Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants

Value

"Can I clean those sunglasses for you?"

Armed with a chamois cloth and spray bottle, the affable salesman offers to buff the lenses of passersby.

He has occupied the same beachfront kiosk for years. Once you've stopped for your complimentary cleaning, it's natural to strike up a conversation about the high-end sunglasses that are on display and for sale.

Of course, he is using a transparent ploy to make people stop and listen to his pitch. But, unlike other vendors selling the same products elsewhere, this salesman always has potential customers surrounding him whenever he's working. And they buy from him.

He's always busy because he knows that he won't sell anything if he can't get your attention. So he uses value--cleaning your glasses or offering a cooling spritz of rosehip water--to initiate a dialogue. Once he engages you in conversation, his sales pitch is flawless and always informative.

It's easy to forget that it only takes a small gesture of value to make a client take notice of you. In the effort to get something for your business, don't forget to give something.

When you offer your potential clients your version of "Can I clean those sunglasses for you," don't be surprised if they agree and want to know more.

From the Bookshelf

Here are four recent books that you might find useful:

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, by Dan Roam

Roam's book offers the simple, yet powerful idea that anyone with a pen and a napkin can use visual thinking techniques to tackle any problem.

Total Alignment: Integrating Vision, Strategy, and Execution for Organizational Success, by Riaz Khadem, Ph.D.

Riaz Khadem outlines the essential organizational strategies that lead complex organizations to a more unified workforce, smoother operations, and greater profitability. 

Rules to Break and Laws to Follow: How Your Business Can Beat the Crisis of Short-Termism, by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers         

Peppers and Rogers are back with some compelling ideas for achieving long-term, lasting business success in a world that is hardwired for short-term results.

The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value through Global Networks, by C.K Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan

Prahalad and Krishnan think that the key to creating value and future growth for any business depends on accessing a global network of resources to co-create unique experiences with customers, one at a time.

It may sound far-fetched, but the underlying message of integrating IT infrastructure with an organization's management architecture is a powerful concept that any organization can benefit from hearing.

Focus

A client once asked me to help salvage a project that had failed due to a scary lack of focus. The problem started with the project team.

Its efforts were dedicated to task completion, which doesn't sound like such a bad idea. But the team lost its focus on the end result. The predictable outcome was that a lot of work got done, but it wasn't the right work.

The simple principle of focus drives the outcome of almost everything we do, whether it's client project work or our own marketing strategy, professional development, or career path. And, when things get crazed, which is often the case in this business, it's easy to lose focus on your end game.

Like that troubled project, dropping the ball on your professional focus has a similar outcome. So, it never hurts to revisit your thinking about the clients you want to serve, what you're offering, and how you're doing in reaching your career goals.

If your focus has lost its edge, the easiest way to regain traction is to take the advice you'd give your clients: zero in on what's truly important.

Too many people address these issues only when they're not busy, or when a new year is approaching. Those aren't bad times to reflect on your business, but shouldn't be the only times either. Where is your focus?

The Sad State of Customer Satisfaction

For the third year in a row, customer service ratings are taking a beating. According to researchers at Accenture, almost half of the 3,500 consumers surveyed said that their service experience with companies was fair, poor, or terrible.

Making matters worse, consumers aren't just complaining about poor service. Most respondents (59 percent) reported that they switched to a new provider in the past year, specifically due to service failures.

The results shouldn't be too surprising. Many organizations are handing over their customer service functions to outsourcers, who promise lower costs and improved service. Instead, what consumers are finding is longer waits, clueless service reps, and growing frustration.

Today's consumers expect more from their service experience than in years past, according to Accenture. And most companies are missing an opportunity to grow relationships with customers, preferring instead to cut service costs. But, it's important to remind our clients that the quality of service outweighs price as a reason why customers switch providers.

For every organization with a customer service function, there is a balance between service and cost. The trick is to help each client find that balance. The payoff is worth the effort: A positive customer service experience is a powerful source of differentiation, not just a cost of doing business.

Leading a Professional Services Firm

Books on leadership are everywhere you look these days. What's been missing is an insightful, research-based book on the leadership challenges facing professional services firm leaders--and strategies for addressing those challenges.

Thomas DeLong, coauthor of When Professionals Have to Lead: A New Model for High Performance, and a Professor at the Harvard Business School, has written that book.

In a recent interview, I talked to DeLong about his research and about his ideas for a leadership framework that can help firm leaders balance the sometimes conflicting demands of managing modern professional service organizations.

Read the interview with Thomas DeLong in Management Consulting News.