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| Perspective |
It's hard for me to remember how many sales planning meetings I've attended where the first topic was "How can our team win the sale?" It's an obvious question and an easy way to start such meetings.
From there, these planning meetings often move on to the reasons why your firm is the best choice for the client based on factors like experience, track record, and the quality of the proposed team.
But the predictable result of that seemingly harmless first question is a run-of-the-mill sales proposal.
If you want to avoid a ho-hum sales proposal, try changing the first question you ask yourself or your team. Instead of focusing on what it will take for you to win, ask what it will take for your client to win. When you do that, your thoughts turn to how you'll help clients address the issue from their perspective, not yours.
That shift will free your mind to more clearly see the client's opportunities, risks, and barriers. As a result, your proposed solution will be more responsive to the client and more valuable.
You'll still need to demonstrate that you are the best firm for the job, but the change in your perspective will take you a long way toward that goal. Next time, ask what it will take for the client to win before you think about your own win.
Enjoy this month's issue.
And send me an email if you have comments.
Mike
McLaughlin
Editor
Join the Conversation:
Management Consulting News is a publication of MindShare Consulting.
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| Why Services Selling Must Change |
We've all heard the advice about selling in a tough economy, but the reality is that selling professional services is always challenging.
You can land more work and keep your sanity, no matter what is happening with the economy, by following a few new rules.
In the first two chapters of my new book, Winning the Professional Services Sale, you'll read why services selling must change, and you'll find an organizing strategy for making that happen.
You'll also find out how to escape the dreaded commodity trap, why likability of the seller is overrated, and when client relationships aren't a competitive advantage.
Just click below to download the two chapters, at no cost.
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| MCNews 12 Index of Professional Services |
In September, the bulls pushed stock prices higher--in spite of mixed economic news.
After improving in August, US consumer confidence dipped in September, according to the Conference Board. Unemployment levels are inching toward 10 percent in the US, and the auto industry suffered a hefty sales decline.
Still, though skittish in the final days of the month, the market posted an encouraging performance in September.
The MCNews 12 Index shared in the market's rise, gaining 1.1 percent for the month. For the year so far, the Index has returned 20.3 percent.
|
MCNews 12 Index |
YTD
Change |
| September 2009 |
872 |
+20.3% |
| August 2009 |
862 |
+18.8% |
| July 2009 |
823 |
+13.5% |
The services industry never stands pat, and September was no exception. Perot Systems has agreed to be gobbled up by Dell Computer in a transaction valued at approximately $3.9 billion. Dell founder and CEO, Michael Dell, commented that "...the acquisition makes such great sense because of the obvious ways our businesses complement each other." The market has sliced 5 percent from Dell's share price since the acquisition announcement. As with any complex merger, it always looks easier on paper.
It's likely that Dell's new competitors will redouble their marketing efforts in Perot's areas of focus, like health care. While Dell and Perot executives sort out who will do what once the merger dust settles, competitors will try to scoop up new clients.
In another sign of consolidation in the IT services industry, Xerox announced that it had reached a deal to acquire Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for $6.4 billion. Xerox executives called the move "game changing," but the market hasn't yet agreed. Shares of Xerox have lost more than 15 percent since the announcement.
Finally, Accenture announced fiscal 2009 fourth-quarter results, and business remains challenging. Net revenue for the quarter was down 14 percent in dollars and 7 percent in local currency. If you ignore a restructuring charge, earnings per share were $0.63, a 6 percent decrease from a year ago.
In spite of these results, the market has rewarded Accenture investors with a 19 percent YTD return. Investors appear optimistic that Accenture has weathered the economic storm and is poised to grow as business spending on services rebounds.
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| Interview: Scott Berkun |
"Good managers always find ways to protect their team."
For nearly ten years, Scott Berkun managed projects and teams at Microsoft. He also worked in Microsoft's engineering excellence group, teaching and consulting with development teams. He's the author of The Myths of Innovation and Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management.
We asked Berkun for his advice on ramping up projects effectively, managing the common issues that arise, and how to finish any project on time and within budget.
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| Creating a Better Consulting Market |
In our January 2008 issue, we profiled the UK-based start-up, Source for Consulting, the latest company to try to bring together buyers and sellers of consulting services. The firm's lofty goals are to be "the world's best source of information on the consulting industry," and to "create a better consulting market for clients and consultants."
You may be (understandably) skeptical that a web-based service that matches buyers and sellers of complex consulting services offers more than buyers can find on their own. After all, most sellers' information is self-reported and similar to what's on their own web sites. Many sites with aims similar to those of Source for Consulting have ended up solely as aggregators of seller profile information, causing them to wither and die.
The team at Source knew that another generic consultant directory was doomed to failure, so they aren't settling for a third-party brokerage business. They're building a community.
To help buyers of consulting services, for example, they offer strategic advice on issues such as choosing and using consultants. Their searchable data base includes more than 1,300 case studies outlining how hundreds of consulting firms have tackled their clients' toughest issues.
For consultants, Source offers a no-cost opportunity to register their firms, post a profile, and add their own case studies to the data base. That information is then accessible to some of the largest buyers of services in the UK. Consultants and clients can also choose from a range of premium services offered by the team at Source.
In addition to case studies and tips for selecting consultants, the high-value content on Source includes current news, consulting market analyses, an insightful blog, a newsletter, reference guides on the broader capabilities of participating consulting firms, and benchmarking research on firm and buyer practices, such as consulting pricing trends.
Source is shaping up to be a high-value, online community where buyers and sellers can learn about the industry and each other. And, if everything goes according to plan, buyers will find just the right consultants for their needs.
Whether you're consulting in Europe or elsewhere, have a look at Source for Consulting. Even if you choose not to register as a member, you'll find the current content worth the visit. Plus, you can sign up for the blog and newsletter.
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| What One Thing? William Bridges Answers |
William Bridges is an internationally recognized authority on managing change in the workplace. For more than two decades, he has been helping clients with mergers, reorganizations, leadership changes, and cultural shifts.
McLaughlin: If you could give project managers one piece of advice as they wrap up a change initiative, what would it be?
Bridges: It would be to do a careful debrief of what worked and what didn't.
Usually, companies are so anxious to get on to the next change that they fail to learn from the last one. I first realized that after helping a 50,000-person technology company close a fabricating plant. It went very well--they actually doubled productivity per person during the closedown process!
But when they called to ask for help in shutting another facility, I discovered that they had "forgotten" what they had done with the previous shutdown.
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| UK Consultant Compensation |
It's not news that the prolonged economic slump has impacted consultants' compensation, but researchers at Top-Consultant.com have given us some perspective on the issue. In the 2009 Salary Benchmarking Report, Top-Consultant surveyed more than 650 UK-based consultants from firms across the industry.
According to the survey respondents, 46 percent received no salary increase at their last review. For those who did receive a raise, the bump in salary averaged 3.6 percent. In contrast, when the same study was done in 2007, almost 75 percent of respondents received an average pay raise of 6 percent.
Roughly 40 percent of respondents received a bonus this year, though the highest bonuses went to the most senior practitioners. Here is a breakdown for those who received bonuses:
Title
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Base Salary (£) |
Average
Bonus |
| Consultant (1-3 yrs) |
£ 40,622 |
10.2% |
| Sr. Consultant (3-5 yrs) |
£ 57,403 |
10.7% |
| Manager (5-9 yrs) |
£ 74,642 |
12.0% |
| Principal (9-12 yrs) |
£ 97,563 |
14.1% |
| Partner/Owner |
£135,684 |
20.8% |
Note: You can convert the base salaries above to US dollars by multupling the salary by about 1.58.
The 28-page report is available at no cost from Top-Consultant.com.
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| Defining the Client Experience: Linda Ireland |
Linda Ireland has been helping to build and develop organizations for more than twenty years. In her new book, Domino: How Customer Experience Can Tip Everything in Your Business Toward Better Financial Performance, Ireland shows how leaders can define the customer/client experience and then use it to improve financial performance.
McLaughlin: How successful do you think most professional services organizations are at creating great client experiences?
Ireland: In this tough economy, an organization's focus on the client experience is a key to survival. In our research, we saw that service firms are growing their understanding and use of customer experience strategies. But, there's still room for improvement.
In brief, our findings were that service firms with an organization-wide understanding of the importance of the client experience were more likely to achieve their goals for getting and keeping clients than those that did not.
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| Coming
Attractions |
"Right now, Social Media is the most important topic you can share with your readers."
Lon Safko and his colleagues wanted to offer a definitive voice on the subject of social media, so they spent the better part of a year researching the topic and interviewing experts on all aspects of social media. The result of that work is part of the book, The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success.
Next month, we'll ask Safko how consultants can and should use the tools of social media to build their practices and serve clients.
Look for the next issue of Management Consulting News on November 3, 2009.
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