What Options Do You Offer To Buyers?

Have you ever thought about the differences between bees and wasps?

Many people can't even distinguish them by sight.

Maybe not by sight, but there is a major difference in their stings.

On the surface, they are similar. But their stings are different.

The bee’s poison is acidic, so you need something alkaline, like baking soda mixed into a little water, to neutralise the pain. Mind you, you still have to deal with the barbed harpoon the bee uses to deliver the poison and gets lodged in under your skin.

The wasp is a completely different ballgame. Its poison is alkaline, so you need something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice, to eliminate the pain. The good thing is that its harpoon is barbless, so after stinging its victim, the wasp withdraws it and happily flies away, leaving its victim in pain and more frustrated than a bear with an ingrown toenail.

So, if you can have an option, there is a good chance you prefer being stung by a wasp to a bee.

But you often don't have a choice if you get stung by a bee, wasp or even a NowWhattian boghog.

Luckily, buyers of your consulting services always have many options to choose from.

And that is both good and bad.

If you offer take-it-or-leave-it type proposals with one choice, you have 50% probability to lose the gig.

But if you offer two options, the probability of losing the gig drops to 33.3%.

With three options, it's only 25%.

While logic says,"have more options and you have less chance of losing", psychology overrules logic.

Having more than three options can backfire and the probability of losing goes up again.

So, in this month's morbidly magnificent issue of Commando Consulting, we take deeper look into this option dilemma.

The masterpiece is masterfully entitled, What Options Do You Offer To Buyers?

Enjoy!

5 Ways Good Copy Can Turbocharge Consulting Boutiques’ Inbound Marketing

Have you heard that in a desperate effort to win the Second World War, British scientists had come up with the sinfully sumptuous idea of feeding Hitler with female hormones, so over time, he would have become as docile and submissive as his younger sister, Paula Wolf?

This great strategy, as explained in Professor Brian Ford’s book, Secret Weapons: Technology, Science and the Race to Win World War II, was that British spies would mix oestrogen into Moustache Dolfie’s meals, and slowly but surely he would “calm down”, so the Allies could reason with him.

The other piece of British warfare imbecility to win the war was by putting glue onto Nazi soldiers’ boots and sticking them to the ground.

So much fuss for nothing. Or as good ol’ Willie wrote a few years ago, “Much Ado For Nothing” .

And the interesting thing is that this is happening in so boutique consultancies as well.

They hire some marketing agencies to do some inbound marketing FOR the firm, but overlook one key element.

Then soon the whole inbound effort collapses, using George Bernard Shaw’s words, like a pricked bladder.

So, let's see what good sales copy can do to your inbound marketing efforts in this terrifyingly terrific episode of Commando Consulting, expertly entitled, 5 Ways Good Copy Can Turbocharge Consulting Boutiques’ Inbound Marketing

Enjoy!

5 Guidelines To Attracting Sexy Consulting Engagements

Do you know that there are at least 12 species of animals that kill more people than sharks?

Yet, people are scared of sharks while often being extra brave with the other 12 species.
While every year, globally, only six people get killed by sharks, in Africa alone, a whopping 2,900 people get killed by hippos and in the US alone, 53 people get killed by bees.

And just as people can't distinguish between highly dangerous and hardly dangerous animals, it seems many consultants have equally hard time to distinguish between the types of work to pursue.

While they should pursue engagement work, they pursue project work. In the worst cases, they pursue projects obtained through RFPs or cold calling.

But what is really the difference between an engagement and a project?

Some consulting firms live on almost back-to-back project work, while some others engage only 5-15% of their capacity in project work.

Since projects offer temporary short-term income, I think it's a good idea to keep project work under 50%, say 20-35%, and dedicate the rest of your firm's capacity to other types of engagement work. 

And even if your bread and butter come from project work, make sure the toppings for your sandwich come from other forms of engagement. Well, provided you like super tasty artisan ham, cheese and other sandwich components.

Ideally, you want project clients that hire you for the whole project, as opposed to hiring different consulting firms for different aspects of the project, even if your firm can do all the work.

And this is what we discuss in this month's eclectically enlightening episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, 5 Guidelines To Attracting Sexy Consulting Engagements.

Enjoy!

Wishing For A Kick-Arse Rainmaker? Stop Right Now!

Do you know that a whopping 35.7% of US adults are considered to be obese?

Over 5% are considered to be morbidly obese and 74% overweight.

But interestingly, these ratios are much worse at Wal Mart. It seems almost everyone is overweight there for some reason.

Why? Well, look at people's shopping carts and you'll see why.

They buy all sorts of crap that make them fatter and fatter.

Of course, Wal Mart's low prices are not merely attractive but addictive. It seems that when it comes to food, North Americans want high quantity at low, low prices.

They want food to fill them not to nourish them.

 But what is the cause of this fatty problem? The cause is that people obtain their health information from the wrong sources.

They trust the media that has been feeding them a low fat grain-based (thus high carb) diet for a donkey's years.

People read "expert" health advice in their favourite tabloids, and then go to Wal-Mart to buy the recommended rubbish at obscenely low prices.

And now the media, which is in cahoots with both the government and pharmaceutical companies, has fulfilled its mission of creating millions of sick people, so Big Pharma has a huge and "hungry" market for more and more medication.

And due to the high revenue, the government can collect more taxes.

Not to mention the employees of those Big Pharma companies as future voters.

Then people get fatter and sicker and Big Pharma makes even more money on them.

The government can collect its tax money and the media has plenty of news to blow out of proportion.

And that is what happens when people fail to check the origin of the health advice they rely on.

And the something similar happens in client acquisition for consulting firms too.

And this is what we discuss in this month's brain-fryingly electrifying episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, Wishing For A Kick-Arse Rainmaker? Stop Right Now!.

Enjoy!

Do Premium Consulting Firms Really Need Designated Rainmakers

Over a decade I’ve seen plenty of consulting firms hire salespeople to boost their sales, but all they’ve achieved is bloated costs of sales and high attrition of salespeople.

In many cases cost of sales increased more than sales, let alone net profits.

Yes, gross revenue has gone up, sometimes pretty impressively, but when we look at meaningful indicators like, gross profit per team member, we often see a significant decline.

And when partners realise the loss, they hire more salespeople creating further increase in cost of sales and attrition.

Of course, talking about a consulting firm, we can’t call them salespeople. They are rainmakers, account executives, practice/business development managers or some other fancy title holders.

But the expectation is the same.

Due to lack of marketing, firms have to beef up their hunting-type selling efforts, and to do it quickly, they have to resort to cold-prospecting.

So, half of the salespeople are dialling for dollars and the other half are pounding pavements and knocking on doors.

So, since the firm uses brute force client acquisition, partners don’t want to participate.

Neither do even the most junior associates.

After all, this is not why they worked their arses off to earn their MBAs. One of the reasons is that the consulting profession in general looks down on client acquisition.

Many consultants regard sales and marketing as something beneath them, so they want to abdicate the dirty work to designated salespeople.

Well, the interesting thing is that screwing the client over during the project through billable (bilkable ???) hours is fine and most senior partners happily practise it, but acquiring new clients is a dirty job; something not to be touched by the firm’s holier-than-thou partners.

So, the idea of hiring designated salespeople on straight commission is pretty appealing.

But this approach comes with two big questions... And this is what we discuss in this month's brain-fryingly exciting episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, Do Premium Consulting Firms Really Need Designated Rainmakers?.

Enjoy!

13 Competencies For Great Solo- And Boutique Consultants For Long-Term Happiness

Did you know that nearly 2,500 left-handed people die each year as a result of using products meant for right-handed people?

I mention this because many consulting firms use outdated concepts that were great in the last millennium, but today they are considered not merely obsolete but plain dangerous.

And when it comes to running entrepreneurial consulting businesses, they focus on competencies like, presentation skills, objection handling skill and closing skills. In consulting, just like in any other professions, there are certain “core competencies” which consistently lead to success for solo consultants and boutique consultancies.

In this article, we’re discussing 13 key competencies. Start your improvement with any one of the 13 competencies.

Once you’ve mastered it, move on to the next one.

They are not complicated competencies.

Granted, they need a little attention, but that’s all.

And this is what we discuss in this month’s spine-chillingly electrifying episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, 13 Competencies For Great Solo- And Boutique Consultants For Long-Term Happiness.

Enjoy!

Assessing Consulting Engagements Both For Financial And Psychological Satisfaction

I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but, in a way, traditional consulting requires the mentality of a bomber pilot: Fly in, release bomb and quickly get out.

It sounds like a great example as I'm listening to the first song, Night Witches, on the new Sabaton CD (Heroes).

It's a tribute to the all female 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces, formed by Colonel Marina Raskova and led by Major Yevdokia Bershanskaya.

Their approach describes traditional consulting quite well. Fly in very high, turn engines off, freefall to low altitudes, release bomb, start engine and fly out.

For that they used very light double-winged planes, left behind from the first world war, made of wood and canvass. In consulting, senior consultant flies in to close the deal, then an army of freshly-minted MBAs "freefall" on the unsuspecting client.

And the senior consultant can't be reached ever again. They do whatever they do and then vanish, leaving dubious improvements and astronomical bills behind.

Yes, it is always a great feeling for consultants to complete their engagements and moving on, but there is one more thing is left to do.

Sadly, most consultants miss this element of their projects. It is a sort of after action review, when we actually summarise what we have achieved.

Unfortunately, in traditional task-based consulting, this is irrelevant anyway for the emphasis is on going through the motions (of performing certain rigidly pre-defined tasks) and piling up as much stuff (deliverables) as humanly possible in order to "deserve" payment.

So, this is what we discuss this year-opening episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, Assessing Consulting Engagements Both For Financial And Psychological Satisfaction.

Enjoy!

Getting Clear on Clients' Expectations of Consultants

When it comes to performance, the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, UK, is certainly one of the most winning towns with its two phenomenal wins in the history of mankind.

First, in 1925, it produced the then future and now former British Prime Minister, the late Margaret Thatcher, undisputed world-class expert at handbag-wielding and one of the world’s feistiest politicians.

The second, and even fierier, claim to fame for Grantham is the Infinity chilli that took the world by storm in 2010.

The World's Hottest Chilli Grown In Grantham Nick Woods of Fire Foods, a former RAF pilot, grew it in his greenhouse, and the new Infinity chilli weighed in at 1,067,286 million Scoville Herat Units, commanding the record holder Bhut Jolokia of India to the second place.

But after some serious experimentation, the Infinity was pushed down on the chilli nobility list by several other types. Eventually, Ed Currie of PuckerButt Pepper Company’s masterpiece from Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, the Carolina Reaper took the crown of heat at over 2,200,000 Scoville Heat Units.

So, as you can see, the chilli industry is all about the pursuit of performance in the form of higher Scoville unit values. It seems that whether or not people can eat it is not even relevant any more. And that makes it a very familiar territory for the consulting industry that is riddled with impressive-sounding classroom-developed strategies that can’t be tactically implemented.

Just think of Michael Hammer’s Business Reengineering process that turned out to be a huge flop. Many clients believe that consulting is all about clients’ dictating what they want and then consultants are implementing as per client’s instructions.

So, it’s vital that we communicate to clients what we can do and how we work. And this is what we discuss this month's brain-fryingly electrifying episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, Getting Clear on Clients' Expectations of Consultants.

Enjoy!

14 Ways Clients May Resist Consultants' Recommendations And What To Do About It

Do you know that what is called a "French kiss" in the England is known as an "English kiss" in France?

The two countries just can't agree on the exact definition. It may have something to do with history, going all the way back to England’s invasion in 1066 by William the Bastard, or as he fancied calling himself, William the Conqueror.

The same disagreement often happens between consultants and their clients over certain points consultants recommend but clients vehemently oppose.

And while those recommendations may not necessarily include French kisses, they do include some vital points that have to be ironed out or some truly nasty problems, even lawsuits, can raise their ugly heads... and even uglier feet... not to mention some other fiendishly hideous body parts.

One of the most frustrating aspects of consulting is dealing with clients’ resistance to some of our recommendations. Often to our best recommendations that we’ve already seen work time and time again.

We’ve all heard excuses, like “We’ve already done that and didn’t work”, or “Our industry doesn’t work that way”. Even those clients that blatantly call themselves innovators shy away from methodologies that aren’t in mainstream use in their industries.

But the reality is not about being right or wrong, but what works and what does not work. It has nothing to do with certain methods or certain industries.

And this is what we discuss this month's mind-bendingly electrifying episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, 14 Ways Clients May Resist Consultants' Recommendations And What To Do About It.

Enjoy!

The 4 Objectives Of An Effective Consulting Marketing System

I’m not sure, but you may have heard about the 1989 disaster and its impact on consulting.

That is, the year of disaster for the famous Scottish haggis in the US.

Following the 1989 outbreak of mad cow disease in the UK, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) banned the import of haggis into the US.

By now, the danger has long passed, but the USDA still keeps the haggis banned. Well, it decided to lift the ban in 2010, but up until now (March 2014) the ban is still alive and kicking. A slight gap between decision and execution.

I mention this because this is the exact dynamic many consulting firms use in their marketing.

They’ve been planning to lift the ban on systematic direct response marketing and start implementing it to replace their chest-beating image marketing, but in most cases, image marketing wins the race again and again.

Why?

Because senior partners love having their faces pasted on websites and brochures, and their ego doesn’t let them replace their faces with market- and client-focused materials.

And this is what we discuss this month's spine-chillingly fantabulous episode of Commando Consulting,, entitled, The 4 Objectives Of An Effective Consulting Marketing System.

Enjoy!

Which Of These Three Parts Are Missing From Your Consulting Practice Development Plan

Have you ever thought about the most dangerous professionals consulting firms can hire for help?

If we exclude motivational speakers, since it’s not a profession, although there are people who can cleverly bullshit money out of unsuspecting victims, we have traditional sales trainers who advise their clients activities like...

• Make more cold-calls.
• Knock on more doors.
• Memorise 10,000 more closing and objection-handling tricks.
• Respond to more RFPs.
• Toughen your personality for rejection. 

That is, they advise you to do more of what you’ve always done.

It reminds me of the urban legend that when NASA started sending up astronauts into space, it spent a small fortune to develop a zero-gravity pen for astronauts, but there were various problems with the pent.

By contrast, Soviet astronauts were using normal, pedestrian, garden-variety pencils with blazing success.

That is, they did less of, as per Monty Python, something completely different. So, when it comes to practice development, many consulting firms should change their overall strategies.

And this is what we discuss this month's neuron-boilingly fantabulous episode of Commando Consulting, fiendishly entitled, Which Of These Three Parts Are Missing From Your Consulting Practice Development Plan.

 Enjoy!

Do You Have Commissioned Salespeople Wreaking Havoc In Your Consulting Firm?

Do you know that Saharan silver ants can not only survive the highest temperatures, but they are also some of the fastest sprinters?

The highest temperature they can safely operate in is around 128.5°F (53.6°C), and they can achieve amazing running speed by pulling up their two front legs and trotting along only on four.

And the only reason I've mentioned this nipple-piercingly exhilarating factoid is because consulting firms that try to make a living by relying on commissioned sales forces may well need similar attributes to survive the heat and the mad rush of competitive bidding processes and the cruelty of price-obsessed procurement agents.

It has always been a huge issue for consulting firms to keep themselves fully billable, whatever that means, and in order to achieve that, many firms have chosen to assemble commissioned sales forces that are in charge of drumming up business for the subject matter experts, the consultants.

And over the years I've often seen otherwise reputable consulting firms gradually erode their brand and reputation by hiring commission-based salespeople for business development. Oh, yes. Not for sales. That's too crass and vulgar, and consulting firms don't do selling.

They do business development. Just look at the word "Sell" in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. What do you see? Sell: Transitive verb. 1) To deliver or give up in violation of duty, trust, or loyalty and especially for personal gain; betray — often used without "sell out their country".

Or let's look at the origin of "Sell": Middle English, from Old English sellan; akin to Old High German sellen to sell, Greek helein, meaning "to take". Well. Is it surprising that consultants are allergic to the word?

Most meanings of the word relates to trickery, deception and manipulation. Knowing that selling is the part business development, we can ask the question...

Which Type Of Business Development Do You Do?

And this is what we discuss in this month's brain-fryingly exciting episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, Do You Have Commissioned Salespeople Wreaking Havoc In Your Firm?.

Enjoy!