Davos: Get the skills to be able to change your skills

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What is book-to-bill ratio?

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Strategy consulting 2018 compensation survey

Management consultants make good coin. It would be silly to think otherwise. Think, 14% of Harvard’s undergraduate class go into consulting. There is a reason for that – work with smart people on difficult, fun problems. Charles Aris – executive recruiter out of North Carolina – do a great job of placing ex-strategy consultants. They […]

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No project is perfect: 3 questions to ask yourself

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Looking for some new music? 120+ songs

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What is your Venn Diagram?

Used to not like Venn diagrams. Yes, they have mathematical roots – but to me, they always seemed too conceptual – goofy, unspecific, and “soft”. The kind of cheesy thing you would find in a presentation that means nothing. Then this week, I either mentioned, or drew them 5 times in 2 days. When explaining my professional background, […]

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Positioning Yourself As The Expert — How To Develop A Consulting Voice That Clients Will Listen To with Ron Carucci: Podcast #21

Discipline and patience are two of the essential keys that will bring you the greater consulting success you are seeking.

Description:

Today I’m joined by seasoned consultant and passionate leader Ron Carucci. Ron and his partners at Navalent help companies that are in pursuit of a substantial transformational change, whether it be strategic formulation, organizational design, cultural shifts, or executive leadership behaviors. His work has taken him to over 20 countries in four different continents, and he is the author of several consulting and leadership books as well as a regular contributor to Forbes.com and the Harvard Business Review.

In this episode, we talk about how Ron shifted from working in an organization to working for the best ones, the ideal size of a successful consulting firm, and the effective ways to implement changes in your work so that you are attracting only the most ideal clients. Ron has over 25 years of experience, and he has worked hard to position himself as a truly successful consultant. You won’t want to miss the insights and experiences that he shares in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.

In Pursuit of His Passion For Organizations

Originally a student of the arts, Ron was performing in Europe when he found himself at a crossroads in which he had a life-changing realization about the importance of helping other people tell their stories. At that point, Ron began following his passion for examining the science behind leaders and organizations work together. Today, as a consultant, Ron gets to enter into the stories of successful businesses to help leaders write the next chapter of their adventures.

Creating meaningful success does not come by doing the easy things. It comes from making the decision to change, dedicating yourself to the change, and then doing a lot of hard work.

But today, we’re focusing on Ron’s story. He has learned plenty of lessons over the years, and the stories he shares on in our conversation are valuable for any consultant that wants to make positive changes to their work.

Inside the world of organizational development, Ron quickly learned that being an agent of change is a real challenge. As companies grow larger and larger, the work is no longer about effecting change. It becomes more about revenues and profits, leading and managing all aspects of the growing business. When Ron and some of his close colleagues realized this was the work they were faced with, they decided to start their own business in order to preserve their dream. Navelent was born and 13 years later Ron declares that he is still living his dream.

He tells about the lessons he learned from his first practice. Although exiting a larger corporation was liberating, and the work he was doing paid the bills, Ron had to be honest with himself. He knew that he didn’t have 30 more years of expertise that he could make money on. Those kinds of brutally honest moments are the pivotal ones — and they are essential for any consultant who wants to stay on the path toward success.

Building A Consulting Firm To The Perfect Size

Many consultants are successful as a one-man show, but Navelent is a larger consulting company by intentional design. Rather than marketing himself as the independent expert in his domain, Ron has built up his business with a group of colleagues that share his passion for the work they do. This expertise has provided the power to make the kinds of impact that they most wanted to make. As Ron explains, when you show up to a large corporation, you need to have enough resources ready that the company will be confident in your ability to get the work done.

At Navalent, they are deliberate and intentional about the partners they bring on and the training they have to complete. There are clearly defined levels of branding, standards of practice, and expectations from each consultant within the firm. Ron and the other two owners of Navalent also make sure that they are modeling the behaviors and practices that they expect from their consultants, starting with getting into the trenches with clients themselves.

Compensation within the firm comes from great client work. Rather than modeling overly bureaucratic or individualistic behaviors, Navalent has a compensation metric that rewards an intense focus on the client. Ron explains that the compensation model allows their consultants to feel confident about focusing on the needs of their clients, rather than how large their next paycheck is going to be. If you’ve ever wondered how to make that switch, you’ll want to hear how it works at Navalent.

Standing Out In A Crowd of Leadership Experts

As an author of several leadership books, Ron has worked hard to improve the perception of consultants and the importance of the work that they do. His first two books — The Value-Creating Consultant: How To Build and Sustain Lasting Client Relationships and Relationships that Enable Enterprise Change: Leveraging the Client-Consultant Connection — both focus solely on the importance of being a great consultant. From there he has shifted his focus to the importance of being a great leader and how consultants can effectively lead change within organizations.

Ron shares the experience that led to his most recent book, Rising To Power: The Journey of Exceptional Executives. When the CEO of a company told Ron that a recently fired executive wasn’t well prepared for his responsibilities, Ron wanted to know why. What could have been done differently? That question led to a 10-year, longitudinal study of more than 2,700 leaders in which Ron examined what makes leaders excel. 50% of leaders fail in the first 18 months of their assignments, and that statistic is both staggering and unsettling for those that are trying to succeed. His book addresses these harsh facts and also shares the key difference between those that fail and those that rise to the top.

While many consultants write about their methodology, Ron writes about the things that his clients care about, and that is why his work stands out. He also writes for Forbes.com and Harvard Business Review, both of which have had a tremendous impact on his business. Additionally, a few years ago Ron hired a coach for himself to greater refine his voice and set himself apart. Each of these steps has allowed Ron to rise above the cluttered market of consulting ‘experts’ and position himself as a leader who knows what his clients want and how to get the results they are seeking.

Have you ever considered hiring a coach for yourself? If so, you’ll want to listen to Ron as he shares some of the lessons he has learned. By hiring his own coach, he has discovered how to land the kind of clients he wants to be working with. The first and most important step is making sure that your ideal clients can find you. They have to have access to your ideas in a way that will resonate with them. By positioning yourself along their pathway, they can more easily connect with you. The second major tip Ron shares comes from his writing.

How To Get Your Writing Published

Many consultants dream of publishing their ideas into books or on world-renowned websites such as Forbes.com and Harvard Business Review. If you’ve got ideas that you want to share with the world but don’t know where to start, this conversation is for you.

Ron shares several effective ideas for getting published. First, you need to have ideas that matter. You need to be able to organize your ideas into insightful packages that make for a good read. An easy way to start is to base your ideas from the client’s perspective. Write about the challenges they are facing, and you’ll be that much closer to writing successfully.

Once you have your ideas organized in a meaningful way, there are several channels that you can use to try to get your writing published. However, Ron warns, it takes a great deal of discipline. You have to be committed to writing regularly. You have to be committed to writing about the things that your clients care about, and above all else, you have to be incredibly patient. If you really want to get your voice heard, you need to hear Ron’s experiences and the tips he shares for staying committed to your writing over the long haul.

Building Credibility Within Your Network

As we examine the overall benefits of writing books and online articles, Ron’s opinion on the importance of the two may surprise you. They’re both essential, but in addition to writing, in today’s world, you have to have more. A strong social media presence and taking on speaking engagements, including podcasts, will also contribute to your overall credibility. Building your credibility and social proof is essential to your success as an expert in your field of consulting.

Magazines, ebooks, and articles all work together to provide a conversation base for you to have with your ideal clients. Each of these methods alone will not be enough to build your credibility, but working together they all cast a very wide net that will bring in your ideal clients. Relationships that start online can progress into your opportunities to work with the kinds of clients that you are seeking.

Many consultants make the mistake of believing that it is the problem-solving expertise and smart solutions that make them valuable, but that mentality is wrong. As Ron’s first book The Value-Creating Consultant: How To Build and Sustain Lasting Client Relationships proves, the primary delivery mechanism of value is the relationship that you have with your client. There is no other approach to your work that will be as effective as forming meaningful, trusting relationships with your clients. It is essential that you continue to work your network and place your expertise in the path of those that you want to work with. That consistency that you work to maintain in the right places is critical to your consulting success.

Developing A Mindset of Discipline

According to Ron, desperation was the initial key to his commitment to consistently producing high-quality work. That may seem like a joke, but if you’ve ever found yourself in a similar situation, you will understand what he means. Once he realized that he didn’t want to work with crazy people anymore, the decision was an easy one. He knew that he needed to make changes in his approach to securing clients, and the next step was investing in himself. By investing in his own career and success and hiring a coach, Ron was able to affect the changes that he needed to make.

If you’re truly committed to making positive changes in your consulting work, you need to hear Ron’s story. Creating meaningful success does not come by doing the easy things. It comes from making the decision to change, dedicating yourself to the change, and then doing a lot of hard work. You will see rewards in your success if you can stay consistently committed to making it happen, and Ron is proof of that.

You can learn more about his work at navalent.com, where you can access his blog, books, and information about upcoming training events. You can also obtain a copy of his free ebook Leading Transformation. And you can find the inspiration you’ve been looking for to find your consultant’s voice of authority and leadership in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Ron Carucci.

Key Takeaways:

[:17] Introducing Ron Carucci, artist turned successful global consultant and author.
[6:01] How starting out small in the business led Ron to greater success.
[7:57] Shaping Navalent into a successful company.
[11:12] A look at a more rewarding compensation model.
[11:58] All about Ron’s writing and the importance of his consulting and leadership books.
[16:21] The impact of writing articles for Forbes.com.
[17:46] Key tips for getting your writing published.
[19:59] Building your credibility through writing, speaking, and social media.
[22:40] Networking your way to success.
[27:20] Steps to developing a mindset of discipline.
[32:52] Connecting with Ron Carucci.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Navalent
The Value-Creating Consultant: How To Build and Sustain Lasting Client Relationships, by Ron A. Carucci and Toby J. Tetenbaum
Relationships that Enable Enterprise Change: Leveraging the Client-Consultant Connection, by Ron A. Carucci and William A. Pasmore
Rising To Power: The Journey of Exceptional Executives, by Ron A. Carucci and Eric C. Hansen
Ron Carucci on Forbes.com
Ron Carucci on Harvard Business Review
Leading Transformation

Tweetables:

“Doing the work and running the firm are two different things.” — Ron Carucci

 

“If you want to attract a certain kind of client … you have to make sure they can find you.” — Ron Carucci

 

“At the end of the day, it’s all about relationships.” — Ron Carucci

 

“Too many clients lead with answers instead of relationships.” — Ron Carucci

 

“The consistency of your presence in the right places is critical to your success.” — Ron Carucci

 

Positioning Yourself As The Expert — How To Develop A Consulting Voice That Clients Will Listen To with Ron Carucci: Podcast #21 is a post from: Consulting Success

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What is book-to-bill ratio?

The post What is book-to-bill ratio? appeared first on Consultant's Mind.

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Strategy consulting 2018 compensation survey

Management consultants make good coin. It would be silly to think otherwise. Think, 14% of Harvard’s undergraduate class go into consulting. There is a reason for that – work with smart people on difficult, fun problems. Charles Aris – executive recruiter out of North Carolina – do a great job of placing ex-strategy consultants. They […]

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No project is perfect: 3 questions to ask yourself

Mentors are critical. One of the biggest mistakes I made early in my career is that I did not ask for advice. I plodded along, thinking I knew best, and did not get advice from others. B.I.G.M.I.S.T.A.K.E.  Now, getting feedback from other people is something I relish. Feedback either makes you feel great (read: compliments), […]

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Looking for some new music? 120+ songs

Looking for some new music. Tired of the same Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, and Cat Stevens? Curious what smart young professionals are listening to?  I was, so I asked my business school students. Please find 4 Spotify stations curated from my business students. They are upbeat and safe-for-work. 120+ songs. Enjoy.         […]

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How To Transform Your Consulting Business and Achieve Consistent and Greater Growth – Podcast #20

A look into Michael’s latest book, The Elite Consulting Mind provides the first tool you need to start achieving next-level consulting success.

Description:

On this episode we’re switching gears to talk about my newest book. The Elite Consulting Mind: 16 Proven Mindsets to Attract More Clients, Increase Your Income and Achieve Meaningful Success was recently released and today I want to share with you a glimpse of what’s inside. This book is full of principles — all proven by elite consultants — that you can use to overcome challenges, remove obstacles, and grow your business significantly.

In this book you’ll learn how to build confidence by confronting self-doubt, consistently attract ideal clients by following three specific steps, use worry to your advantage, develop the best business model, and much more. On this episode I want to share with you one of the 16 mindsets from the book, that I call mirroring success. This tool is the first step in achieving next-level consulting success and the potential $100,000 rate of return that comes with it.

Our transformation happened when we signed up for a coaching program. Instead of remaining stuck with no idea what to do next, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by successful business men and women who could help us understand the ‘how’ to achieving the next level of success.

Whether you’re just getting into the consulting business or you are a seasoned consulting veteran but aren’t experiencing the level of success and results you desire, this book offers you the advantage you need. Join me as we explore one of the 16 mindsets that elite consultants employ on this special episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.

Chasing A Wild Dream

When I first started my consulting business with my partner and cousin Sam, we had the wild and seemingly unattainable dream of making $5,000 a month and enjoying the freedom of working anywhere in the world. In the first few months it seemed like we would never get there. We suffered major setbacks and overcame many challenges, but finally we reached our goal. And then, with hard work, we doubled our dream to $6,000 a month. And then we doubled it again. We were working hard and enjoying success, and then a strange thing happened.

Our business growth completely stopped.

Maybe you’ve found yourself in the same place — stuck in the current state of your consulting business and wondering how to achieve the next level of success. That is what this chapter of The Elite Consulting Mind is all about. We’re digging deep into one of the 16 mindsets that have helped me and hundreds of other successful consultants keep the business moving and the success coming.

The Key To Achieving a Higher Level of Success

When business growth stagnates, a transformation is necessary. Our transformation happened when we signed up for a coaching program. Instead of remaining stuck with no idea what to do next, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by successful business men and women who could help us understand the ‘how’ to achieving the next level of success.

Once Sam and I changed our business model, we were back to achieving success. We multiplied our wild dream of making $5,000-per-month into a $150,000-per-month reality, but we still didn’t stop there. Our business continues to grow because, even today, we surround ourselves with mentors and coaches that support and teach us. The key to success is that we have never stopped developing our mindset.

Increasing the Rate of Return On Your Business Investments

In this chapter of The Elite Consulting Mind we examine the best place you can place your money to gain the highest rate of return. It isn’t a high interest savings account, or even the stock market. The investments that we’ve made in our business have produced a $30,000 rate of return, and higher, and the reason behind it is simple.

On the other hand, consultants who are willing to invest in their business know the actions they need to take to get them where they dream of being.

We have learned that the actions you take mirror your success to potential buyers.

From implementing recommendations consistently to responding to communications quickly or committing to working with clients on an ongoing basis, your clients see the level of success that you are mirroring. They sense your confidence level, your hesitation, or indecisiveness. If you don’t develop a mindset of success, you will become the biggest hindrance to your business and you will never be able to reach your true potential.

On the other hand, consultants who are willing to invest in their business know the actions they need to take to get them where they dream of being. They have the mindset that will lead them to success. Elite consultants consistently hone their mindset. They invest in themselves and improve the way they think and approach their business. They have the confidence needed to take the right actions.

In The Elite Consulting Mind, you will learn all about this mindset that is necessary for you to achieve next-level consulting success. You’ll gain access to the tools and gain the confidence that will allow you to experiences meaningful consulting success, starting with mirroring success.

I know you will benefit highly from the 16 mindsets and many tools in this book. You can find more information about The Elite Consulting Mind on our website and gain early bird access to the book at www.consultingsuccess.com/mindsetbook.

Key Takeaways:

[:35] Mirroring success — a look inside my new book.
[3:32] The key to reaching a higher level of consulting success.
[4:16] Rates of return on business investments in concrete figures.
[5:24] Mirroring success starts here.
[8:19] Where to find The Elite Consulting Mind.

Mentioned in This Episode:

The Elite Consulting Mind: 16 Proven Mindsets to Attract More Clients, Increase Your Income and Achieve Meaningful Success, by Michael Zipursky

Tweetables:

“We had to learn from successful people in order to change the way that we did things.” — Michael Zipursky

 

“Wherever you are, there is a higher level of success waiting for you.” — Michael Zipursky

 

“Consistently attract your ideal clients and … increase your fees; you’ll achieve … success that you’ve only dreamed.” — Michael Zipursky

 

“The actions you take mirror your success to potential buyers.” — Michael Zipursky

 

“If you don’t develop a mindset of success, you will become the biggest hindrance to your business.” — Michael Zipursky

How To Transform Your Consulting Business and Achieve Consistent and Greater Growth – Podcast #20 is a post from: Consulting Success

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What is your Venn Diagram?

Used to not like Venn diagrams. Yes, they have mathematical roots – but to me, they always seemed too conceptual – goofy, unspecific, and “soft”. The kind of cheesy thing you would find in a presentation that means nothing. Then this week, I either mentioned, or drew Venn diagrams 5 times in 2 days. When explaining my professional […]

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3 Reasons Consulting Proposals Fail

Transcript:

Today I’m going to talk about proposals, and three reasons as to why proposals are often not accepted, or why people encounter clients delaying on proposals, or deciding just not to move forward on them.

There’s three reasons that are quite common, and we’re going to look at those here today. The first reason is that you’re not having a deep and meaningful consulting sales conversation. If you’re just going in, and you’re talking about what you can do, and your methodology … If you’re doing a lot more talking, and not enough listening, and if you’re not asking the right questions, because there are very specific questions that you should be asking in every consulting sales conversation that will help you to identify, to discover, but then to be able to communicate back to the buyer real value.

When you work through a conversation, you’re able to then identify … a meaningful conversation … identify what buyers really want, what they’re looking for, what they care about, what happens if they take action now, versus what doesn’t happen for them if they don’t take action.

If you’re not identifying the value that your buyer cares about, then you’re not going to be in a position to really have that effective conversation. It also won’t support higher fees.

The first thing is making sure that you’re able to identify … we’ll say and communicate [inaudible 00:01:27] value. If this is not happening, then you’re going to get a lot of pressure from buyers. Typically, they’re not going to see the value. They may not see the reason as to why they should be moving forward right now. They might think, “Oh, we can wait another few months, or years,” or whatever it might be.

When you work through a conversation, you’re able to then identify … a meaningful conversation … identify what buyers really want, what they’re looking for, what they care about, what happens if they take action now, versus what doesn’t happen for them if they don’t take action.

You get to explore not only the opportunity, but also the cost of inaction, and other factors that are really important to them. That’s why that conversation is so critical. The second thing … the second reason I should say, as to why consulting proposals do not get accepted, so three reasons why they don’t get accepted, is because they can’t justify your fees.

Now, these two are directly connected, because being able to identify and communicate value means the buyers will then be able to see the fees, and see the value, and be able to justify making that investment. There is one other factor to fees, and that is that if you put yourself in the position of a buyer who you’ve just maybe met recently, there’s no referral, you have no real existing relationship with them, and so it’s just the first time … There’s often … not often, almost every time, buyers will really want to feel comfortable before investing larger amounts of money.

If let’s say your initial project with a buyer you’ve had absolutely no experience with is $50,000 or $100,000 or $300,000, some buyers are going to be very hesitant to start at that level, just because they don’t know you. They can’t yet believe fully … it’s not personal, it’s just business. They don’t yet know that you’re going to actually be able to provide what you say that you can provide. That gives them pause.

Can’t justify fees, and we’ll say they’re too high. Now, this does not mean that they’re too high in general, it doesn’t mean that you asking $50,000, or $300,000 is wrong. The value may be there, but it just may be that the buyer’s not yet able to justify investing at those high level fees to begin with.

Now, this brings us to the third common reason that buyers hesitate or don’t move forward on proposals right away. That is time intensity, or commitments. That’s abbreviated. So commitment.

Now, the reason why this happens, is if you think about your buyer, now typically your buyer is going to be a decision maker, right? They’re going to be an executive, or someone that is in a position, even if it’s in a mid or small size company, it’s typically then going to [inaudible 00:04:47] to the CEO, the president, the owner, co-founder, whatever.

These are people that are busy. They have a lot going on, and so when they start a new engagement with someone who they have absolutely no relationship with, they are often … and even if you do have a relationship with them, when it comes to number three, people are in many cases, they don’t want to commit to something that’s going to take a lot of time if they’re not yet sure that they’re going to get the result that they really want.

There’s too much risk on the risk-rewards scale, there’s a little bit too much risk for them to do that, because busy executives … their issue isn’t money, okay, their issue is time. Time is their most valuable asset, and so they don’t want to waste it. They don’t want to commit too much time up front to something they’re not yet quite sure is going to deliver the result they want.

What that means, is that if you put all three of these together, it might be one of these, it might be all of these, but these are common reasons why buyers don’t move forward on proposals right away, because you haven’t done a good job of engaging them in a meaningful consulting sales conversation. They’re not able to justify the fees, because they’re too high as a starting point, or they feel there’s too much commitment and time intensity on their part that is required, and they have a lot of other things on their plate.

How do you solve this? How do you deal with this issue? Well, the way that you deal with this issue, the way that you solve this issue … that’s a little check mark, compared to the X, is that you create a discovery offer.

Now, there’s many other names for this, you can call it an assessment, an analysis, a deep dive, a strategic review, whatever you want to call it, but what this is, is the benefits of it, is it’s typically shorter, it’s lower in cost, or lower price, and so these two factors especially … one other thing is it gives it tangible results.

These two factors, that it’s shorter, and it’s lower in price, what it does, is it solves these two issues, number two and three. It won’t solve this, you still need to make sure that you’re doing a great job of having a meaningful consulting sales conversation, but the important thing is that for a busy executive or decision maker, because the price is lower, they don’t need to justify it. Its just, “Oh okay, yeah. I can invest $2,500, $5,000, $10,000,” whatever it might be, but lower on the scale, into this, because that’s not that much.

Depending on the size of your organization, the amount that you charge for your discovery offer might be different, but compared to a full on engagement, significantly lower. That makes them feel like, “Yeah, I can take a chance on this.” Not that they’re just going to take a wild leap of faith, they should still be grounded, and feeling there’s trust, and that you can actually do what you say they’re going to do, but they’re going to feel much more comfortable in doing that.

Also because it’s shorter, there’s less time required. A busy executive can say, “Okay, you’re not suggesting that we get started with a six month or 12 month engagement, what you’re suggesting is a one or two week deep dive, or a one or two week assessment or discovery,” whatever it is, whatever you’re doing. We’re typically talking just weeks, not months, and definitely not years.

Because of that, they’re willing to give it a chance, because they know that they’re not going to derail all their plans, or push everything back, and so the commitment level that is required from this is significantly less. Because of that, and because they’re going to get a result from the discovery offer, whatever you end up doing here, you’ll find that people will say, “Yes,” much faster.

This is a great way to move from a conversation, to actually having clients say, “Yes.” In many cases, if you’re talking to a real buyer, an economic buyer that is in the position to say, “Yes,” they will often say, “Yes, let’s get started right away,” that first … not even first, but that meeting, or when you’re having that conversation, because there’s not much risk required, and they clearly see the value.

It all comes back to, you have to, you must, do a very good job of having a meaningful consulting sales conversation with them, because without that, nothing else really matters. You might still be able to win some business, but if you really want to win consistent business, or a lot more business at higher fees and move everything forward, then number one is very critical.

This is how you handle if you’re confronting a lot of buyers saying, “No,” to your proposals, then I would recommend looking at developing a discovery offer. If you want some help with that, reach out. We can definitely chat about it, but this is the path that I would take. I wish you the best.

3 Reasons Consulting Proposals Fail is a post from: Consulting Success

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Strategy&: Why is having the right strategy more important than ever?

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Supercell: fail, fail, fail, fail, HUGE WIN

SuperCell. Amazing story of a Finish start-up that makes mobile games. They made Clash of Clans, the highest grossing app on IOS and Android app stores. Boom. Started in 2010, and sold 84% of the company to Tencent in 2016 for $8.6 Billion. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s not. The level of player engagement […]

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Less Marketing, More Consulting — How To Win Projects Within Your Network with Stuart Friedman: Podcast #19

The greatest marketing tool you have is your network — here’s how to make it work for you.

Description:

Today I’m excited to be joined by Stuart Friedman from Global Context. This Silicon Valley-based previous electrical engineer with a passion for theater studied at Carnegie Mellon, then started his career in product marketing and sales before becoming a VP General Manager. He had climbed his way to the top of the corporate ladder when a piece of luggage knocked a profound truth into him — literally. After months of stuttering and having speech and cognitive therapy, Stuart realized that the ability to communicate and the ability to process information and his talent for both was not to be taken for granted. Global Context was born, and 12 years later he has been working in all aspects of cultural communications — from the challenges within one organization to the cultural differences that are always apparent, and often the killer, of any acquisition or merger.

On this episode, Stuart shares the number one consulting success truth — your network is your biggest marketing tool. We explore how you can make your network work for you so that you don’t have to spend your time chasing after your next client. By using Stuart’s advice, your next client will come to you. He shares lessons he has learned, mistakes he commonly sees consultants make, and some of the ways that he has scaled his business for growth without hiring unnecessarily. If you’ve been looking for ways to spend less time marketing and more time consulting, you won’t want to miss this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Stuart Friedman.

Building A Business on Cross-Cultural Communications

A background of engineering, marketing sales, and theater may not seem like one that would logically add up to forming a cross-cultural communications consultancy, but that was the perfect recipe for Stuart. It all came together during a conversation with a previous competitor. Stuart was approached to do some consulting work, and the former competitor specifically wanted to know how Stuart had managed to take away all of their business in Asia. It was obvious that Stuart knew something that his competitor didn’t, and at that point, he realized that the work he had been doing in studying different cultures and business practices could benefit more than just him. This former competitor became his first client, and the rest is history.

Stuart has consulted many high-profile companies, but he prefers to maintain a mix of large and small clients in his business. Bigger clients mean more time and higher client acquisition costs, and as someone who has worked with big-name companies including Apple, Sony, Oracle, Microsoft, and Nissan, Stuart has discovered something else. He has found that the bigger the company and the more accomplished people he works with, there also tends to be a greater amount of blind spots that can limit the executive’s willingness to learn and change. Higher up people are often convinced that they’re in their role because they already understand how everything works, and Stuart calls working with larger companies with people such as that a laborious effort. Changing an executive’s mind can be a difficult task to take on, but Stuart knows exactly how it can be done.

Winning Business Within Your Network

By taking on projects with smaller companies, Stuart has been given the opportunity for greater success with larger companies. Much of the work that he has procured in his business has come from smaller companies that have since moved onto larger companies, and those people have remembered his work and reached out to him again and again. Referrals in his network haven’t entirely eliminated the need for marketing, but by maintaining and expanding his network, he has been able to shift his focus from chasing clients to getting consulting work done. Over the last 12 years, Stuart says that the majority of his work has come from personal contacts and referrals and that is significant proof that your network can give you more business than your marketing efforts might.

Rather than focusing on marketing and business development, Stuart shares the efforts that have given him the greatest success in acquiring new clients. His success has been accelerated with writing and speaking opportunities. As has been the case for many of my guests here on The Consulting Success Podcast, Stuart has found that by taking advantage of these opportunities, he has increased his credibility and that companies are more trusting of his ability to deliver the kind of change they are seeking.

Additionally, Stuart has maintained a good bandwidth of communication with the clients he has worked with and is currently working with. By following the news he stays informed on how business moves are impacting cultures, and he can stay connected with those in his network. Just like Stuart, you will find that your network is invaluable in accelerating client acquisition. Never neglect your network! The payback for the time that you put into maintaining your contacts will be worth more than any amount of money that you could possibly put into marketing.

Convincing Clients That They Need Your Help

Your job as a consultant is to convey the value in your work to buyers so that you can help them become a better company than ever. Unfortunately, many clients don’t recognize their problems or even care about getting those problems fixed, especially when choosing between making such changes or focusing their efforts on the “hard skills” of growing sales and revenue or decreasing costs. Although the “soft skill” of improving the culture of a business may not be as high on the priority list for an executive, it is just as essential for the success and health of a business. As a consultant who works in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stuart has had plenty of experience with this same problem.

It’s the great paradox of successful companies. In the same conversation, Stuart has heard executives boast about their advanced technology, experienced and talented employees, and operational excellence, and then go on to share the less-impressive facts that they have missed revenue goals, have too-high expenses and are facing disappointing and surprising forecasts coming in again.

If these companies have such excellent resources, why are they still struggling? Simply put, the human issues are the ones that will bog down any company. Once Stuart is able to help executives recognize this overarching flaw, his work becomes easier. You’ll want to listen to the approach he uses and the tips he shares for helping stubborn executives recognize that they do have big problems and that those problems can be solved with the help of a successful consultant.

One of the greatest points that Stuart shares in our conversation is this — your job as a consultant is not to persuade the market into thinking that you have a good opportunity to share with them. Instead, your job is to figure out where you can add value. Stuart says, “You can wake up every day and try to convince somebody that they need something that they don’t think they need, but wouldn’t it be a lot more fun to figure out what keeps them up at night and talk to them about how you can help solve that problem?”

Simply put, you have to focus on your area of expertise and help your clients see where and how you can add value to their company. If you can do that successfully, you can then position yourself in such a way that you can have deeper and more meaningful conversations with potential clients. And, just like Stuart, the insurmountable task of helping executives recognize that they actually do have a problem that you can solve will get much easier.

Turning Mistakes Into Learning Experiences

Every consultant has made mistakes. It’s part of the process on the road to success, but there are always lessons to be learned from our mistakes. Stuart shares three major mistakes in our conversations, and the lessons he’s learned from each one are invaluable. You’ll want to hear him explain each of them himself, but here is a glimpse into the stories he tells.

First, Stuart learned the hard way that the companies he has worked for didn’t necessarily have his best interest at heart. Secretly, he says, he may have been hoping that someone would take him under their wing and point him in the direction of entrepreneurial consulting, but that advice never came. Rather, he had to forge his path on his own and find his own place in the systems he was working through.

Second, Stuart regrets not taking better advantage of the time and training he had while he was still working as “a cog in the corporate system.” He reflects on the number of business trips he took and the time that he wasted just by watching the in-flight movies. Instead, he could have spent that time in more valuable ways by researching the insights that would have given him stronger and quicker legs when he finally did begin to pursue consulting. Of course, we all know hindsight is 20/20, but the lesson Stuart learned should be taken to heart by anyone that is considering moving away from the safety net of the corporate world — take advantage of any time you have to learn more about the field in which you see yourself as a successful consultant.

Third, Stuart reflects on the most common mistakes that he sees repeated all too often in the consulting world. Earlier in our conversation, Stuart shared his perspective on marketing and client acquisition costs. Now, he gives more insight into the consulting secrets that really work for him, and it’s not spending big bucks on marketing. Listen to him tell the facts and you’ll understand exactly what he means when he says that his higher fees and business growth have come more surely by not pursuing an account than ever before.

Business Growth Starts Here

Global Context was formed back in 2008, just prior to the stock market crash. It was a disappointing day for Stuart when he had to let go some of the long-time colleagues turned employees that had joined him in his new business venture, but it also gave him some perspective on how he really wanted to grow and scale his business. The second time around, Stuart decided to create a network of affiliates who were also consultants in other specialized areas that were synergistic with his work. From Brazil to Finland, he was able to join forces with other consultants and create a network of people that he can now use to help him complete various projects.

Additionally, because Stuart is fully booked, he has had to figure out ways to scale his business if he’s not willing to hire on employees. He shares a number of ways that he has made this work for him, including aggressively building product. He has developed his own e-seminars and blog posts, developed seminars for other people, and even developed an app for people to practice a presentation in front of an audience and receive real-time feedback. Each of these efforts has allowed Stuart to maintain control over his business size and scale it right to where he feels most comfortable.

As someone who has enjoyed a dozen years as a successful consultant, someone who can now turn work away, and someone who has found the key to smarter marketing and business sizing, Stuart is a guest that you are sure to gain valuable insights from, all on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Stuart Friedman.

Key Takeaways:

[:10] From the theater to Silicon Valley — meeting Stuart Friedman.

[4:05] Building a consultancy around cross-cultural communications.

[7:12] Working with big brands starts with small projects.

[9:15] Maintaining your network is worth more than marketing.

[12:34] Helping clients recognize that they really do have a problem that you can fix.

[17:55] Challenges and mistakes on Stuart’s path to consulting success.

[24:03] Follow-up with potential clients is an essential part of the process.

[26:12] Scaling business growth means working smarter.

[30:30] Connecting with Stuart Friedman.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Global Context
Stuart Friedman at Business Insider
Stuart Friedman at Fortune.com

Tweetables:

“Most of my marketing efforts have been to continue to embrace people who … know me. They serve as my best champions.” — Stuart Friedman

 

“Human issues impact the bottom line.” — Stuart Friedman

 

“Client acquisition costs are just way too high, and time is too short.” — Stuart Friedman

 

Less Marketing, More Consulting — How To Win Projects Within Your Network with Stuart Friedman: Podcast #19 is a post from: Consulting Success

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Getting More Referrals and Creating Relationships That Lead to Greater Success with Liz Kislik: Podcast #18

When you insist on hard work and high standards, you will see your consulting luck transform into substantial consulting success.

Description:

If your consulting business has more than one employee, chances are you have run into conflict with your partners or coworkers. On this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast, I’m joined by Liz Kislik, the owner of Liz Kislik Associates, with nearly 30 years of nationally acclaimed consulting management experience. Liz is an expert on conflict management, handling everything from operating issues to communication problems and inter-departmental conflicts.

Liz started out as a college student looking for a summer job. She landed her first job as a salesperson for TV Guide, where she learned the entire business and eventually was promoted to executive vice president before leaving the company. Within a week of quitting, Liz was being contacted by companies looking for a consultant, and she has been working hard at her successful consulting business ever since.

When they are presented to you, take advantage of writing or speaking engagements. These opportunities will help you to gain a reputation as an expert in your field.

On this episode, we dive into the difference between luck and hard work. Every consultant hopes to get lucky, but there are many ways that you can actually affect your luck. Liz shares several tactics that have resulted in her luck improving, and it is all because of the hard work she has been willing to put into her business. From expanding her referral pool to fine-tuning her branding, she shares solid tips for the hard work that will increase your luck, and your consulting success. You won’t want to miss out on her wisdom and expertise on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Liz Kislik.

Luck or Hard Work — Which One Equals Success?

Too many consultants are looking for luck — whether it be some new technology or a big breakthrough that will catapult their business into an unbelievable success. Liz starts out by explaining that that kind of luck, while possible, is unlikely to be sustainable for an extended period of time. She calls it “lottery luck,” and warns that it can lead to trouble. Finding yourself lucky in your business without the preparation that needs to take place to sustain long-term success is not really lucky at all. Real success comes with 20 years of preparation. There is no quick and easy substitute for real preparation and hard work, and Liz explains why.

It is essential that you know what you are talking about in your consulting business. There is no substitute for really knowing the ins and outs of the work you are hired to do. Lucky breaks will never make that happen. Understanding the work and doing what it takes to make it successful, not only gives you increased knowledge, it also gives you more credibility in your field. Hard work will give you the edge you need when potential clients are considering hiring you to get their jobs done, and that’s when you will see your luck start to grow.

The Relationships that Lead to Success

When Liz started out in her consulting business, she didn’t have a business plan in place, although she wishes she would have had one. In its place, she had to work to find other ways to find clients and projects. I talk often on The Consulting Success Podcast about the importance of a solid network, and Liz’s story is further proof that your network is the number one key to gaining the success that you are seeking.

When building out your network, you need to foster and maintain referral relationships. These relationships include the people who think highly of you and the work that you are capable of doing. When they hear of an opportunity, they think of you and are willing to recommend your name as someone who can get the job done. Liz calls these relationships the lucky ones. For her, these relationships have created many quality opportunities for her to expand both her business and her credibility. She recognizes that it takes hard work to make and keep these types of relationships, but that the work produces exceptional rewards.

There are several ways that you can establish referral relationships, and Liz shares the details of one highly effective method. By actively serving in volunteer positions on nonprofit boards, you can spend a lot of time with a lot of different types of people who see you at work without your demanding anything from them. In this light, people can see your abilities to work, collaborate, and act as a good colleague. In a volunteer position, you can build a sense of trust and confidence in your abilities, as well as a confidence that you will bring value to any project that you are involved in.

It is definitely a long sales cycle, but it’s one that yields high returns in the long run. You’ll want to listen to the opportunities that have presented themselves for Liz because she was willing to put in the hard work of nurturing referral relationships — some of them 20 years in the making.

Keep the Referrals Coming by Doing These Two Things

In addition to volunteering, Liz worked hard to increase her luck in two other areas early in her consulting career. By dedicating time to becoming a writer and a speaker, she increased both her visibility and her credibility. When they are presented to you, take advantage of writing or speaking engagements. These opportunities will help you to gain a reputation as an expert in your field.

To help in her efforts, Liz continues to maintain her lengthy list of contacts. A weekly blog post and a monthly emailed newsletter allow Liz to reach out to her readers and to connect with them regularly. She also has started writing for Harvard Business Review. She proves that by regularly putting yourself out there as an expert in your field, you are increasing your credibility for people who don’t know much about you or the work you do.

However, you have to recognize that the impact of writing and speaking may not be instantaneous. The effect that these efforts can have on your business is a long-term one. In her experience, Liz found that it was often years later that she was approached by a client that was finally ready to make the kind of changes and improvements that she implements in companies. Consulting work, and especially conflict management, can be long and hard work with a major commitment to change required on the part of the business. A company may not be ready to make changes as soon as you meet them, but by maintaining consistent and helpful contact with them, they will remember you and come to you when they are ready.

Speeding Up The Sales Cycle Won’t Increase Your Luck

If you’re looking for ways to quickly speed up the sales cycle, you may not be able to take advice from Liz. She shares the story of a recent encounter she had with a company in which she quickly realized that she would not be able to help them because their beliefs and morals were inherently different. She doesn’t believe in quick fixes to solve company problems, she believes in doing the work necessary to effect change over the long view. You’ll want to listen to our conversation to hear her explain why the hard work of real change is worth more than the lucky break of a quick fix.

Every client may not be the ideal one, but your business success and revenue will benefit more greatly in the long run if you are willing to hold out for the best fit for you.

However, if you are insistent on finding ways to speed up your sales pipeline, Liz’s number one tip is to read Stand Out, by Dorie Clark. Dorie was a previous guest of mine on The Consulting Success Podcast and you can hear more about her story and success on Episode 11. In Dorie’s book, she shares a three-pronged approach to setting yourself apart in your field. Liz has found success by following two of Dorie’s ideas. First, create a public presence and demonstrate social proof. This is done by proving you have good content to share and by exhibiting your expertise. And second, building your network so that there are people who are willing to refer you more frequently.

Finding the Confidence to Be Selective About Your Clients

Every successful consultant wants to grow their business to the point that they can turn away potential clients. But if you are trying to generate more business, you may be tempted to compromise who you are willing to work with. Don’t do it! Early in her career, Liz was not as discerning as she could have been and found herself occasionally taking on clients that weren’t the best fit. She tells of an experience in which she resigned from a project as early as legitimately possible, simply because the project was not a good fit for her. That kind of project is the kind that you probably shouldn’t take on in the first place.

It does require a level of confidence to be selective about the work you take on, but it’s worth it to make sure that you are only taking on the work that will best suit you and your area of greatest expertise. Every client may not be the ideal one, but your business success and revenue will benefit more greatly in the long run if you are willing to hold out for the best fit for you. You will be happier and you will be more creative when you are working on a project that fits with your morals. Chances are you became an independent consultant so that you can call the shots and enjoy the freedom of making your own choices. Don’t settle for working with people who don’t respect you or that you don’t have respect for. As you draw the lines of what kind of work you are willing to take on, you will gain the confidence that is necessary for turning work away.

High-Quality Branding And Just-Right Sizing Will Increase Your Luck

Liz has made a very conscious decision to focus on her branding. When you visit her website you immediately get a sense of the kind and quality of work that she does. She has deliberately designed her website to show that she has concepts about how things ought to be and a track record to show that she knows how to get those concepts realized. She also recognizes that being a “coach” is a dime-a-dozen position in today’s marketplace, and has made a concerted effort to show that her focus is on building and serving the business of each client she takes on. Too many coaches that are brought in to serve an individual fail to recognize the overall importance of affecting long-lasting change within an organization. By honing in on her high-quality branding, Liz has proven that she’s out to accomplish something bigger and better than simply coaching, from the start.

Scaling back or growing the business to just the right size, for Liz, has always been secondary to ensuring that she is doing the right kind of work. The perfect business size is a struggle that every consultant faces, and Liz has continued to work to find the right size business for her so that she is not overwhelmed but is also able to affect the best change she possibly can with the companies she consults.

With nearly 30 years of experience, Liz has seen plenty of mistakes that consultants over the years, and it all leads back to luck. As we discussed at the beginning of our conversation, Liz truly doesn’t believe that lucky breaks will create the lasting success that you are seeking with your consulting business. Instead, you have to commit to finding the best fit, ideal clients that share the same ideals as you, and from there, hard work and helping to affect long-term change are the only way that you can get the results that you want, and that your clients need. You’ll want to hear the experiences she shares of various mistakes that other consultants made that she had to clean up, and the lessons she learned from it. You may also be interested in the resources available on her website, including a field guide and checklist about dealing with conflict at work. You can learn all about it, as well as all the details on how to change your consulting luck for good, on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Liz Kislik.

Key Takeaways:

[:10] Liz Kislik on the path that led to 30 years of consulting success.

[4:20] Should you aim for good luck or hard work?

[5:43] Referral relationships help increase business opportunities.

[8:19] The benefits of writing and speaking regularly.

[12:12] A quick fix project isn’t really a fix at all.

[16:18] Have the confidence to choose the best-fit projects.

[21:02] The role branding plays in Liz’s success.

[26:25] Finding the right-size business for you.

[29:20] Common mistakes in the consulting world.

[33:28] Connecting with Liz Kislik.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Liz Kislik
Stand Out — How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It, by Dorie Clark

Tweetables:

“Putting yourself out there … increases your credibility for people who don’t know you.” — Liz Kislik

 

“The work I do is not quick-fix kind of work.” — Liz Kislik

 

“My intention is to be building and serving a business.” — Liz Kislik

 

“Understanding the client is the most important thing.” — Liz Kislik

 

Getting More Referrals and Creating Relationships That Lead to Greater Success with Liz Kislik: Podcast #18 is a post from: Consulting Success

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BCG blue team = Bain & Company

If you are consulting geek, or like to read business history, The Lords of Strategy (affiliate link) is a fascinating and easy read. Helps you understand the economic, regulatory, and business trends that gave rise to the Big 3 consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain).  Also, great trivia story about how the BCG “blue team” became Bain… Read More »

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Most Important Metrics to Track for a Consulting Business: Video

Video Transcript:

Let’s talk about metrics. Specific metrics that you can use to get more clients, win more business, and actually grow your consulting business.

I’ve just abbreviate here, but conversations. It’s really important that you track the number of conversations that you have, because there’s very few people out there who will just win business without having a conversation.

Here’s what’s important to keep in mind here. These metrics are not the only metrics, but I’m going to share with you four that we always recommend to our consultant coaching clients, that we work with, because they’re foundational and they really will help you to improve your marketing, strengthen your business development and marketing efforts and grow your consultant firm.

Here are the four that you want to think about. I’ve started actually just writing this down, I though I’ll just turn this on and walk you though instead. The first one is leads, right? The number of leads you have … You want to track the number of leads that are coming to your business.

So this is either outbound, meaning that you’ve got out to someone, you had some kind of effort to reach out to them. Or inbound, if you let them come into your environment, your website or business, that is a lead. You want to track the number of leads that you have, because this is the starting point for your pipeline. These are really important that you track, right?

Essentially, what we’re looking at here is, this is your pipeline and you’re going to be moving people through this pipeline, right? There’s four metrics in one track. The second one is conversations, right?

I’ve just abbreviate here, but conversations. It’s really important that you track the number of conversations that you have, because there’s very few people out there who will just win business without having a conversation. In fact, the vast, vast majorly of consultants have a conversation before winning business. It just doesn’t really happen any other way, right?

The more follow-up that you do, the better process that you have to work people through and to ensure that you actually setting up appointments, the more conversations that you’ll have.

Especially if we’re talking about a large consulting engagement, there’s always going to be a conversation. The more conversations that you have, the more opportunities that are going to come your way to interact with real buyers, the more opportunity you have to actually make offers. You want to be tracking the number of conversations that you have.

Metric number three that you want to track is proposals. Okay? This is really important because the more proposals that you put out potentially, right, or should be, the more business that you’re going to win.

Sometimes that’s not the case. I’m going to come back and explain why that’s the case in some situations. And then what you want to track is your win-loss. This is simply, “Did you win? How many products did you win and how many products did you lose, that you put a proposal up for?” You want to track this on a regular basis, you don’t need to be doing every single day, but I would suggest that you update this at least once a week, if not more often.

But don’t get obsessed about it like every single, every single day that you’re worrying about it. But you do want to keep this updated, because this essentially is the health of your business. These four metrics give you a lot of information. There’s a lot of value in them if you know how to read them, and that’s what I want to share with you here today, is how to do that.

Your number of leads will tell you the health of your overall marketing efforts. If your marketing is working well for you, you’re going to have a lot of leads coming into your business.

Now, there’s good quality needs, there’s poorer quality leads, so you want to ensure that you’re getting the right kinds of leads, of real decision making type of buyers as leads. If you’re not getting enough leads, then you want to spend more time improving your marketing efforts.

There’s a lot of things that we can talk about there, but that’s what you want to do. That number, right, number of leads will tell you is your marketing doing well or is it not doing well right now, so that you can then work on fixing it.

Conversations. Now, conversation is important because if you have a lot of leads coming in, but you not having a lot of conversations, it means that you’re probably not doing a lot of follow-up, right? Follow-up is the key to bridge the gap between leads and conversations.

The more follow-up that you do, the better process that you have to work people through and to ensure that you actually setting up appointments, the more conversations that you’ll have. Let’s just say you had 10 leads but you only have one conversation, you know there’s something going on here, right?

You’re not doing a very good job of following up or moving people from leads to conversation. We want to spend more time improving on this follow up process or the process that you’re using to actually get appointments.

Now, the next is proposals, right? Proposals tracking, this is really important, because if let’s say you’re having 10 conversations … Remember the process of.

You’re having 10 conversations, but you’re only having let’s say two proposals, then we might say, “Okay, well, why is that happening? Is it because the people that you’re talking with aren’t really buyers? Is it because you don’t have a good offer?

Is it because there’s some fear, some mindset issues going on, just that you’re feeling confident to make an offer? What’s happening?” Then we know, “Okay, we need to work more on the conversation, how you transition the conversation to a proposal.”

Now if, let’s just say, you had 20 proposals out and you only had two wins … Right, so let’s say two wins. Then we know that the issue is most likely that you are either not doing a very good job writing proposals or you’re not doing a good job communicating real value in the conversation that you’re having with the buyer.

So when you’re giving the proposal, they’re not really getting it, there’s no connection between the two, you’re introducing whole bunch of new information, maybe you’re trying to use proposal to win business and that’s not the purpose of it.

The other thing that often happens, that I’ve seen, is that many consultants will rush from lead to conversation to proposal. They’ll go rushing very quickly from this conversation, the first conversation, to giving a proposal. Maybe the buyer says, “Yeah, I’d love a proposal.” And the consultant’s says, “Oh sure, I’ll give that to you right away.”

But the buyer’s not really committed to the process. They haven’t actually had a really meaningful consulting sales conversation. The consultant feels, “Oh, I’m going to win more business, I’m doing well, I’m getting all these proposals up.”

But if the numbers don’t show that, if they don’t support, than we know that there’s something going on with the proposal process or how you’re approaching the conversation before the proposal or the follow up that you’re doing or you’re your pricing. Right? We can start to see.

That’s why being able to look at these numbers and understanding these four metrics, really allows for going in and making adjustments. Instead of just saying, “Oh yeah, there’s problems with your business,” we can then start to figure out where are the problems.

Then we can start to actually not only, once you’ve identified them, but then we can actually start to attack them.

We can start to improve upon them, right, to fix them, to put in place new tactics or strategies or new approaches or work on the mindsets that might be holding you back from moving people through the pipeline.

If you’re not currently using these metrics in your business, to track the health of your marketing and your conversations, and your proposals and how much business you’re winning, then you’re leaving a lot of money on the table and a lot of opportunity.

So, highly recommend that you put this in place into your business, I think you’ll be very glad that you did.

Most Important Metrics to Track for a Consulting Business: Video is a post from: Consulting Success

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Syllabus: What is management consulting?

Teaching management consulting this semester to a select group of 40 students. I imagine 1/2 of them will have consulting internship or full-time offers already. This is an elective, and they are elite. That said, I wanted to describe management consulting succinctly in the syllabus. Two weeks ago I described it by sharing 30+ links to… Read More »

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The Secret to Landing Six-Figure Consulting Projects with Dauwn Parker: Podcast #17

A little patience and a lot of value are all it takes to prove your high-dollar consulting worth.

Description:

On this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast, I’m joined by Dauwn Parker. She founded Precision Partners in 2013 with a focus on helping healthcare and higher education organizations take their fundraising to the next level by streamlining, optimizing, and using the right technology for their operations. Prior to her work at Precision Partners, Dauwn worked for various consulting firms in customer relationship management software. From her work with the financial industry and high tech companies, Dauwn saw that non-profit companies were missing out on some of the benefits of building relationships and using information to strengthen relationships with constituents. At the turn of the century, she made the transition from the private sector to UCLA, where she began to implement the structure and methods into the university space. After her successful time at UCLA, she made an impact with City of Hope, a cancer research center. From there, she realized that she had tools for success that many companies and organizations could benefit from, and Precision Partners was born.

On this episode, we talk about ways to find an underserved market, the benefits of a healthy work-life balance, and the question everyone wants answered — how to land a six-figure deal with your dream client. You’ll hear the answers to it all in my conversation with Dauwn Parker.

Identify an Underserved Market in Need

An underserved market is undoubtedly the best market to direct your expertise toward. Dauwn recognized that there was an underserved market in the healthcare and higher education sector, and she wasn’t afraid to take on the challenge of fulfilling that need in a way that others hadn’t done before. She shares how she first recognized the gap and then capitalized on the true catalyst, which was the pull from the industry to share her expertise.

Dauwn had already put herself out into the industry and in early 2013 she was contacted by what would become her first client. Having recognized the work she had already done with UCLA and City of Hope, they were requesting her help to best utilize a hard-earned budget. That phone call confirmed what she already suspected — that there was a gap in the industry and that an ideal client would benefit from the skills she had to offer.

Taking the Leap into the Consulting World

I’ve heard it too many times to count — taking the leap into the unknown of the consulting world is a very scary idea. It can be paralyzing to even think about leaving the security of your position with a successful corporate business to venture out and start your own consulting firm. Dauwn describes herself as a conservative person by nature. She’s willing to take risks, but the risks are always calculated ones. The decision to venture out away from the corporate world to start her own business was a very difficult one for her to make. Although it wasn’t an easy decision, Dauwn did her research and found materials that helped her gain confidence in her choice and overcome her fears.

Like many consultants, Dauwn found that pricing was one of the most difficult aspects of business to pin down. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The materials you will find at Consulting Success such as the Accelerator Coaching Program and the

Consulting Success System 2.0 are available to consultants like Dauwn — and you — to help you learn all about better pricing, what can be charged in the market, and how you can increase your fees.

By taking advantage of the programs and materials at Consulting Success, Dauwn also found herself surrounded by a network of people who could teach her lessons they had already learned. In those conversations, Dauwn recognized that there were consultants who were successfully running consulting businesses. When she combined that fact with her skills and market expertise, she found the courage to take the leap.

Staying Focused on Success

Precision Partners has now enjoyed nearly five years of success. In our conversation, Dauwn shares ways that she remains focused on success. First, she is staying committed to having conversations with existing clients about the value that they are receiving from the work that they are doing. By doing this, she continues to understand the value that they are bringing to businesses, their story continues to build out, and they have more opportunities to connect with their ideal clients.

In addition to having conversations with existing clients, they are taking the time to connect with new clients whenever possible. By picking up the phone and contacting businesses that have never heard of Precision Partners, their network grows even more. Partner organizations and other consulting firms in the industry are ideal connections to make for growth, brainstorming and sharing best practices. Your name and your expertise will continue to become more well known within your industry when you make these connections.

The Secret to Your Consulting Success

You’ve seen it all over the Internet — promises of the one single secret that will guarantee your company’s success. Some ideas are helpful, and some are unbelieveable but there is just one secret that will truly help your business grow —  and we talk about it on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.

It’s all about conversations.

Whatever else you may be focused on, all of your effort and all of your success come back to the conversations that you are having with your clients, with your peers, and with your competition. The conversations you have with other people in every aspect of your network are the single most important key to growing your business. I’ve said it before and I said it again on this podcast — as long as you are taking the time to have those conversations, your business will continue to be a successful one.

Dauwn’s Lessons Learned

When I asked Dauwn to share some of the lessons she has learned along the way, she was quick to answer, “I wish I would have started sooner!” That’s not the first time I’ve heard that response. Successful consulting brings with it a level of freedom that can’t be experienced when you are working for someone else. Dauwn explains that the level of freedom and creativity that she now enjoys as a successful consultant is so much greater than what she had in the corporate world, and she didn’t even realize how much she missed it before.

In addition to wishing she had started sooner, Dauwn has learned to let go of things in order to let her business continue to grow. In the beginning of the company, she called herself a one-person show with an attachment to the services she delivered. That process worked for a little while, but as the company continued to grow, she had to be more diligent about strategically bringing others into the company’s processes. By letting go of some of the aspects of business and bringing other employees in, she has been able to remain focused on the most important work that only she can do.

Six Figure Consulting Projects Can Be Yours

What goes into landing a six-figure project? From both a mindset perspective and a tactical approach, Dauwn shares the key factors that go into securing a dream project.

The key tip to landing high-value projects is patience.

Her first project was $250,000 and the second one was nearly double that amount, but it didn’t happen overnight. It required persistence in continuing to have valuable conversations with her clients. Truly listening to the challenges each client was facing and offering immediate and valuable advice helped her to gain trust and secure future business. She put herself in a valuable position as a resource to potential clients. By connecting them with other companies that were having similar struggles, Dauwn became a trusted advisor even before any contracts were laid out.

That single point validates the point that I have said over and over again — consulting is not about transactions, it’s about relationships. Successful consultants have a patience, focus, and commitment to serving their clients. As you maintain those three key components, you provide more value. This places you in a position of trust. Everyone prefers to do business with someone that they trust, and your clients are no exception. By proving your value to your clients, you are securing future success for your consulting business.

You Don’t Have to Face Consulting Challenges Alone

Every consultant faces challenging days. You may lose a project, or be dealing with a difficult project. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone. In our conversation, Dauwn shares her coping mechanisms for overcoming the challenges of difficult days. She shares the benefits she has gained by expanding her business to include her husband, Mario Houston, both with business operations and as a sounding board to help her through the difficulties the company is facing.

Dauwn has also found support through her challenges as a member of the Consulting Success community and by attending and connecting with people at Mastermind events. Even though people rarely want to share their failures, Dauwn says she has benefitted by sharing her difficulties with other successful consultants in her network. She shares a recent example in which she reached out to gain perspective and support from her network, and you’ll want to listen to the specific ways that her network helped her get through a trying time in her business.  Any consultant may feel lonely when challenges arise, but just as Dauwn’s experience proves, you don’t have to face it alone. By relying on your network, you can work through challenges and find greater success along the way.

The Benefits of a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Chances are you became a consultant so that you could enjoy a greater work-life balance than the corporate world ever offered you. As your business grows, it can be a real challenge to keep your priorities straight and not commit too much time to your company. Dauwn shares the ways that she and her husband and business partner Mario have achieved a work-life balance that works for them. In addition to their non-negotiable commitment to tennis, they have also decided to share their business challenges and triumphs with their two teenage daughters. By integrating their work with their family, they have both taught their children about the non-traditional career paths that entrepreneurs enjoy, as well as shared the pride that comes with being part of a successful consulting firm.

The lessons that Dauwn shares in our conversation can be applied to anyone. If you want to get more done, you simply have to prioritize what is most important to you. The non-negotiables in your life will take priority and help you achieve the work-life balance that is necessary for real consulting success. I know you’ll be inspired by her message, and you can hear all of the details of the keys to success that really work on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.

Key Takeaways:

[:28] Introducing Dauwn of Precision Partners.
[3:55] How to identify an underserved market.
[6:53] Surround yourself with a network that will give you the courage to take the leap.
[9:07] What is the secret to successfully growing your business?
[11:33] Lessons Dauwn has learned, including regrets.
[13:58] Landing a six-figure project starts with patience and trust.
[17:28] Facing challenges with a support system.
[21:58] Work life balance for Dauwn and Mario.
[27:32] Staying committed to non-negotiables will protect your priorities.
[30:07] Connecting with Dauwn.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Precision Partners
Accelerator Coaching Program
Consulting Success System 2.0
Mastermind

Tweetables:

“What helped me make the leap was to know that there are other people out there doing this successfully.”  — Dauwn Parker

 

“It’s all about conversations.” — Michael Zipursky

 

“I knew I would enjoy it, but I had no idea I would enjoy it this much.”  — Dauwn Parker

 

“In the consulting business, it’s not about a transaction.  It’s about a relationship.” — Michael Zipursky

 

“If you want to get more done, prioritize what is really important to you.”  — Michael Zipursky

The Secret to Landing Six-Figure Consulting Projects with Dauwn Parker: Podcast #17 is a post from: Consulting Success

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