A consultant friend of mine, Neil Diffenbaugh, owner of SWAT Madison http://www.swatmadison.com, recently surveyed other fellow consultants who are also members at MABC (Madison Area Business Consultants) to ask them what clients tell them as to why they hire consultants in both up and down economic times.
I thought the responses he complied were very interesting and might be helpful to you or your own clients come up with fresh ideas to create new services, product offerings, strategic business and marketing plans for 2011 and beyond. Responses by consultants fell basically into the following six areas of services. Clients told consultants:
• Provide great business resources with up-to-date information, research findings and training capabilities if needed;
• Provide a reduction in expenses in variety of ways for both the short and long-term, i.e., overhead & benefits, overall project expenses, save them time and money by finding and negotiating with other outside vendors, etc.;
• Provide a fresh perspective and expertise from working with many different companies and organizations AND they are more objective to internal issues;
• Provide in-depth knowledge of specific areas and are generally more up-to-date than staff and can easily supplement the skill sets needed;
• Provide focused attention to resolve client’s problem while allowing client time to stay focused on their core business.
• Provide a GREAT ROI because they give clients peace of mind and confidence that their project will be completed on time and on budget, while also creating effective and efficient solutions!
Talk about saving money NOW and in the future – WOW!
I hope this information helps reinforce your beliefs about the benefits of hiring consultants and what they can do to help you and your client’s companies re-gain traction in the marketplace.
Aug 10
20
Summer Doldrums?
Summer Doldrums are a Blessing –
Every August it seems our professional lives slow down while our personal lives seem to speed up as we go on vacations and start planning back to school activities. I really think it’s meant to be that way and we shouldn’t be discouraged by what seems a “lack of interest” from clients and colleagues in the business world. It should only last for 30 days!
Maybe it’s meant to be our a special time to “re-calibrate” our lives — clean out the house AND the extra baggage in our minds. Give ourselves TIME to think about what really is important to us – personally and professionally; what gives us pleasure with our kids, in our home and yard, what creates those special relationships within our circle of friends and family (even business colleagues.) And, perhaps, how can we bring joy and a smile to someone else who may be hurting.
I always think of August as a time to rejoice. Not just because it’s my birth month (and I try to celebrate for at least 3 days around my birthday), but it seems to offer such a gracious bounty of beautiful flowers, fruits, vegetables, not to mention good times on the beach or in a boat with friends and family. Water is my Zen time, it restores my soul and provides some peacefulness. Yoga is nice, water is better!
By the time August starts to wrap up I’m feeling re-energized – with new ideas for new projects, how to do something better/faster, creating a list of new people I want to meet and new places I want to visit around here in the Fall.
Summer doldrums — truly one of life’s blessings…
Tip 2 – Review your contact lists, prioritize who you want to contact and why, and develop a nice email card to welcome people back from vacation and start setting up appointments.
Aug 10
10
Hello World!
I’ve finally taken the plunge into the cold, clear waters of the 21st Century. As many of you know, I create communication strategy and write all the time for a living for clients, but haven’t shared my thoughts about the world as I see it – online. It’s the proverbial “shoemaker’s children” story.
What I want to do is provide you with some real value if you happen across my blog…not just what I had for breakfast and who I’m meeting with today! I hope the information I share with you in the future is not only interesting and worthwhile, but also a bit fun. There are many great things happening every day in the business world and communicating some of them to you will be one of my goals. I believe we all could use some positive news for a change!!
I will also be sharing tips with you from time to time that I’ve accumulated along the way in public relations, marketing, customer service and business development that may help you in your own business.
Finally, I will be providing links to other bloggers who can offer more information which may be of benefit to you and also posting videos of events from time to time.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ll enjoy reading my blogs and pass them along to others if you feel they are worth sharing.
Merri
Tip 1 – Organize your time to make sure you spend at least 30 minutes every day promoting yourself and/or your company to at least 3 people – via social media, invitation to coffee/lunch or sending something interesting via email. If you don’t promote yourself – who will?