In this week’s article in the Jamaica Gleaner, I show that un-clientable companies actually have deeper problems.
Consultants Doing “Free Estimates”
I just read the following article at Michel Fortin’s blog and found it provocative, to say the least.
Here is an excerpt:
Ultimately, I would never, ever, meet with a client until and unless they pay for my expenses. After all, if they’re not willing to at least pay for my expenses, then…
- They are unqualified;
- They are going to haggle;
- They will nitpick my work;
- They will demand more, likely for free;
- And they’ll avoid paying for regular, project expenses, too.
This post should be required reading for all consultants. It’s that important. Here is the link to the post “How Far Are You Willing to Go to Land the Sale?”
Foolproof: SuperNanny and the Dog Whisperer
There are a couple of television shows that I find fascinating in their ability to demonstrate powerful coaching. They are fool-proof, simply because their coachees are demonstrating which techniques work, and which don’t.
In both cases, the subjects being coached aren’t acting, because they simply aren’t able. In the case of The Nanny, the coachees are young children, and in the case of the Dog Whisperer, they are canines of all kinds.
I recommend both, but not because I have either kids or puppies.
Instead, both coaches have had to develop a certain level of expertise that is unique, and the successes highlighted in each show can only happen because they have a fine grasp of the tools of their trade. They are masterful in how they approach each challenge, and when they are around the novice parents and owners that they work with, it’s obvious that they see each situation quite differently from those they are helping.
The response from their advice is immediate and visible, and each show takes pains to show the change that happens in vivid images.
Kudos to them for what they accomplish (even if the utter failures end up on the cutting floor.) They still demonstrate insight and understanding in action, and the results they are able to show in 30 minutes is fascinating to watch.
Why I Run from RFP’s
As a professional, I have always run away from RFP’s (Requests for Proposal.)
Only recently have I come to understand why my stomach churns and I politely demur, when I am told that several companies will be bidding on a solution.
An article on Allan Weiss — known as the consultant’s consultant — helps to point the way. He argues that a client that insists on taking charge of a selling process, and buying primarily on price is making a grave error. Click here for the article.
Also, Jeff Thull who wrote the recently release “Exceptional Selling” argues that winning an RFP is akin to winning the lottery, and is overly focused on the customer’s buying process rather than their decision process.
I agree with them both.
If I were about to have surgery, or hire a lawyer to represent me in a death penalty case in which I am the defendant, I would not think of creating an RFP.
The stakes are just too high for the decision to be made in this manner.
In like manner, an important consulting engagement cannot be reduced to simple to understand decision criteria, and the more important the stakes, the more complex the solution, and the less amenable it is to simple categories of comparison.
Given that my firm specializes in high-stake interventions, the presence of an RFP is an indicator that this job is probably not for me.
P.S.
The only exception I might make could be companies or governments that are restricted from doing business any other way by law. The same principles would apply however, and it’s not too hard to see where management treats the RFP as a smokescreen, rather than a necessary evil to be endured.
P.P.S. After wasting some more more on yet another RFP that went nowhere, I came across the following article: Why You Should Ignore RFP’s.