Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants

Ideas That Matter: Comfort Zones

Some consultants are uncomfortable with selling or with client relationship building, and would rather just do project work. But staying in your comfort zone is actually risky.

I agree with Harry Beckwith, author of Selling the Invisible and What Clients Love. In a Management Consulting News interview, Beckwith points out the relationship between comfort and complacency:

"...comfort nudges us dangerously close to complacency, and nothing good comes from that. It kills businesses, dulls lives, and encourages nothing better than ordinary. Our greatest blessings come from people who refused to be complacent, whether it was Beethoven or the Beatles."

Are there one or two activities that could boost the performance of your practice, but you hesitate because it's uncomfortable? Give them a try.

Ideas That Matter: What's in a Name?

The words we use can evoke unintended responses, perhaps because of the listener's pre-conceived notions or past experiences. For example, some clients might have good reason to react negatively to the word "consultant."

In a Management Consulting News interview, I talked to author and marketing expert, Jeffrey Fox, about how consultants describe themselves. Fox had this to say:

"To begin with, the Rainmaker does not use the word consultant. There are a lot of companies that say they don't use consultants. Then you ask do you do your own accounting, your own legal work, or pension management? They all use consultants and, frankly, they should because they don't want to be in those businesses. I think consultant can be a bad word. For that reason you are much better off being an expert in something, rather than a consultant."

Obviously, you can find scores of rainmakers who do call themselves consultants. But clients are paying for expertise and an outcome. Does your title convey, in a meaningful way, what you do for your client?