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Let's Hear it for the Dads
- Sunday June 16 (USA)
Remember that Father's Day (USA) is Sunday, June 16,
2002. It's a day to honor your father, and to applaud
all the fathers you know. Let all the father figures
in your life, including grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles
and Big Brothers know how much you appreciate their
support.
Mark Twain summed it up well when he said, "When I
was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could barely
stand to have the old man around. But when I got to
be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had
learned in seven years."
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Meet the
MasterMinds: Discovering the Genius of Michael J. Gelb
 Michael
Gelb is an internationally recognized author
and pioneer in the fields of creative thinking,
accelerated learning, and innovative leadership.
He brings more than 20 years of experience as
a professional speaker, seminar leader and organizational
consultant to his diverse clientele, including
BP, Compaq, IBM, Microsoft, the FBI, Dow Jones
and KPMG.
He has appeared on Good Morning America,
CNN's Business Unusual and on countless
radio programs, including live interviews with NPR and
the BBC World Service. In the words of Eddie Oliver,
Senior Partner, KPMG, London, "Michael Gelb is to the
development of human potential what Buddy Guy is to
the blues guitar, simply the best there is."
Gelb's book How to Think Like Leonardo
da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day is
a New York Times best seller that has
been translated into 18 languages. His latest book,
Discover Your Genius: How to Think Like History's
Ten Most Revolutionary Minds, examines the nature
of genius and shows us how we can tap into our own genius.
MCNews caught up with Gelb to talk with him about Discover
Your Genius and to find out what consultants
can learn from his "genius dream team."
Read
the interview
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Highlights from Houston:
Musings From the Institute of Management Consultants
2002 National Conference
On May 2-5, 2002, almost 200 management consultants
converged on Houston, Texas for the Spring Conference
of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC USA).
The advice was flying, as you can imagine.
The conference, entitled "Value-Focused Consulting,"
was packed with content for any consultant, regardless
of experience. There was something for everyone, including
a keynote address by yours truly, "Objects in the Mirror
are Closer Than They Appear: A Road Map to the Future
of Management Consulting." For those who couldn't make
the meeting, here's a sampling of what happened.
Value-Based Pricing - Not Ready for Prime Time Yet?
Many speakers and attendees discussed how to implement
"value-based" pricing models. Value-based means that
fee strategies reflect the consultant's value,
rather than billable hours. It's a pricing strategy
based on the output of a project, instead of the input
to a project. In theory, a good consultant could boost
earnings using a value-based model.
However, many consultants are just beginning to experiment
with this method of pricing. In fact, in a recent survey,
less than 5% of consultants use value-based pricing.
Today, the norm is project-based pricing. But, value-based
pricing is gaining momentum in the industry, so keep
your eyes open for opportunities.
Houston, We Have a Problem
The audience got a real wake-up call when they saw
data indicating that over 60% of clients surveyed said
they were only somewhat satisfied or less than satisfied
with the performance of their consultants. I thought
it was a typo on the screen.
To add insult to injury, the study also revealed that
almost 50% of clients surveyed said they were "indifferent"
when asked to characterize their loyalty to their consultants.
Wow! Given this information, you might want to evaluate
how your clients view you and your firm.
I Don't Need No Stinkin' Badge*
Oh, yes you do, according to many of the speakers and
attendees. In the wake of the Enron debacle, clients
in the U.S. are more interested in consultants who are
"certifiably competent" and who adhere to a strict code
of professional conduct and ethics. This is a message
we've heard from the IMC for decades.
*With apologies to the producers of the classic American
film, Treasure of the
Sierra Madre.
Got a Life?
Did you know that the "typical" partner/principal in
a management consulting firm works almost 60 hours a
week, spends 2 nights a week out of town and takes 18
vacation days a year? This same partner spends about
37% of a normal year on client engagements and 24% on
marketing activities.
Tips From the Pre-Conference Workshop
Alan Weiss, consultant and author, led a four-hour
pre-conference workshop on "How You Can Ignore Most
Advice and Accelerate Your Growth." Here are a few tips
from the workshop:
How to Improve Your Win Rate
- Agree on concepts for the work before a proposal
is written
- Get the proposal to the client fast
- Make sure it's error free
- Keep it relatively brief
- Enclose something of informational value to the
client
How to Increase Your Fees
- Establish value collaboratively with the client
- Base fees on value, not on the task
- Think of the fourth sale first -- fees are cumulative,
not situational
- If forced to consider fee reduction, reduce value
first
- Always provide options that represent a range of
value
- Don't quote fees prematurely
- Practice stating and explaining your fees
- Always be prepared to walk away from business
Overall, the conference was well-planned, and featured
high quality, knowledgeable speakers. Thanks to Wayne
Cooper, CEO, Kennedy Information,
Inc. for his firm's fine work on gathering the consulting
industry data used above. Take a look at their site
for a range of well written, useful research reports
and newsletters.
The 2002 Fall Conference of the IMC (Confab)
is scheduled for October 27-29, 2002 in Reno,
Nevada. A pre-conference workshop will be held
on October 26th, 2002.
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This Month's Featured MasterMind
Jay Conrad Levinson, Guerrilla Marketing Guru
 Jay
Conrad Levinson is the author of the best selling
marketing series in history, Guerrilla
Marketing, and 28 other business
books. His books appear in 37 languages and
are required reading for MBA courses worldwide.
Levinson is a former vice president and creative director
at J. Walter Thompson Advertising and Leo Burnett Advertising.
He is now the Chairman of Guerrilla Marketing International,
a consulting firm serving large and small businesses
around the globe, and a marketing partner with Adobe
and Apple Computer.
He has written a monthly column for Entrepreneur
Magazine, articles for Inc. Magazine,
and on-line columns for Microsoft, Netscape and AOL.
In his most recent book, Guerrilla Creativity,
Levinson shows you how to apply creativity to marketing--the
guerrilla way. MCNews talked with Levinson about how
management consultants can accelerate their marketing
results using the creative strategies in the book, including
a leading-edge concept called a "meme."
* * * * *
MCNews: What is guerrilla creativity?
Levinson: Guerrilla creativity combines art,
the science of human behavior and business sense to
create good marketing--strategies that will generate
enough confidence and trust that people will have good
reason to buy your product or service. It drives marketing
strategies to their goal.
Too much of marketing today is created to win awards
or to dazzle the beholder with cleverness. Guerrilla
creativity works to inform rather than entertain. Creative
marketing instills a positive image of you and your
services in the minds of your prospective customers
or clients, and motivates them to buy from you.
MCNews: One of your ten insights for marketing creativity
is about demonstrating your benefit in a memorable way.
What's the best way to do that?
Levinson: Well, it goes without saying that
you want your prospects to remember your name, but you
also want them to remember what makes you special. What
do all your prospects have in common? Imagination. So,
the best way to help people recall who you are and why
they want what you've got is to create something that
appeals to that imagination. A meme is the perfect way
to accomplish that.
MCNews: You've described the meme as a powerful
marketing advance, a new weapon. What exactly is a meme,
and why do you think this concept is so important?
Levinson: A meme is a self-explanatory symbol,
word or combination that immediately communicates an
entire idea. A meme is capable of breaking through
today's sensory overload. Used in marketing, a meme
can propel profits to new heights.
The concept of a meme--it rhymes with cream, by the
way--was first developed by Oxford University Biologist,
Richard Dawkins, in his 1976 book, The Selfish
Gene. He coined the noun meme to describe a
unit of cultural information that is transmitted from
one mind to another. The dictionary defines a meme as
a self-replicating element of culture, passed on by
imitation.
MCNews: Can you give us an example of a meme?
Levinson: Sure. What do you think of when you
see someone waving a white flag on a battlefield? Everyone
knows that a white flag means surrender. It is an instantly
recognizable, unambiguous and complete idea. That's
a meme. You can probably think of many more memes yourself,
like a hitchhiker's thumb, a Red Cross and the mushroom
cloud forming from an atomic blast. There are many others.
A meme can be either just visual, or a combination of
verbal and visual elements.
The important features of a meme are that it takes
a reader or viewer just a split second to get the point,
like the white flag on the battlefield, it is simple
to communicate and it crosses cultural and linguistic
boundaries.
MCNews: How does the concept of a meme change
the way we think about marketing our services to clients?
Levinson: The amount of marketing that is bombarding
people keeps increasing every year, so it's harder and
harder to get through to people, and it's harder for
them to devote the time to read what you want them to
read. A meme can be used as a shortcut to communicating
your value in an increasingly overcrowded marketing
environment. Your meme can immediately communicate
to prospective clients who you are and why they should
do business with you.
If you do it right, an effective meme communicates
your idea instantly, and you have a way of breaking
through the clutter. So, you can do less marketing,
enabling you to cut your marketing budget.
MCNews: What are some examples of memes used in
marketing?
Levinson: One of the best is the Sprint pin
dropping, which they've stayed with now for over a decade.
Their team did market research that showed what people
were most concerned about with a long distance carrier
was clarity and communication.
And, somebody pointed out that often people characterize
a quiet environment as being so quiet you can hear a
pin drop. Using that single thought, they created a
graphic representation of a pin dropping for their marketing.
When people see this meme, the pin drop, they know it
means clear communication.
One of the most successful memes in marketing history
is the Marlboro cowboy, who became a symbol for rugged
individualism and freedom. I was in England when we
introduced the Marlboro Man in Europe, and it was amazing
how many Europeans immediately understood its meaning
because it represented so many things that they had
seen only in movies before.
Notice that the ads don't say much, they usually just
show the cowboy and a pack. Other memes that come to
mind include the Energizer Bunny, which personifies
constant energy, and the Pillsbury Doughboy. I was there
when that meme was developed with Leo Burnett. I didn't
like his voice much, but he's done a good job of communicating
fun and ease. I'd also add the Michelin Man, who does
a good job of representing comfort and softness.
MCNews: Is there a difference between a meme and
a logo?
Levinson: Yes, a big difference. A logo represents
a company, like the swoosh stands for Nike. If an alien
landed on earth and saw the Nike swoosh, it wouldn't
understand what that swoosh was intended to mean, other
than representing a company. But, if an alien saw the
skull and crossbones symbol on a jar, it would probably
get the idea that something in the jar might be dangerous.
So, a logo merely represents a company, but a meme communicates
an entire idea.
MCNews: If you wanted to create a meme for a consulting
practice, where would you start?
Levinson: I tell my clients that to create
a meme, they have to get down to the essence of their
idea, to focus more clearly on what it is they want
people to do. So a meme is really the lowest common
denominator of an idea. This forces people to isolate
the core notion of what they are about, rather than
relying on special effects or fancy production.
The first step is to list the specific benefits you
offer to clients, especially those benefits you provide
that are truly differentiated, or that provide you or
your firm a distinct advantage in the market. You should
search for the benefit or benefits that few others,
if any, offer. Base the list on your understanding of
the benefits of your services and your research on the
needs of your clients.
Then, try to think how your benefits can be expressed
visually, or in just a few words. For example, when
marketers were looking for a way to communicate the
benefit of a new, low calorie, frozen dinner, they came
up with Lean Cuisine.
If you are using words to describe your benefits, don't
confuse your emerging meme with a glib, elevator speech.
Your meme must transmit specific information.
So, a consultant could come up with just a brief set
of words and visual images that communicate their main
competitive advantage. This is the starting point. If
you try hard enough, you'll find that every benefit
you offer has some visual representation. By creating
a long list of possible visual images for your meme,
you'll have a wide selection from which to choose.
At this point, you should also create a list of your
target client's characteristics. The list could include
the need to grow the business, reduce costs, or improve
productivity, to name a few. Using the visual and verbal
elements of the client's needs and the benefits you
provide, you have a great starting point for creating
your meme.
The concept of a meme is so new to marketing that some
may shrug it off for now, like some did when on-line
marketing burst onto the scene. I think that if a management
consulting firm comes up with a meme, they will find
it's a real boost for them.
I'd add a quick word of advice to those consultants
launching new practices. If you are in the process
of naming your practice, try to come up with a name
that is also a meme. You'll find this approach simplifies
and can vastly improve your marketing effectiveness.
MCNews: Based on your experience in evaluating marketing
plans, what is, generally, the most common area for
improvement?
Levinson: Many marketers suffer from a similar
ailment, and that's a lack of patience. Create a
sensible marketing plan and then stick with it.
Be patient while the plan takes hold. Over time, the
plan may need to be revised, even re-revised. But with
patience, you'll see the plan evolve, take shape and
have a powerful and profitable impact on your business.
MCNews: How long should a business wait for the
plan to take hold?
Levinson: If they're really lucky, three to
six months. It isn't unusual, though, for a plan to
take a year or so to really pay off. These are broad
ranges, of course.
MCNews: What advice would you give management consultants
about marketing in these turbulent times?
Levinson: There's a common myth in marketing
that suggests that if clients like your marketing, they
will buy your product or service. Consultants must remember
that this is, indeed, a myth. A consultant may have
the best web site, white papers and references, but
fail to capture the imagination and trust of prospective
clients.
A consultant's marketing program is a door opener,
a platform for demonstrating to prospective clients
how the consultant can solve a particular problem. But
consulting is a high contact business, and what must
come next is a personal consultation to demonstrate
specifically how your service will bring substantial
benefit.
I can't stress enough the importance of the personal
consultation in marketing consulting services in these
times. What this means is spending some of your precious
marketing resources and energy demonstrating and potentially
helping clients address some of their issues before
they hire you.
MCNews: One final question: what's on your personal
reading list right now?
Levinson: I read and review a range of business
books I get from my agent and others. So, my personal
reading list is filled with fiction, your basic beach
books. They give me a refreshing break from all the
non-fiction.
MCNews: Thanks for your time today and for the great
ideas.
* * * * *
More information on Jay Conrad Levinson is available
at http://www.jayconradlevinson.com/and
http://www.gmarketingcoach.com/.
If you'd like to read more about Jay Levinson's marketing
strategies, you should sample these four books: Mastering
Guerrilla Marketing, Guerrilla
Marketing, The
Way of the Guerrilla and Guerrilla
Creativity .
If you want to see another source on the subject of
memes, click
here.
Comment
about this interview
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A Note about the Klez Virus
The airwaves are brimming with stories about a new,
insidious virus called the Klez virus. This nasty bug
reportedly infiltrates email address books and sends
an email "to" every email address in an infected email
address book. The bogus email is shown as being sent
"from" each address in the email address book.
This is a big problem for opt-in email publishers,
like us. Why? Because if you joined our list through
email and your computer is infected with the virus,
our list management company could receive erroneous
email requests from people to join our mailing list.
So, if you've received this issue in error, please
accept our apologies. You can unsubscribe using the
unsubscribe feature at the end of this newsletter, where
you'll also find the email address used for your subscription.
Wouldn't it be nice if people just behaved?
A Note to Hotmail and Yahoo
Readers
We've heard that some links on this newsletter (and
others) don't work correctly from Hotmail. If you have
this difficulty, you can easily access all the information
shown here by visiting the site at www.ManagementConsultingNews.com
.
We also know that some of the great newsletter navigation
features we've got don't work well with Yahoo. You can
solve the problem by simply scrolling up and down the
newsletter.
If other readers have any difficulty with formatting
or other problems, please let us know. If you'd prefer
a text version of the newsletter, we'd be happy to send
one along.
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This Month in History
On June 3, 1880, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted
the first wireless telephone message on his newly-invented
"photophone." Bell believed the photophone was his most
important invention. The device allowed for the transmission
of sound on a beam of light. Of the eighteen patents
granted in Bell's name alone, and the twelve he shared
with his collaborators, four were for the photophone.
* * * * *
The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor on
June 19, 1885. The monument was a gift of friendship
from the people of France to the people of the United
States, intended to commemorate the centennial of the
American Declaration of Independence, some ten years
earlier. Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi's Liberty
Enlightening the World stands more than 300 feet high.
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Coming Attractions
Self-publishing, ebooks and on-line publishing are
hot topics these days. So, next month the MasterMind
series focuses on everything you wanted to know about
writing, marketing and self-publishing your work.
We caught up with Angela Hoy, one the best known on-line
authors and publishers today. Angela is the co-owner
of Booklocker.com and
WritersWeekly.com,
the largest ezine for freelance writers in the world.
Commentary from self-publishing guru, Dan Poynter,
wraps up the segment. Dan's top selling book, The
Self-Publishing Manual, is in
its twelfth edition.
We've gotten questions from people interested in entering
the field of consulting. In response, look for our short
article next month on "Three Things to Know Before You
Quit Your Day Job." At least, it's three things so far.
See you next month.
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The End Page
"Now this is not the end. It is not
even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the
end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill
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Management Consulting News ISSN 1539-2481,
Washington, DC, USA
Copyright © 2002 Management
Consulting News All rights reserved
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| 
Inc.
Magazine called Doug Hall "America's
top new idea man." Hall, a self-styled inventor,
entrepreneur and author, helps companies build
their businesses with new ideas and strategies.
He is the founder and CEO of Eureka! Ranch,
which is a corporate innovation, research and
training center. Big name clients include American
Express, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Mattel
and Pepsi-Cola, to name just a few.
