In October 2012, I attended the
excellent IMCUSA Grow Conference in Orlando, addressing business development
for management consultants. The following reflects some important take-aways and translates these to the situation of
consultants in small states.
Different delivery methods at different price points. The output of
consultants is traditionally a document of some kind. However, our expertise
can also be transferred through books, speeches, webinars, telephone
consultations, etc. Besides providing supplemental income, these methods
typically require a smaller investment by the client. In small states, where
achieving acceptable ROI on consultants’ services is a challenge for our
clients, and regional consultants face stiff competition from foreign
consultants, the possibility of making a smaller investment (initially) is even
more crucial in getting a foot in the door. We can also buy or sell insights
from other consultants through these smaller investments, enhancing quality and
collaboration in the region.
Expertise through thought leadership. There is nothing that
establishes a consultant’s value more than thought leadership. This is
typically achieved through writing, speaking and engaging in discussion. The
temptation exists to speak or write on a variety of issues. However, to be a
credible thought leader, one must have in-depth
knowledge of an issue. So, specialize!
Specialize and highlight. As consultants in small states we are
likely to serve ALL industries and reply to RFP’s as long as the engagement seems
somewhat financially attractive. That is our reality. However, we can also consciously
choose to only highlight and actively pursue those engagements which
we most like, are best at or which are more profitable. Even rejected proposals
can be presented to other clients. If the issue is sensitive, we can enlist
colleagues in other markets to ‘sell’ a successful solution or rejected
proposal in their market. That’s the bright side of the relative ‘isolation’ of
small states. In addition, because our countries are all small states with
similar challenges, the solutions or proposals regional consultants develop are
more likely to be readily transferrable to other small states than a solution
developed in and for a large market by consultants whose solutions are
instinctively based on the situation in large markets. That is the competitive
advantage of Caribbean consultants, which together we must make tangible, even
when it is by using other consultants’ work as examples.
Reward Referrals and refer to be rewarded. Management consultants
typically don’t promote their services through advertising. However, our
marketing (including networking, speaking, publishing, certifications etc.) is
an investment which must be recuperated or rewarded. Paying and expecting a
referral fee (not an illegal kickback) also opens the door to more cooperation
among regional consultants. Knowing that there is a reward, those whose
strength lies in attracting business will happily attract and refer business, which
they themselves are not particularly interested in doing, to others. Those
whose strength is ‘high expertise’ will be able to concentrate on just that,
producing a better quality output, which benefits all consultants in the
region.
Provide proof that you are an expert advisor. Many of us come to
the consulting profession as technical experts, often having worked before on
the client side. However, to have clients ask for, accept and implement our
advice, we need to be expert advisors.
So, let’s get our Certified Management Consultant Certificates. While going through the steps, we learn how
to be expert advisors and reduce costly learning by trial & error, to the
benefit of our clients and ourselves. I will.
Highlight benefits rather than features. As professionals we are
proud of our knowledge and expertise and are convinced that that is the reason our
services are enlisted. However, we should design and populate our websites,
blogs, linked-in profiles, comments to ‘sell’ and to highlight the added value,
in other words, the ultimate benefit that we bring to our client, rather than
our expertise. As an example: “innovation’ is now popular among business
consultants. However, no business person has ‘innovation’ as a final goal. What
they would like is to increase sales, lower cost and increase profitability.
That can certainly be achieved through innovation. In the Caribbean, where
budgets are small, reiterating that we can help clients achieve their ultimate
goal is crucial.
For many reasons competing against foreign consultants will always be a challenge for Caribbean consultants. We will not succeed by repeating ‘traditional’ methods in attracting or executing consulting engagements. We must adapt these to fit our small state environment, in the process contributing our own ‘innovation’ to the field. If nothing else, these innovations will show the true comparative advantage of regional consultants: that we innately understand the challenges clients in small markets face and instinctively know how to solve them without breaking the bank.
This article appeared first in part in the November 2012 edition of the newsletter of the Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants.
Tamira La
Cruz, MBA, CEO of MarkStra Caribbean (1995), specializes in helping
organizations in small states to establish, maintain or grow their revenue,
profit or following. The practical solutions are based in research, strong
analysis and strategy, as well as 25 years of work experience in Caribbean
small states. Based in Curacao, she is a graduate from The Wharton School at
the University of Pennsylvania (MBA) and Boston University (BSBA). She
publishes regularly on small state innovations and growth. Contact via www.markstra.com, or tlacruz@markstra.com.
This article appeared first in part in the November 2012 edition of the newsletter of the Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants.
