Advicetap Blog

The other day as I was enjoying a strong coffee and a sun drenched morning and I started to think on the importance of undivided attention and showing interest during meetings.

You see I’ve noticed something recently – Many people don’t show enough focus or interest in the meeting and/or the person they’re meeting with.

As a business person, consultant, teacher, and DJ I get the chance to meet and communicate with lots of people! I usually enjoy meeting up with new people but over time I’ve found that many times people are only interested in what they are doing and what they have to say.

So today I decided to write a small list of some common communication pitfalls I’ve noticed in the last few months during meetings I’ve had:

• Checking text messages or answering phone calls
  This makes sense if you’re waiting on your wife to go into labour, or a million dollar deal to come through but in general checking mails and answering phone calls during meetings is just straight up rude! (….More)

Today’s guest post was written by Jeff Waldman, founder of Fusion Point in Toronto. In today’s post Jeff shares some insight on relationships and networking. Jeff has built up a huge network of meaningful connections not just “followers” so his words are worth listening too!

The world in which we live is shrinking exponentially before our eyes, and it appears that everyone knows everyone in all corners of the globe. This phenomenon is creating new kinds of relationships, but to be quite honest with you relationships are relationships because they’re with people, and the fundamentals of developing, growing and sustaining great relationships have remain unchanged. Why? People are feeling beings and the intangible things that influence how people feel don’t really change.

The methods and tools that we use in our interactions with people change daily, particularly with the explosion of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Sprouter, Flickr, YouTube and a gazillion others. This explosion is not only happening in the Gen Y and X demographic groups, but also with Baby Boomers and to some extent the Traditionalists. Believe me, it’s critically important to stay on top of the latest and most effective tools available so that you optimize your efforts, but in my humble opinion what’s more important is being technically sound on the finer elements of relationships.

It’s pretty simple actually — the strengths of your relationships with people are based on authenticity, consistency and reciprocity. Mind blowing? Not really! Difficult to do? Absolutely! Are people good at doing this? Not really! Does it matter where your relationships exist (e.g. through social media with someone in Dubai or in-person with a neighbour)? Absolutely not!

Authenticity — be you! It’s so much easier and less exhausting when you just be yourself. When you meet someone for the very first time, subconsciously they are forming judgment about you. Be authentic right of the bat so the sub-conscious judging that goes on is based on truth and reality. There is nothing worse than meeting someone and being someone you’re not, and then over time your true colours start to naturally filter through. This is extremely detrimental to the relationship and the overall perception of “you” in the eyes of the person you have the relationship with. (….More)

Today’s guest post was written by Aarni Heiskanen of AE Partners in Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. Aarni is a seasoned management consultant and today he shares with you a tip that if you take action on can become very profitable to your business.

You have the SWOT analysis, the Boston matrix and many more tools freely available at your disposal. Why would you want to develop consulting tools of your own?

The reason why my colleagues and I have developed new consulting tools has been straightforward. We have discovered – or gradually developed – a new consulting approach for client projects. The cause has most often been a client’s need or problem that has made us adopt a novel approach. Once the project has been completed we have analysed the developed tool to see if it could be applicable elsewhere.

A tool, in our case, is a process or way of structuring, analysing, and presenting information. It does not have to be “new to the world” but “new to the client or industry”.

How it all Started
Back in the 1990s I was involved in a project, which assessed the business value of IT in the construction industry. During the project we needed a simple method for measuring the maturity level of IT implementation and its business benefits. We created a framework called an IT Value Barometer. It was basically a set of 12 self-assessment sheets and three graphical representations of the data gained. (….More)

Today’s guest post was written by Susan Varty of Wordtree Consulting. Susan has been in the game for years and specializes in web copywriting, user guides, social media strategies, training manuals and last-minute proposal preparation.

When designing my company logo back in 2006, I wasn’t sure what direction to go so, naturally, I used “Consulting”.

Why? I didn’t want to narrow my focus or shut out potential clients at that time. I just wanted to help people with their written communication.

Eventually, I started learning about having a specialty and a niche market to streamline my client base and reach my business goals. I thought about re-branding again. No, it was still relevant. I kept it.

Then the headlines started appearing in the papers:

“Thousands wasted on consultants”

and other stories about “their ludicrous expenses”. Consulting was beginning to be a dirty word.

Three years in, I keep thinking about changing my company name now and then. However, I’ve realized that it suits what I do just perfectly. When I expand my business next year, I hope to keep the brand. However, I recognize that it needs a review now and then to make sure my brand is a true reflection of what I do.

Some confusion still exists with the dirty word. Now and then, if I don’t get my elevator pitch just right, I get that question “What do you do again?” But then I have an excuse to listen again and really discover what they might need.

Lately, there are several ways that I’ve noticed that consultants position themselves to avoid being “dirty” and get themselves hired.

1. Avoid “sticker shock” by describing the value you bring to the table up front and spelling out exactly how you are paid (maybe not how much at first).

2. Show off your “street cred”. What did you do for a business to help them get things done? Name brands and numbers are classic ways to improve credibility. Also, consider changing your job title so that it is appropriate for your audience. For example, at a design conference I’m a copywriter, but at an IT event I’m a Technical Writer. These titles have made me very approachable. Sometimes people get scared off at the thought of talking to the CEO – especially project leads who might give you the most work. This may not be the approach for you, but I still consider myself a Communications Consultant in both roles.

3. Exude confidence to reach decision-makers. They need you – it’s obvious. Focus on the bottom-line and the experiences you have in your portfolio that they can’t get anywhere else.

4. Offer a contract that starts with a very small step. This small engagement will usually lead to larger projects. It’s strange – the small step approach has been very effective with large corporate clients. A friend reminded me that they operate in small “budget-focused” groups and have a reputation at stake. Smaller companies are more flexible and willing to do more risk-taking.

5. Force your customers to think like their clients, not just their world of day-to-day tasks.

6. Create a detailed project plan - check off what has been completed and they will get a sense that the project is moving forward – not just fees going up and up. I like to hope that “consultant” will not continue to be a dirty word.

Sometimes an outside opinion and a kick in the right direction can make a lot of shiny, new coin.

Today’s guest post is written by Advicetap member, consulting expert, and author Rebel Brown (www.rebelbrown.com). Rebel is a veteran consultant and in this post she speaks on using “Objectivity” as a business tool.

Consultants bring an objective viewpoint to our clients. Take for example when working with a marketing team to position a company. I don’t believe I do, say or create anything of value that my client didn’t already know. After all, they’re the ones who gave me all the fodder for the story I create.

The difference is my objectivity. They live and breathe their business and strategy. They know it inside and out. So much so that that they can’t see the changes around them. My clients are heads down in their details, running a business. We all get dragged down into the way we’ve always thought about it. It’s human nature. Being objective, I am able to spin their story in a new way.

Objectivity is a beautiful thing for consultants. We can leverage it as one of our key value propositions. We can all tell a story about how one of our clients benefited from our objectivity.

Here’s an example of my own experience.

I met a new client a few months back. The guy is sharp, and the opportunity he unearthed is strong. All the pre-requisites for success are there: current customers are clamoring for the solution (it saves them major money), there’s an un-served and significant market demand, minimal investment is required and there’s a significant upside.

He hired me to help him communicate his strategy to the board and fellow executives. The first morning we met, it didn’t take long before we were both drawing pictures on the white board, talking at the same time. We were both passionate about the opportunity. By the end of the session, we had the fundamentals of the story down pat. Yes, it was and is compelling.

So why was I able to capture that story so quickly when he’d struggled for weeks, even months? I’d like to say it’s because of my brilliance, but that’s not true. My experience did help – all that practice does payoff after all!

I brought one really helpful thing to the table: Objectivity.

This quote by Stephen Chow says it well.

‘A creation needs not only subjectivity, but also objectivity.’

Today’s guest post was written by long time communications consulting professional Ken Welsh. To find out more about Ken and his years of international business and consulting experience visit www.letstalkcommunication.com

Well, as someone who coaches and consults around the world what should I give you as my first gem? (My parents are opal miners in Australia’s Outback so you may find my using word like, “gem”, “colour”, “dust”, “dirt”, “kangaroo” and “emu” a lot! ) One of my specialities is the power of language (all of our language, verbal, written, body and subliminal) to affect behaviour, so let’s look at a simple principle that has the ability to transform the way that people relate to us.

One of my specialties is the power of language (all of our language, verbal, written, body and subliminal) to affect behaviour, so let’s look at a simple principle that has the ability to transform the way that people relate to us.

Tell them what they CAN do (rather than what they CAN’T).

In a previous incarnation I was a young trainee City Planner, merely one amongst a myriad of other city planners, in a large bureaucracy. Many of my fellow planners were life-termers, they started there, continued there and would likely stay there until retirement. Hey, I’m not knocking it, it was a great job and one that could be made VERY easy by the use of simple words like “NO”, “CAN’T”, “DON’T” and “WON’T”,

Word such as these have the power to do two things:

1. Make some people’s lives very easy (namely the user)
2. Make other people’s lives very hard (namely the use-ee)

This was particularly the case in a large organisation with little or no accountability. Simply say “no” to a development, proposal, plan or idea and you had the power to stifle both it and the ambitions of the person that you said it to. Likewise, as a “decision maker” it was much safer to maintain the status quo by saying “no” than by saying “yes” and needing to deal with the outcome, good or bad. Say “no” and you wouldn’t have to deal with angry neighbours, residents or politicians who didn’t agree with what you’d said “yes” to.

However I was extremely lucky in that I had a rather progressive boss, he wouldn’t let this young trainee say “no”, my only options were – “Approve” or “Defer & Confer”. “Defer & Confer” meant that I had to meet with an applicant, talk with them and see if there was anything that we could do to help the proposal work for everyone concerned. Then, after graduation, I took this approach to my next job and it was incredible how everyone wanted to deal with me – I was the planner who made things work. The quality of my outcomes was no less than adjacent planner’s areas, in fact I think that my area turned out better in many ways (he says modestly!) I was still sticking with the guidelines, however I was telling people what they COULD do rather than what they COULDN’T. (….More)

Today’s guest post was written by Tom Searcy member of Advicetap. To find out more about Tom and his years of business and consulting experience visit www.HuntBigSales.com

I have a simple value proposition – I help companies grow explosively. That’s it – My whole focus is on helping companies between $10M and $250M double their double. Double the speed with which they double their company. I don’t focus on culture or Lean manufacturing or technology.

My focus is large account sales – selling deals 10 – 20 times the size of a company’s average size deal. I have developed a process for doing it that really works and has resulted in $3.5 billion in new accounts for the companies I have run and the clients with whom I have consulted.

I have written two books on the subject, “Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company,” and “RFPs Suck!: How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Land Big Business.” I speak on this subject nationally as well as doing 15-20 consulting contracts per year and a series of workshops.

Candidly, I think that there are a lot of folks like me. The world of author/speaker/consultant is a fairly large fraternity. What I have found that is different is that I built a million dollar business out of it in just a couple of years. That is unusual and I think what I learned on how to do it, (and not do it), might be of interest to you.

You can also go to my website to get lots of extra ideas on landing your own bigger contracts along the way. I’m at www.huntbigsales.com. I look forward to your feedback to my ideas.