Best Practice lessons from the employment arena
Companies usually put a lot more effort into hiring employees than they do into hiring consultants. Larger companies actually have a standard selection process for hiring employees – this includes gates like:

– a completed application and reference checks,
– 2 levels of management signing off on the new hire,
– the same people interview all candidates for a given position,
– standard interview reviews and feedback

These are all examples of common elements of a standard employment process that actually works.

Some of the often ignored lessons from these selection processes should be addressed in marketing your business as a consultant. Think about the ways companies select employees based on that theoretical “cultural fit”:

• Does the consultant fit the pace of the organization?
• Does their experience mirror the work to be completed in today’s project?
• Is the consultant someone who has shown that they can flex on a dime as changes occur in the business?
• Does the consultant’s communication style fit the organization (or at least the manager in question)? – Think about method, frequency, status updates, etc.

What are the subtle issues that make someone want to work with you? The better handle you have on these perceptual issues, the easier your service is to sell to this client.

We’ll be addressing more on this topic in other blogs.

By: Deb McClanahan

We all know that email is a business essential these days…how else could we, as consultants, work 24/7?   ;o)

Email, however, is also a huge challenge to our productivity.  How many times have you gone to check email just to see if you had received one important email, only to ‘wake up’ an hour later wondering where the time had gone?

Some of you, like me, may remember the days before email was ubiquitous…when people sent mail, called one another, or walked around the cubicle to have an in person conversation.  Or for those of you in consulting, those were the days when you actually were allowed by clients to have a MEETING to present proposals vs. being encouraged to ‘just email it and I’ll get back to you’…ahhh, those were the days!

I’ll never forget something that Pierre Khawand of People-on-the-Go shared in a productivity class he does: you don’t reach your peak of productivity until you have been working on a task for at least 45 minutes…UNINTERRUPTED.  That may sound easy, but I challenge you to go a whole 45 minutes today on a task that you need to get done: writing an article, writing a report for a client, revamping your marketing material, filing, etc.  If you’re like me, you’ll hear the siren call of your email around 20 minutes, especially if there is something you are waiting on or are in a crucial stage of a client project.

But here’s the deal: ANYthing can survive for 45 minutes without your attention—even the most demanding client.  And the benefits are huge…it will take you MUCH less time to get things done once you give them the benefit of your focus.

One possible breakdown of this strategy is when what you are working on requires you to send an email:  EEKS!  That will challenge your new approach, but you go to your email, SEND the email and close your email program to go back to finish your 45 minutes.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not perfect at implementing this simple, yet ingenious approach.  But when I focus on doing this, amazing things happen.  I cross things (BIG things) off of my to do list.  I feel more focused.  And NOTHING bad happens…

Your challenge: try to slot out just one 45 minute work session for yourself today.  And then try for two tomorrow.  Let us know how it works for you.

And for those of you who are already masterful time managers and have control over your email vs. email controlling you: let us know the benefits you have experienced from your efforts!

Note: I felt the urge to check email TWICE while writing this blog, but resisted…and got it done in half the time I thought it would take…victory!

By: Jen Berkley Jackson

I first heard about making a to-do list from my father who admonished me for frittering my time away. “You don’t seem to understand the concept of priorities,” he said. “Write down on a sheet of paper everything you need to do for that day and then prioritize the items.”

Being a teenager then, it was a revelation to me. But you, as a professional consultant are probably sick by now of hearing about prioritizing and making a “to-do list.” You’ve heard it so many times your ears have grown calluses, as they say in Japan.

And yet, the ability to set priorities is the key to your effectiveness, not only as a consultant, but in whatever you may choose to do in life. What sets the successful managers apart from the rest of the herd? It’s the talent for getting the right things done.

The late management consultant Peter Drucker observed that top managers have the courage and the foresight to concentrate on critical tasks.

But what about the fip side? What about the courage and the foresight to let go of everything that’s nonessential, of avoiding concentrating on non-critical tasks?

In “Organized for Success,” Stephanie Winston suggests making a list of everything that you should not be spending time on.

You may find it useful to list every single thing that you’re doing right now, including what you think you ought to be doing. Then analyze each item to see if it really is a high priority. Is it something you absolutely should do? Does it further your top business goals? (If you haven’t written out your goals, I suggest that you do.) What would happen if you stopped doing it? Or decided to never do it or to delegate it?

Sometimes you have so much on your plate it’s hard to see what are the truly crucial tasks! This is where creating a “don’t-do” list comes in handy. Once you create one, you should have a much clearer idea of what you can let go of and what you can’t. You have to be smart about what you don’t do.

Anything not on your “don’t do” list will go into your new “to-do” list. Then review, analyze, and examine each item against your top goals to see if it is truly a priority. Whittle your new to-do list down to three to five items

You have to be smart about what you don’t do, not just about what you do. Once you have your priorities straight, you’ll truly be able to focus!

By: Cheryl Chow

By now virtually everyone knows that social networking needs to be a strategic part of marketing. Twitter is a quick and easy way to get started. You can get work leads, increase your customer base and enhance your reputation by better serving your existing customers, and connect with potential partners. But it’s not without its pitfalls.

When using any social media, the cardinal rule is: Don’t antagonize! Creating hostility is most decidedly NOT the way to brand yourself or market your services or products.

Below is a list of the most common practices that I see your followers may find objectionable:

1. Spamming

You may think that you’re not spamming, but if marketing is all you ever think about, you just might be perceived as a spammer. Even if your ultimate goal in using Twitter is to promote your business, you’ve got to shift your attitude. Stop marketing, stop pitching, stop selling. Customers want to interact with you and with each other—they don’t want to be sold. Instead, think about how you can be part of the community and benefit others. Refrain from tweeting too much about your company and the services you offer.

2. Using an inappropriate photo

I’m sure you already know that you must have a photo on your Twitter site or no one will take you seriously. It’s best to put up a picture of yourself rather than your pets or something abstract. (I confess that I have a picture of my cat on my Twitter site, but I’m promoting my cats, not myself.) Use a professionally taken, close-up photograph of yourself. I see too many pictures where I can barely make out the person. Is it a bird? A horse? A human?

You can also use your company logo as the icon instead of a personal photo if that’s what you’re promoting. If you want to add a personal touch, you can also put a picture of yourself on the sidebar. In fact, that’s a prime piece of real estate for including more details about yourself or your company.

For some examples of highly successful Twitterers, see: http://twitter.com/savvyauntie (about 12,300 followers) and http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan (some 123,233 followers).

3. Sending ho-hum tweets.

You don’t have to write scintillating prose, but you do want to your tweets to be interesting, fun, or valuable to your clients. If your tweets are consistently boring, people will tune you out.

How you tweet depends on whether you’re representing your company or trying to brand yourself. Either way, do use a distinctive voice. With Twitter, you can sound casual, even a bit playful or offbeat. But remember, even if your tweets sound light and spontaneous, don’t forget that anyone can read them.

4. Sending mostly one-way “broadcast” tweets.

Remember that you’re supposed to be engaging in conversations. I remember one amusing spoof video clip on Twitter that made the rounds a few years ago. It showed a young man traipsing up and down the streets yelling out his thoughts and opinions about everything, while completely ignoring everyone around him. It was amusing in that it’s exactly how some people behave on Twitter. Don’t be like him; don’t add to the noise. Listen to the conversations around you. See what people are interested in. Be a resource. Try to answer some questions in your field of expertise. Offer tips, useful information, and third-party links.

That doesn’t mean you can’t tweet promotions or information about your organization. You just have to make sure that you have a good mixture of tweets. Include occasional personal updates as well. Revealing little glimpses of yourself  helps people feel connected and authenticity to your voice.

5. Using the default Twitter background.

So this isn’t a cardinal sin. But surely you can do better than that. An extremely successful consultant I know uses one of the free backgrounds that Twitter offers. That’s enough to get you started. But there are so many options out there, why settle for that? Give your site a little pizzazz by customizing it. You can use free resources like Twitbacks.com and www.twitdom.com. Others, like www.twitterbackgrounds.com offer both free and custom-designed backgrounds.

By: Cheryl Chow

“If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.” I can’t locate the originator of that quote; it’s been attributed to a few people. Nonetheless, consider this for a moment. There are new start-ups every day—businesses that are bringing new, different and improved services and products to the market. Have you checked on your competition lately, or asked your clients how they feel about your offerings? If you don’t want to lose your clients to the competition, you need to routinely evaluate your offerings. There is much continuous change in this world that provides opportunities for improvements and if you’re not making improvements and working to grow, your business is probably shrinking.

All businesses, regardless of size, length of existence and industry, need to continue their growth efforts—continuously. Constant change is too tumultuous and confusing, but do keep abreast of your clients’ needs and the competition’s activities and make changes over time, as it’s appropriate. Stay the same, and you’re stagnating. You’ll lose business.

Change and Growth:

A large part of growing your consulting business relies on staying in touch with your clients and reaching prospective clients within your target market. There are many methods and many reasons to communicate with your market. Growth and change provide excellent opportunities for just that.

Freshen up

Growing your consulting business doesn’t mean that you need to hire employees or add more square feet. However, it’s advisable to freshen up your business. Add new services and products and incorporate new ideas and technologies into your mix to intrigue return clients and new clients. You may modify or ‘package’ some of your current services based on client feedback or just plain common sense. You might become more efficient with new processes. You might also drop a few of those services or products that are outdated or rarely sell.

Put the Old Stuff on Sale

This is a good reason to keep in touch and drive some business. Put your “older” offerings at a deep discount sale price-for the LAST TIME. Create a clearance sale, a last chance to buy ebooks or ‘How-to’ CDs or DVDs, or last chance to experience one of your seminars before you end that offering.

Think of the retail clothing industry where there are at least four turns per year, aligning roughly with each of the four seasons. Their end of season sales provide opportunity to promote their store and the sale. They draw new and returning clients. Some of those customers who go to the store will buy the sale items, some also buy new items or maybe nothing. But they saw the notice, visited the store, saw what was available and took note. The chances of them returning are greater than if they hadn’t gotten the sale notice.

An aside here is that a key to this contact is the customers’ experience. Is it pleasant and enjoyable? Does the contact offer assistance and leave a warm friendly feeling? We don’t want pressure, only an offer–an “I’m here if you need me.” We want them to remember that connection in an emotionally positive way so they will return.

Promote the New Stuff

The second part of freshening up is adding something new or improved—thus another opportunity to connect and drive business. Give your clients a reason to notice you again.

Have you added a new service? Is there a new technology available that you now include in your repertoire, such as creating or writing blogs? Do you now offer information about or provide the process for marketing on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter?

What have you added to one of your seminars, workshops or webinars? Is there a new section regarding the latest technology or new business opportunities? Do you provide some or more practical aspects about your topic? Are there new chapters in your ebook?

Maybe you have new credentials. You have completed your coaching course and now coach clients through certain niche aspects of a business. Have you added a partner so that you’ve doubled your capabilities or offerings?

Do Something Good

Another “change and grow” opportunity is to have or sponsor an annual charity event. We all know how busy the holidays are, so aim for a different time of year if possible. A slower time in your related industry would be a great time to incorporate something new. To increase your visibility and success, you can partner with other, similarly focused businesses.

The opportunities for this are pretty much endless. Businesses and charity organizations collect shoes, sneakers, coats, old cell phones, books, school supplies, foods, blankets, hats, gloves, or scarves, for example. The collections can be scheduled over a month, week, week-end, or whatever is appropriate. You could also include in the mix a business that provides an activity during a live event or offers some type of gift or return to people who show up such as a discount coupon for a future purchase or a promotional item that reminds them of the charity event or businesses.

For example, if you’re in the pet sitting business, you might partner with a groomer, a veterinarian, a pet store and a pet shelter or adoption agency. For that shelter, you can collect items that they need such as used blankets, towels and sheets or used kennels, dishes, leashes and collars for when the pets go to their new home. Post notices at each of those businesses and any other location where your target market visits—online and offline. When it’s over, you have the success story to submit to assorted medias. Voila!

Your visibility comes from your opportunity to promote the event (using each of the participating business’ names) through various medias and methods and then to report the great results to your clients and the media.

Bottom Line:

A service business like consulting needs to create its own news and make sure that the news reaches the right people. Grow, change, announce your changes and events to your target market, and ask them to spread the word. Ask clients how you’re doing and make changes based on their feedback. Clean house now and then and make that another reason to contact your client base and prospects. Create new reasons for promotional communications. Let them know you’re still there—for them!

By: Kathie Smith

As an independent consultant, I know that marketing and selling is a big part of my life and livelihood, but they haven’t been naturals for me. That’s why I like to watch and learn from the pros.

This is a true story about a guy I know. I’ll call him “Ray” because he’s like a ray of sunshine in every way. We all can take a page or two from the book he endorses and lives. (At the end of this blog I’ll tell you the title — you may be surprised.)

Ray is one of the best examples I know of a successful business person. He’s a top-selling pharmaceutical rep for one of the world’s largest pharma companies. What’s more, he’s a top seller even though he doesn’t have a particularly good territory. While other reps get Manhattan or Los Angeles, Ray has to travel long distances around a large, sparsely-settled Midwestern state to serve his physician clients. Yet two years in a row, Ray was the top oncology sales rep for his corporation. If you know anything about how sales goals are set, you know it’s tough to be # 1 in the first year – but nearly impossible the second because the bar is raised significantly.

I couldn’t resist asking Ray how he managed it. A generous person, he willingly shared three things.

#1: Ray knows his company’s products, his competitor’s products, the industry, and the field of medicine in general. Learning has to be ongoing because the flow of new discoveries and new drugs is constant. This alone, however, isn’t the answer.

#2: Ray is a true consultant. That means real problem-solving even when it may mean losing some immediate business. He partners with his physician clients to help them figure out the best solutions for individual cancer patients. He will even recommend a competitor’s drug if he thinks it’s more suitable in a particular case. Clients see him as collaborator rather than salesperson, and trust is built. But this isn’t the only answer, either.

#3: Here’s the secret sauce. Ray truly cares about people. He understands that clients don’t buy products and services as much as they buy an experience – from people they can relate to. In answer to my question about his selling skills, Ray said (and I quote): “I don’t try to make sales; I try to make friends.” For him, that means relating to clients on a personal level first. It isn’t fake; he truly appreciates and respects others. He went on to tell me that his daily guide is Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” It has been a best-selling business book since 1936. Some of the examples are dated, but the information and techniques are still “right on.” Ray told me that he re-reads it annually. I had a copy on my bookshelf, so I read it again – and there was Ray on every page. As one who is privileged to know this outstanding human being, I can assure you he doesn’t just turn the pages, he turns the advice into action.

By the way, Ray is a 30-something guy with a loving family and hundreds of adoring friends and associates. He’s an all-around success because he practices the same solid people principles in private as he does in business.

It’s not hard to find a copy of “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” The investment is small, and the payoff can be gigantic. Just ask Ray.

By: Tresa Eyres