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| Are You Social? |
A persistent question these days is "Should I use social media tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs to promote my business?" If you look for an answer on the web, you see that there are now tons of consultants who have rebranded themselves as social media experts.
Here's a tip from me: You should consider using social media tools for your business on two conditions. First, the people you want to initiate (or continue) a dialogue with are also using that platform. And second, you are willing to selflessly offer value in pursuit of those conversations.
The big players in the consulting world have certainly gone social. To name just a few, McKinsey, Accenture, Deloitte, and CSC all have Twitter profiles. Also, nearly every company in the MCNews 12 Index has a presence on Twitter or Facebook.
These firms seem to believe the people they want to talk to are using Twitter, et al. Are your clients there too?
Feel free to drop me an email about your success with social media tools or, better yet, visit me on Twitter.
Happenings
It's been a busy summer as we work to improve on the value we bring to our readers and clients. For starters, we launched a new blog, called Beating Feast or Famine, which offers ideas on building and sustaining a resilient professional services practice.
We've also redesigned the resources section of Management Consulting News so you have access to the latest hand-picked tools for building your business and career. And we added a new search feature for better access to the hundreds of articles and interviews in our archives.
We also redesigned our business web site, MindShare Consulting LLC, to make it easier to understand our service offerings and communicate with us.
 Finally, thanks to many of you, in its first week of publication, my new book, Winning the Professional Services Sale, was the top selling consulting book and among the top ten sales books.
We offered readers access to a replay of our popular webcast, Creating a Killer Web Site, for no charge if they purchased the new book. But, due to a technical glitch, the offer didn't reach many of you. So we've extended the offer for another week. You can read the details here.
Enjoy this month's issue.
And send me an email if you have comments.
Mike
McLaughlin
Editor
Stay in Touch:
Management Consulting News is a publication of MindShare Consulting.
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| MCNews 12 Index of Professional Services |
July was a banner month for the equity markets and for the MCNews 12 Index, which continued the rally it began in February. The YTD return on the Index surged ahead again in July, returning more than 13 percent.
But the Index is digging itself out of a deep hole: A dollar invested in the MCNews 12 Index in January 2007 is still only worth 82 cents.
As always, there's good news and bad news in a volatile market.
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MCNews 12 Index |
YTD
Change |
| July 2009 |
823 |
+13.5% |
| June 2009 |
738 |
+1.8% |
| May 2009 |
718 |
-0.98% |
In a welcome reversal, Accenture executives raised their earnings outlook for the rest of the year. Chief Executive William Green hinted that clients are starting to invest once more, though he also said that it could be months before he was willing to declare that the market for services had stabilized...
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| Interview: Mike Schultz |
"It makes me want to keel over and die when I hear, 'We're a different kind of consulting firm, offering a unique blend of people, process, and technology to do yadda, yadda, yadda' and similar claims."
Mike Schultz is co-president of Wellesley Hills Group, publisher of RainToday.com, and coauthor of the book, Professional Services Marketing. Based on extensive research, Schultz's book offers an experienced-tested approach to marketing for professional services firms.
We asked Schultz about the state of professional services firms' marketing and what they can do to improve it.
Note: See below for a special offer regarding this new book.
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| Article: Suzanne Lowe |
Transforming Consulting Firms into Real Businesses
The leaders of today's professional service firms are increasingly becoming aware that they must transform their firms into real businesses. Often, this epiphany surfaces when the enterprise faces a significant crisis--an economic recession, unexpected competitive encroachment, or the departure of a big client, rainmaker or practice.
But make no mistake: the business environment of the new millennium has shifted forever. Executive managers will need to run their businesses differently in order to survive and thrive.
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| What One Thing? Peter Block Answers |
Question: If you could offer just one piece of advice to a new consultant, what would it be?
Peter Block: Learn how to manage your anxiety. For the first five years, you look out three months in your calendar, and all you see is empty days. You have to get used to that.
Another piece of advice I would give is to narrow your focus. Don't try to be the all-purpose consultant. Find out what you care most about and what you have a gift for, and let the world know about that.
Peter Block is the author of Flawless Consulting, which helps you understand how to make an impact when you have no direct control. It's a classic reference for consultants.
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| Omar Khan on Passion Killers |
Omar Khan is a global consultant, speaker, and author. Born in Egypt, the son of Pakistani diplomats, Khan has lived in Germany, the US, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, England, Japan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Dubai, and Singapore. His latest book, The Global Consultant, offers essential advice for any consultant who works globally or who wants to.
McLaughlin: You've talked about the dangers of passion killers--actions that leaders take that drain the motivation from teams. What's an example of a common passion killer and how can we avoid it?
Khan: Two passion killers in particular top the list.
The first is absence of candor--when no one can tell the truth to power. You see this problem play out, for example, when everyone prevaricates in meetings on behalf of political agendas, rather than aiming at a common corporate bull's eye. In these situations, you find an overall immunity to contrary input and an aversion to facing tough realities.
A variant of this dysfunction is killing ideas based on who brings them up and how, instead of on merit or value.
The second most destructive passion killer is poor coaching, inadequate engagement by leaders with their direct reports, and a lack of constructive challenges. In these cases, people are hammered by leaders--or just ignored until the hammer finally falls.
The best leaders are real-time success coaches. They avoid passion killers by committing to two key leadership metrics: First, how effectively does the organization learn about and internalize challenging input from both inside and outside the organization? Second, leaders are judged on the level of engagement with their teams and the development of leaders under them, not just overall company results.
Learn more about Omar Khan. And read his advice for coaching success.
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| RainToday Book Promotion |
Mike Schultz and John Doerr, cofounders of Wellesley Hills Group and publishers of RainToday.com, have just published their new book, Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success.
As we discuss with Mike Schultz in this month's interview, the book offers field-tested expertise, benchmark research, industry case studies, and personal anecdotes from top services marketing professionals. Based on insights from successful firms and the science of how clients buy, it's the perfect book for consultants, attorneys, accountants, engineers, and other professional service providers.
The book covers five key areas that are critical for firms that want to grow their revenues and themselves: creating a marketing and growth strategy; establishing a brand and reputation; implementing a marketing communications program; lead generation strategies; and developing business by winning new clients.
Here's the deal. If you buy Professional Services Marketing within the next day or two, you'll get bonus materials from industry experts, including:
- RainToday webinar: How to Turn Your Firm into a Marketing and Business Development Powerhouse, with Mike Schultz (limited to first 100 people)
- Tune Up Your Client Focus (ebook), by Ardath Albee
- Thinking Like a Rainmaker--Crafting Your Personal Marketing Plan, by Larry Bodine
- Chapter 8: “The Phone,” from Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, by Brian Carroll
- Sales and Marketing Tips Handbook, from Go-To-Market Strategies
- Strong Value Propositions (ebook), by Jill Konrath
- Consult This! 67 Tips for Consulting Success (ebook), by Michael W. McLaughlin
- White Paper Writer Industry Report, by Michael Stelzner
- Speaking of 2009: Top Ten Changes that Shape the New High-Fee Speech Circuit, by Vickie Sullivan
- Killer Services Marketing White Paper, by Jeanne Urich
Buy the book now.
After you purchase the book, go here to download the resources above.
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| Coming
Attractions |
"Most of the words marketers use to describe their connections to customers are now lifeless or irrelevant."
Next month, we'll talk with James Champy, Chairman of Perot Systems' consulting practice, and a recognized expert on leadership and management issues.
He's the author of Outsmart! How to Do What Your Competitors Can't, and coauthor (with Michael Hammer) of Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, which upended traditional thinking about managing organizations.
Champy's latest book, Inspire! Why Customers Come Back, shows how organizations can drive new levels of customer loyalty in an ever-shifting market. We'll ask Champy how we can apply these innovative ideas to our clients and practices.
Look for the next issue of Management Consulting News on September 1, 2009.
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