“To thrive, specialize.” Jack Trout told Management Consulting News.
Some consultants believe that to fill the sales pipeline with prospective clients, they must position themselves as generalists. To cast a wide net and be as many things as possible to clients, they try to sell the notion that they can solve any problem that arises.
It’s easy to see why this strategy seems logical, at least on the surface. Many firms have made their mark by offering a general set of high-priced services to willing clients. The mega-firms are called “one-stop shops” for just about anything clients need. But what underlies that generalist veneer in most firms are groups of highly specialized consultants, focused on what they do best.
Of course, these specialists can expand their scope to help clients solve other business problems—and they do once they’ve struck up a client relationship. But they open the client’s door and mind by demonstrating undisputed expertise on the issue facing the client, not by emphasizing a “jack of all trades” strategy.
As Trout pointed out, “Clients are looking for the best of breed when choosing consultants. They’ll pick one consultant for creative work, one for strategy work, and another for change management projects. The client will use consultants they perceive to be specialists in a coordinated way to achieve the total result they’re after.”
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