Are Your Customers Your Virtual Sales Team?
Originally published: Jan 2013 Inside Tech Services
Written by: Jodi Cicci
For a consulting firm to be successful, it’s important to have a solid reputation—to be referenceable by all or a majority of your customers. Running a consulting firm can be a challenge, because your assets (the consultants) are expensive, and many consulting firms do not have an overabundance of recurring-revenue type of engagements. So how can a small consulting firm launch and survive in this economy? By consistently delivering on quality and heightening your referenceability, you will create a virtual sales team out of your customers.
Consulting firms are hired to provide expertise and guidance in solving challenges within an organization or business unit. Typically, consulting engagements start with an information-gathering session, wherein the consultants come to understand the particulars of the organizational problem(s) that need solving. If you don’t do your homework first, gaining a complete picture of the customer’s situation and environment, you will shortchange yourself in your ability to provide appropriate recommendations.
Throughout the discovery session, demonstrate your knowledge by confirming their approaches with experiences you’ve had with your own company’s previous customers. This gives the customer confidence in your knowledge level and your understanding of their particular uniqueness. Avoid the trap of jumping to conclusions without listening and gathering all of the facts first.
Once you’ve gathered your background information and learned about the challenges within the organization, the next step of the project is to evaluate the solution options. Options are an important initial step, but you must remember that the customer hired you to solve the problem—and not just to provide options. Determine which of the options you would recommend as a fit within the customer environment, and explain why. Clearly clarifying why you are making a specific recommendation is key, as it continues to demonstrate your knowledge and experience while helping the customer to understand exactly how the recommendation can help.
Review the options, and make your recommendation after all options are discussed. Customers ultimately have the final say. Even though you are making one specific recommendation, you still should expound upon the other possible options so that the customer can easily make the final decision (which ideally would match your recommendation).
Though you have arrived at the recommendation stage, this is not the final piece of the engagement. The customer has received the guidance they sought, but now they need an implementation plan—and this is your next task. Consulting is not equivalent to augmenting their staff; your final piece of the job is to work with the customer on an implementation plan that will allow them to be self-efficiently successful.
Give the customer a workable plan by which they can implement your recommendations, considering their resources, their time availability, and the type of organizational changes you’ve suggested. Your role may shift to acting as a temporary employee by assisting in the implementation of your plan, but the end goal should be self-sufficiency. Customers who are self-sufficient can then work with you again in the future—to build on your earlier recommendations because they know you are a trusted partner and advisor.
Finally, make sure you walk the talk and follow best practices yourself. Perform a project wrap-up or lessons-learned discussion to gain valuable feedback from the customer’s experience. Listening to your customers means that you are continually improving your own service offerings and aligning your organization to the needs of your customers. Customer testimonials and success stories are golden nuggets that can be gleaned at the end of your engagement; it’s important to keep this in mind throughout the process.
Avoid the Negatives
There are negatives to avoid in customer referenceability. Make sure that your offerings can be adjusted to meet the specific needs of each customer. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in the consulting world. After working in an SEI Level 4 organization (CMM) for many years under the U.S. federal government, I saw the company attempt to apply the same type of controls and processes to a startup commercial branch. The results? Terrible. Adjusting your approach requires your team to be flexible. They must understand how to reduce scope without reducing quality.
Another “negative” is understanding when to say “no” to an opportunity. There might come a time when a customer will want to change the project scope so drastically that the engagement becomes something that your organization cannot deliver effectively. This can become a difficult decision, as consulting firms require revenue to pay for their assets (the consultants). But at the end of the day, a positive customer experience regardless of the revenue is better than a short-term gain of money with a customer that can damage your reputation. A focus on just “winning the deal” can often result in little value-add. Positive, fulfilled customers will become your virtual sales team. They will to mention your name and refer you to their partners, vendors, and customers.
