to export the service to the US. Let’s hope this idea stays in the UK. Clients should recognize that using an auction site for consultants isn’t like bidding for that rare set of Ernie Banks baseball cards.

What mystifies me, though is a design element of the auction site. On almost every page, there’s an image of a well-dressed consultant—with brief case in tow—riding on a kick scooter.

Maybe the consultant forgot to include transportation expenses in his auction posting.

Kiss and Tell?

Here we go again.

Last month, Nick Cohen's article "Natural born billers" appeared in the Guardian Unlimited. In his article, Cohen reviews Rip-Off:The Scandalous Story of the Management Consulting Money Machine, which is the latest entry in a long string of books slamming professional consultants. I've lost count of how many such books are on the market.

Rip-Off is a self-published book by an anonymous, twenty year consulting veteran who alleges unspeakable behavior by management consultants. The book paints a dreadful portrait of the industry.

But the story has all of the elements of a good smear piece--money, power, and greed. So there was some piling on.

Another highly critical article in The Independent accused consultants of providing "solutions we may not need, systems that may not work, at a price we shouldn't pay, in a language we don't understand.”

One UK-based consultant decided to fire back by posing the question in his own article, "How much longer do consultants have to keep justifying their very existence?"

Uh, try forever.

Every industry has problems, and opportunistic people will write about them. It's noteworthy that the anonymous author spent twenty years in the muck before seeing the light and confessing to the world.

Face it, consultants and consulting firms are easy targets. Outside of professional sports, consulting is one of the highest paid professions, and the private firms aren't exactly forthcoming about the details of their operations.

My advice: Get over it.

As long as consultants are serving clients, there will continue to be tell-all books. No need to justify your existence.  Just make sure your clients understand your value. Everything else will take care of itself.

Tip # 10 of 25 - The Secret to Consulting Success

Don’t worry—I’m not hawking an amateurish e-book on how to create an Internet money-making machine in your spare time. Here’s a question: What separates the top performing consultant, or firm, from the rest of the pack?

Before jumping in with an answer, let’s start with an assumption or two. Assume that your firm already has paying clients, the talent to serve those clients, and an effective method of business development and service delivery.

Given those assumptions, I believe the great firms separate themselves from everyone else based on the passion of their people. You may think of it as “fire in the belly,” excitement, enthusiasm, or zeal for your life’s work. Whatever you call it, passion is the emotion that makes you jump out of bed in the morning, itching to get at it.

Passion drives the discipline you need to accomplish the big goals you set for your life, career, and relationships. Passion is an impatient state of mind. Nothing moves as fast as you’d like when you have a burning desire to convert your vision into reality.

But if you can harness and apply your passion with rigor and discipline, it will lead you to discovery, then mastery and, finally, to success. Without passion, you can muddle through, but greatness will allude you. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, sooner or later that will become apparent to your colleagues and your clients.

In the 1991 movie, Thelma and Louise, Louise (Geena Davis) captures the essence of passion when she reminds her fellow fugitive, “You get what you settle for.”

Never settle. If you can’t keep your internal fire burning, you are in the wrong business.

Are You Listening?....Really?

Researchers at RainToday.com recently published “How Clients Buy,” a benchmark report on professional services marketing and selling from the client perspective. One of the most widely reported complaints clients have about their professional service providers, according to the study, is that they don’t listen.

Often, consultants are so enamored with their own solutions that they miss the client’s subtle cues on what they’re really looking for. The result: the consultant doesn’t understand what the client needs and can’t craft a compelling solution.

Clients recognize when consultants are waiting to talk, instead of listening. That difference shows up in the quality of the consultant’s questions and observations. Before your next client meeting, remind yourself to really listen. And remember, many clients already suspect that you won’t.

Lessons from Lawyers

Tom Kane's Legal Marketing Blog has a great post on how small law firms can edge out the big guys. He's boiled down a couple of articles that have advice that almost any professional service business can use. Just substitute your title whenever you see the word lawyer.

No rocket science in the post--just solid advice.

Read the post: Beat Out Larger Firms

No More Root Canals

Not long ago, I was blissfully unaware of endodontics. Then I learned that I needed root canal “therapy” and my ignorance ended.

I bought the line that “a root canal would be pain-free.” Well, it wasn’t.

But what was painless was the total experience. The specialist made one of the most invasive dental procedures as positive as possible with a step-by-step explanation, careful preparation, and the choice of medications, movies, and music. She even kept those barbaric looking tools out of my line of sight.

In spite of the fact that I hated every second of the procedure, I’d refer anyone to this specialist. This dentist understands the importance of evoking a positive emotional response from patients.

There’s a lesson here for consultants: the consulting experience you deliver to your clients had better be better than a root canal.  This is the subject of this month's Guerrilla Consultant article: No More Root Canals.