The recent passing of the wordsmith, William Safire, has me rethinking my own use of words. I have set a challenge for myself and hope you will do the same. During the next 30-days, I vow to scrub my vocabulary clean of professional babble and choose plain, skillful words instead. Join me in this effort.
Client development success in professional service firms is based on building meaningful relationships. And, relationships are built one conversation at a time. And, each conversation succeeds or fails based on the words we choose to communicate. So, we could say that words are the key to client development in professional service firms. The right words provide a distinct advantage.
Bullcast
On the other hand, the wrong words…well…I just listened to the first ninety seconds of a podcast from one of the world’s leading professional services firms and turned it off in disgust. Here’s a near verbatim transcript of what I heard: “Executives must multi-task which makes it hard to align company assets for maximum leverage but if you utilize services-thinking and the best practices we espouse you can, create collaborative capabilities that build solutions jointly across the company, assign resources effectively and rapidly adapt to dynamic market conditions, execute policies quickly, implement change fast while optimizing the level of investment relative to return.” What? Who taught that professional how to communicate, Mr. Double Talk? If you favor this style, learn from the master: http://doubletalk.com/videoHome.php3
Buzzkill
Here are some of the other buzzword-busting websites that motivate me to avoid sounding like a babbling fool.
• http://www.vidlit.com/cbs/ - A tag-a-long video for The Dictionary of Corporate Bullshit performed by The VidLit Repertory Players.
• http://www.fightthebull.com/index.asp - Brian Fugere is a Principal with Deloitte Consulting and he’s a self-described bull-fighter. He coauthored the book, Why Business People Speak Like Idiots.
• http://www.bullshitbingo.net/cards/buzzword/ - a hoot and a good way to raise your awareness of the lazy language we and our colleagues blather.
Big Talk
Since 1922, The Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation has been studying the correlation between general vocabulary and hierarchical position in companies. The Foundation’s research has consistently demonstrated a nearly perfect correlation (on the order of .95) between vocabulary strength and how high one rises in an organization. “Why do large vocabularies characterize leading executives and outstanding men and women in other fields? The final answer seems to be that words are the instruments by means of which men and women grasp the thoughts of others and with which they do much of their own thinking. They are the "tools of thought," Mr. O'Connor once said.
If professionals need to build relationships with senior corporate executives, our vocabulary strength should mirror those executives. But this is not license to drop every fancy word we know on our prospects and colleagues. Clear thinking means clear speaking. Think plan. Speak plain.
Me vs. You
Fancy talk is self-centered. It seeks to focus the attention on how smart you are at the expense of the listener. My earliest word lessons in business were from a seasoned magazine publisher who was my first boss. He would look at every letter my colleagues and I wrote to clients and would return copies edited viciously with a slashing red pen. One early letter that I wrote unfortunately contained the phrase “I think.” This solicited a crimson ink mark made with such ferocity that it nearly tore through the page. “Never use the phrase, “I think,” he scrawled. “No one cares what you think!” His point was that the word “I” should be replaced almost every time with an expression that focuses on “You,” that is, you my client.
Weasel words
Buzzwords are akin to weasel words with the latter most often attributed to the speech and contractual language of attorneys. A 1900 edition of The Century Magazine first published the phrase “weasel words” referring to them as "words that suck the life out of the words next to them, just as a weasel sucks the egg and leaves the shell." How much substance will a professional be perceived to have if so many of their words are hollow?
Crisp communication also means avoiding hollow words that hedge – making you sound uncertain. Extensive research by professors at Duke University has shown that phrases like “it seems like” and “you know” and “kind of” and “sort of” and “I think” weaken message impact significantly resulting in what academics call “powerless speech.” Powerful speech, by contrast, is laden with enthusiasm, optimism and certainty. Instead of “I think this may be a helpful approach,” try “This is an excellent approach that has worked for many clients and will work for you.”
Right speech
Right speech brings the right results. The same word, delivered with a different attitude can have a vastly different impact on the listener. Intention and intonation make a big difference in the success of our words. The precept of “right speech” says that if we put out the right words, the right way, we will get the right results. To ensure the right results, be mindful that your words are:
• Spoken at the proper time
• Spoken in line with the truth
• Spoken gently yet with genuine enthusiasm
• Spoken beneficially and with a friendly heart
• Spoken plainly and directly and buzzword-free
What do you say to all this? Share some words with me on your experience with words that work and those that don’t.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Community Involvement as a Client Development Tool for PSF's
Earlier this year Creative Growth Group organized a discussion for its clients and friends-of-the-firm regarding how professional services firms can leverage their community affairs as a client development tool. Ann Cramer, who is Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Director – Americas for IBM, led the discussion and it was clear that the opportunities go well beyond community involvement.
Top three takeaways:
1. Integral and Strategic: Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs imply a broader impact than merely giving some cash to charities. This is no longer a nice-to-have, outlier set of activities. It is now imperative that professional services firms, just like their corporate America client base, integrate community activities into the fabric of their business strategy. As Ann Cramer said, “IBM views corporate social responsibility efforts as an integral, aligned piece and principal of our business strategy with direct impact on our ability to achieve growth and greatness.” Taken at this level, corporate social responsibility efforts can and should demonstrate an impact on quantifiable savings and/or market opportunity creation.
• Action: Lobby your firm to raise corporate social responsibility to the level of strategic imperative.
2. More than Money: You don’t have to be as big as IBM to make a significant community impact. IBM itself evolved from grand benefactor dropping cash around charitable organizations to intentional and strategic community participant considering all assets the firm has to potentially deliver to non-profits such as time, talent, treasure and technology.
• Action: Take an inventory of the time, talent, treasure and technology assets at your firm and offer an expanded resource pool – not just cash (or, in some cases, instead of cash) – to offer the non-profit community.
3. Genuine not just Generous: Strive for congruence between what your firm claims as its values and how it actually conducts its community and corporate affairs. Beyond congruence, a firm’s corporate citizenship activities should stem from a genuine passion for the cause being supported. If the cause has a clear, genuine and believable link to the firm’s core business and the interests of your professionals (not just your Managing Partner) it is more likely to succeed.
• Action: Involve employees in deciding how the Firm allocates its philanthropic activity and assets. 1/3 of IBM’s philanthropic activity is employee guided.
Top three takeaways:
1. Integral and Strategic: Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs imply a broader impact than merely giving some cash to charities. This is no longer a nice-to-have, outlier set of activities. It is now imperative that professional services firms, just like their corporate America client base, integrate community activities into the fabric of their business strategy. As Ann Cramer said, “IBM views corporate social responsibility efforts as an integral, aligned piece and principal of our business strategy with direct impact on our ability to achieve growth and greatness.” Taken at this level, corporate social responsibility efforts can and should demonstrate an impact on quantifiable savings and/or market opportunity creation.
• Action: Lobby your firm to raise corporate social responsibility to the level of strategic imperative.
2. More than Money: You don’t have to be as big as IBM to make a significant community impact. IBM itself evolved from grand benefactor dropping cash around charitable organizations to intentional and strategic community participant considering all assets the firm has to potentially deliver to non-profits such as time, talent, treasure and technology.
• Action: Take an inventory of the time, talent, treasure and technology assets at your firm and offer an expanded resource pool – not just cash (or, in some cases, instead of cash) – to offer the non-profit community.
3. Genuine not just Generous: Strive for congruence between what your firm claims as its values and how it actually conducts its community and corporate affairs. Beyond congruence, a firm’s corporate citizenship activities should stem from a genuine passion for the cause being supported. If the cause has a clear, genuine and believable link to the firm’s core business and the interests of your professionals (not just your Managing Partner) it is more likely to succeed.
• Action: Involve employees in deciding how the Firm allocates its philanthropic activity and assets. 1/3 of IBM’s philanthropic activity is employee guided.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Apples versus Berries
Because professional services advisors are among the most active mobile phone users, in June 2009 we asked a random sample of professional services firm partners about their experiences using Smartphones. We also spoke with a couple of Smartphone experts to get some additional insights. A Smartphone is a fancy word for a multipurpose mobile phone offering advanced capabilities and exceptional computing power. ..you know, an iPhone or a BlackBerry or one of the multitude of devices now on the market. We were especially interested in how professional are using their Smartphone as a business development tool.
“Where, not long ago, the Smartphone was considered a business tool only for large enterprises and their senior executives, these devices are now broadly available and highly affordable,” said Bryan Melton who leads Cbeyond’s Mobile Product Management efforts. “And this prevalence of Smartphones is especially valuable for the small businesses that we serve as they regularly integrate these devices into both their personal and professional lives. Smartphones help our small business customers compete head on with the Goliaths,” Melton said.
Communications Table Stakes, Applications Advantage
Here’s what we learned from the professionals we surveyed…Smartphones are table stakes when used solely as portable e-mail and calendaring tools. Right now, they aren’t heavily used as points of access to customer relationship management systems back in the office and they’re even less frequently used for other business applications. For anything beyond utility business communications, they’re as often used as personal devices as business ones. The iPhone’s appeal further muddies the water between Smartphone as business tool versus personal one. While we believe that Smartphones might provide some competitive advantage, it will only come with a firm-wide push to implement client-focused applications – not through traditional Smartphone utility communication features. Still, any advantage is likely to require the professional services firm to be an early adopter of applications that enable its advisors to clearly, significantly and almost instantly benefit clients.
Device Wars
Here are some of the details we discovered: Most of the professionals who responded (over 55% ) felt that a BlackBerry device is best suited for professional services firms and advisors and that’s what they currently use. 30% thought the iPhone was more suitable and use that device – although some complained about the AT&T iPhone network availability and performance. And, the rest leaned towards Windows Mobile devices. The primary rationale among BlackBerry users was pragmatism and needs with regard to e-mail – keyboard manipulation and integration. The primary rationale among iPhone users was ease of use and accessibility of the Web and applications beyond e-mail.
BlackBerry users praised their Smartphone for its business communication utility:
• “Better e-mail device, the typing on the others is much harder.”
• “Best for corporate supported e-mail.”
• “Syncs with Outlook; real keyboard for e-mail.”
• “Superior email capabilities and integration with Exchange”
• “For me, it's because I am using it more for communication than for web browsing. I think it is a little easier for email.”
• “Industry leader, secure, it has business applications, so I can view PPT as well as Word docs, the Storm is really easy to use.”
iPhone users preferred their Smartphone for its usability and applications beyond e-mail:
• “Ease of use, superior functionality”
• “I find it easiest to use”
• “BlackBerry seems to have a corner on the market, however, I've had no issues with my iPhone, despite it seemingly being an entertainment vehicle first and professional tool second, which seems to be the opposite of BlackBerry.”
• “Access to internet is better.”
• “The best technology and applications.”
• “Numerous applications in one device.”
• “It seems to be the device with the most friendly navigation tools and easy to access applications.”
Maury Margol is a wireless industry expert, President and Co-founder of the Wireless Technology Forum and Founder at Productiv Wireless which trains corporate users how to make the most of their Smartphone usage. Margol put it like this, “iPhone is the best output device. Blackberry is the best input device.”
Tim Wise, co-founder of the communications technology & strategy consulting firm Advocate Networks, draws a sharper distinction, “For the power mobile users, the iPhone is inferior from a business perspective given the coverage and network quality issues and the more time consuming interface. However, from a future potential, iPhone has a lot of potential.”
One wildcard in the Smartphone war is the Palm Pre which first went on-sale in June 2009. Some see this new device as blending the best of both Blackberry and iPhone worlds but the Pre’s late start, limited application-base and distribution on the Sprint network make the climb much harder for Palm within the professional services market. Palm is first launching a paid-App store in September 2009 so the Pre’s late start will be further hindered in the professional markets by a dearth of business applications available even later. Further, Palm has placed its initial distribution bet with Sprint whose reputation and channels have suffered relative to Verizon and AT&T. For instance, when Sprint released second quarter 2009 results, it revealed the defection of over 250,000 subscribers and a net loss of $384 million. Instead of demonstrating a commitment to selling its services to the professional services space, Sprint has invested in the prepaid cellular business which seems to serve a broader, mass market, lower price/lower margin market. Because of these factors, we believe, Palm Pre will have difficultly gaining traction in the professional services market. According to Tim Wise, “After almost 3 months, we are seeing limited penetration and wins by Sprint with the Palm Pre in the enterprise market. The primary factor appears to be the historical perceived coverage gap Sprint has had compared to AT&T and Verizon Wireless.”
Sorry folks…Responsiveness is NOT an Advantage…It’s a Must
More than half of respondents (54%) saw no business development or client management competitive advantage accruing to them because of their Smartphone usage. While 46% indicated some advantage from using their Smartphone, a look at their reasons for saying so reveal little true advantage. Those who attributed advantage to Smartphone usage suggested the benefit came from increasing their client responsiveness. “The devices clearly provide a time advantage – especially for the more mobile professionals,” said Tim Wise.
However, as more professionals are equipped with Smartphones, any advantage is diminished. Survey respondents shared views such as:
• “It has become required, so I would not say it gives an advantage any longer.”
• “They are a commodity in the business place at this point.”
• “Most competitors have them too.”
• “NO advantage. Everyone has it.”
Further, our ongoing investigations into competitive advantages for professional services firms indicate that “responsiveness” is a vague, hackneyed term and that, while clients expect professionals to respond quickly to their communications, responsiveness is a hygiene factor. By that we mean if responsiveness is missing from a client advisor relationship, the client will be significantly dissatisfied with the advisor. However, responsiveness is not a motivator which compels a client to use you more. So, we fail to see how a Smartphone – as currently used by our professional services firm respondents – provides an advantage. Right now, the Smartphone is a utility and a requirement but without a new compelling application, it is not a differentiator.
Mixing Business and Personal
This surprised us: 67% of our professional services advisor respondents own the Smartphone themselves. So, individual professionals are largely making their own purchasing decisions regarding which Smartphone they use. Even when the firm dictated Smartphone usage, many of our respondents were planning on buying their preferred device anyway…especially when the firm’s device was a BlackBerry, many professionals were planning on their own iPhone purchase.
Also, far more professionals had downloaded a personal productivity tool to their Smartphone than had loaded a business applications provided by their firm. Nearly 70% of professionals had downloaded a personal productivity application such as GPS, social networking tools, games and restaurant finders. About 50% used the multimedia capabilities of their Smartphone – mostly the music/mp3 functionality of their device - and nearly as many used the device’s video capability.
“The best application for professional services firms are mobile access to social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo and others as well as time and billing applications,” said Tim Wise. “Other application integration is limited and primarily related to personal interests.”
The fact is, there may no longer be a distinction between devices used for work versus personal purposes. “There is no line between business and personal use anymore. Professionals are “always on” whether they are the office or at the kid’s soccer game,” said Margol.
No Strings Business Development Opportunity
We asked professionals, “In addition to email, calendar, contact details and Internet what office based applications, systems or databases has your firm made accessible by Smartphone?” The largest single response was “none.” We asked what professionals “wish list functionality” items would be for their Smartphones and the primary response related to CRM system access with a scattering of forward thinkers who replied with apps such as “Live video phone for virtual “in-person” meetings from anywhere.”
These “wish list” apps are interesting and basic and, in actuality, require little to put into effect.
While professionals may perceive little competitive differentiation from their Smartphone usage, it is quite possible that no one has shown them where the advantage lay nor have they experienced the breadth of applications already available.
“Most firms spend a significant amount of money deploying Smartphones and little on training the user,” Margol told us. Many more potentially helpful Smartphone applications are already available for use than any of us have time to find and master on our own. Many are already loaded on the devices. And, thousands more are available on the devices’ App Stores. The Blackberry application store has at least 2500 applications with still more available outside of Blackberry’s confines. iPhone has 65,000 apps available on its store. Blackberry may have a larger installed-based of phones among professionals, but iPhone has been far more aggressive in touting the availability of its apps. A recent full page four color advertisement on the back cover of The New York Times Magazine touted twelve seemingly simple apps to help you run your practice. The new battleground among Smartphone providers is the app and this will certainly hold true for those serving the professional services market. "I definitely see the wireless industry moving towards more professional services applications on the Smartphone,” said Cbeyond’s Bryan Melton.
Many of the seemingly “Buck Rogers” style apps like video phone are already available now, albeit it in somewhat raw form. For instance, Qik is an app which enables mobile live video sharing. During a recent lunch with our friend, Fred Perpall of Beck, he flipped his iPhone on its side and showed us a crisp video showcasing Beck’s recent projects…no special add-on required.
On the personal front, you can already watch TV on your Smartphone. The other day, I kept my seven year old daughter occupied in a dreadfully boring waiting room with an episode of the Jonas Brothers streaming on my phone. Apps like Slingbox let you watch live TV and others like Iheartradio, Slacker Radio and Pandora let you listen to existing radio stations or your own custom music radio station from your Smartphone. So, certainly there are or will soon be services streaming professional development content such as rainmaking tips to Smartphones. Brush up on your business development skills immediately prior to your new prospect meeting with a little refresher video or audiocast downloaded on the spot.
A few of the other current Smartphone applications and content already available include:
• Vlingo which provides voice recognition for mobile applications like searching Google without the keyboard.
• Google maps and directions tailored for the Smartphone
• Goog-411 Free phone information services
• Forbes reader – no subscription required
• Wall Street Journal reader – no subscription required
• Instant messaging – From AOL’s AIM to Yahoo! Messenger and from the classic ICQ to Google Talk, there are a host of IM tools available for Smartphone us.
• Skype – Free Skype to Skype calls on iPhones and they’ve got versions for other devices too
Because Smartphones usually come with a GPS chip built-in, “location based services” are supposedly the next big thing in Smartphone apps. That means your phone can tell an application somewhere in the Internet ether where you are so that app can deliver just-in-time and just-at-the-right-place information to you. You could, say, drive up to a prospective client’s office while the most current, news of the day, prospect intelligence is beamed to your Smartphone as you enter the parking lot.
Who Will Step Up?
Maybe there are too many apps and too much technology for professionals to tackle and too little time to figure it all out? “This will continue to evolve rapidly as applications and devices develop – with the 4G license (next generation, higher capacity, wireless network) requirement to “unlock” devices from the carriers being the next leapfrog event,” said Tim Wise. Opportunity or overload? Perhaps, that’s why there’s not heavier usage of the myriad features and tools available with the current generation of Smartphones? But, if the potential exists for these tools and apps to provide competitive marketing advantage, who will step up to help? It seems that device manufacturers and their partner telecom service providers have a significant opportunity and, perhaps, obligation to support professionals’ realization of their Smartphone’s full potential. Perhaps, the technology teams within professional services firms, alongside the firm’s marketing leadership, should require more app adoption support and training from Smartphone device and service providers? We would like to hear from you about how you and your firm are getting the most business development benefit out of these high-potential technologies.
“Where, not long ago, the Smartphone was considered a business tool only for large enterprises and their senior executives, these devices are now broadly available and highly affordable,” said Bryan Melton who leads Cbeyond’s Mobile Product Management efforts. “And this prevalence of Smartphones is especially valuable for the small businesses that we serve as they regularly integrate these devices into both their personal and professional lives. Smartphones help our small business customers compete head on with the Goliaths,” Melton said.
Communications Table Stakes, Applications Advantage
Here’s what we learned from the professionals we surveyed…Smartphones are table stakes when used solely as portable e-mail and calendaring tools. Right now, they aren’t heavily used as points of access to customer relationship management systems back in the office and they’re even less frequently used for other business applications. For anything beyond utility business communications, they’re as often used as personal devices as business ones. The iPhone’s appeal further muddies the water between Smartphone as business tool versus personal one. While we believe that Smartphones might provide some competitive advantage, it will only come with a firm-wide push to implement client-focused applications – not through traditional Smartphone utility communication features. Still, any advantage is likely to require the professional services firm to be an early adopter of applications that enable its advisors to clearly, significantly and almost instantly benefit clients.
Device Wars
Here are some of the details we discovered: Most of the professionals who responded (over 55% ) felt that a BlackBerry device is best suited for professional services firms and advisors and that’s what they currently use. 30% thought the iPhone was more suitable and use that device – although some complained about the AT&T iPhone network availability and performance. And, the rest leaned towards Windows Mobile devices. The primary rationale among BlackBerry users was pragmatism and needs with regard to e-mail – keyboard manipulation and integration. The primary rationale among iPhone users was ease of use and accessibility of the Web and applications beyond e-mail.
BlackBerry users praised their Smartphone for its business communication utility:
• “Better e-mail device, the typing on the others is much harder.”
• “Best for corporate supported e-mail.”
• “Syncs with Outlook; real keyboard for e-mail.”
• “Superior email capabilities and integration with Exchange”
• “For me, it's because I am using it more for communication than for web browsing. I think it is a little easier for email.”
• “Industry leader, secure, it has business applications, so I can view PPT as well as Word docs, the Storm is really easy to use.”
iPhone users preferred their Smartphone for its usability and applications beyond e-mail:
• “Ease of use, superior functionality”
• “I find it easiest to use”
• “BlackBerry seems to have a corner on the market, however, I've had no issues with my iPhone, despite it seemingly being an entertainment vehicle first and professional tool second, which seems to be the opposite of BlackBerry.”
• “Access to internet is better.”
• “The best technology and applications.”
• “Numerous applications in one device.”
• “It seems to be the device with the most friendly navigation tools and easy to access applications.”
Maury Margol is a wireless industry expert, President and Co-founder of the Wireless Technology Forum and Founder at Productiv Wireless which trains corporate users how to make the most of their Smartphone usage. Margol put it like this, “iPhone is the best output device. Blackberry is the best input device.”
Tim Wise, co-founder of the communications technology & strategy consulting firm Advocate Networks, draws a sharper distinction, “For the power mobile users, the iPhone is inferior from a business perspective given the coverage and network quality issues and the more time consuming interface. However, from a future potential, iPhone has a lot of potential.”
One wildcard in the Smartphone war is the Palm Pre which first went on-sale in June 2009. Some see this new device as blending the best of both Blackberry and iPhone worlds but the Pre’s late start, limited application-base and distribution on the Sprint network make the climb much harder for Palm within the professional services market. Palm is first launching a paid-App store in September 2009 so the Pre’s late start will be further hindered in the professional markets by a dearth of business applications available even later. Further, Palm has placed its initial distribution bet with Sprint whose reputation and channels have suffered relative to Verizon and AT&T. For instance, when Sprint released second quarter 2009 results, it revealed the defection of over 250,000 subscribers and a net loss of $384 million. Instead of demonstrating a commitment to selling its services to the professional services space, Sprint has invested in the prepaid cellular business which seems to serve a broader, mass market, lower price/lower margin market. Because of these factors, we believe, Palm Pre will have difficultly gaining traction in the professional services market. According to Tim Wise, “After almost 3 months, we are seeing limited penetration and wins by Sprint with the Palm Pre in the enterprise market. The primary factor appears to be the historical perceived coverage gap Sprint has had compared to AT&T and Verizon Wireless.”
Sorry folks…Responsiveness is NOT an Advantage…It’s a Must
More than half of respondents (54%) saw no business development or client management competitive advantage accruing to them because of their Smartphone usage. While 46% indicated some advantage from using their Smartphone, a look at their reasons for saying so reveal little true advantage. Those who attributed advantage to Smartphone usage suggested the benefit came from increasing their client responsiveness. “The devices clearly provide a time advantage – especially for the more mobile professionals,” said Tim Wise.
However, as more professionals are equipped with Smartphones, any advantage is diminished. Survey respondents shared views such as:
• “It has become required, so I would not say it gives an advantage any longer.”
• “They are a commodity in the business place at this point.”
• “Most competitors have them too.”
• “NO advantage. Everyone has it.”
Further, our ongoing investigations into competitive advantages for professional services firms indicate that “responsiveness” is a vague, hackneyed term and that, while clients expect professionals to respond quickly to their communications, responsiveness is a hygiene factor. By that we mean if responsiveness is missing from a client advisor relationship, the client will be significantly dissatisfied with the advisor. However, responsiveness is not a motivator which compels a client to use you more. So, we fail to see how a Smartphone – as currently used by our professional services firm respondents – provides an advantage. Right now, the Smartphone is a utility and a requirement but without a new compelling application, it is not a differentiator.
Mixing Business and Personal
This surprised us: 67% of our professional services advisor respondents own the Smartphone themselves. So, individual professionals are largely making their own purchasing decisions regarding which Smartphone they use. Even when the firm dictated Smartphone usage, many of our respondents were planning on buying their preferred device anyway…especially when the firm’s device was a BlackBerry, many professionals were planning on their own iPhone purchase.
Also, far more professionals had downloaded a personal productivity tool to their Smartphone than had loaded a business applications provided by their firm. Nearly 70% of professionals had downloaded a personal productivity application such as GPS, social networking tools, games and restaurant finders. About 50% used the multimedia capabilities of their Smartphone – mostly the music/mp3 functionality of their device - and nearly as many used the device’s video capability.
“The best application for professional services firms are mobile access to social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo and others as well as time and billing applications,” said Tim Wise. “Other application integration is limited and primarily related to personal interests.”
The fact is, there may no longer be a distinction between devices used for work versus personal purposes. “There is no line between business and personal use anymore. Professionals are “always on” whether they are the office or at the kid’s soccer game,” said Margol.
No Strings Business Development Opportunity
We asked professionals, “In addition to email, calendar, contact details and Internet what office based applications, systems or databases has your firm made accessible by Smartphone?” The largest single response was “none.” We asked what professionals “wish list functionality” items would be for their Smartphones and the primary response related to CRM system access with a scattering of forward thinkers who replied with apps such as “Live video phone for virtual “in-person” meetings from anywhere.”
These “wish list” apps are interesting and basic and, in actuality, require little to put into effect.
While professionals may perceive little competitive differentiation from their Smartphone usage, it is quite possible that no one has shown them where the advantage lay nor have they experienced the breadth of applications already available.
“Most firms spend a significant amount of money deploying Smartphones and little on training the user,” Margol told us. Many more potentially helpful Smartphone applications are already available for use than any of us have time to find and master on our own. Many are already loaded on the devices. And, thousands more are available on the devices’ App Stores. The Blackberry application store has at least 2500 applications with still more available outside of Blackberry’s confines. iPhone has 65,000 apps available on its store. Blackberry may have a larger installed-based of phones among professionals, but iPhone has been far more aggressive in touting the availability of its apps. A recent full page four color advertisement on the back cover of The New York Times Magazine touted twelve seemingly simple apps to help you run your practice. The new battleground among Smartphone providers is the app and this will certainly hold true for those serving the professional services market. "I definitely see the wireless industry moving towards more professional services applications on the Smartphone,” said Cbeyond’s Bryan Melton.
Many of the seemingly “Buck Rogers” style apps like video phone are already available now, albeit it in somewhat raw form. For instance, Qik is an app which enables mobile live video sharing. During a recent lunch with our friend, Fred Perpall of Beck, he flipped his iPhone on its side and showed us a crisp video showcasing Beck’s recent projects…no special add-on required.
On the personal front, you can already watch TV on your Smartphone. The other day, I kept my seven year old daughter occupied in a dreadfully boring waiting room with an episode of the Jonas Brothers streaming on my phone. Apps like Slingbox let you watch live TV and others like Iheartradio, Slacker Radio and Pandora let you listen to existing radio stations or your own custom music radio station from your Smartphone. So, certainly there are or will soon be services streaming professional development content such as rainmaking tips to Smartphones. Brush up on your business development skills immediately prior to your new prospect meeting with a little refresher video or audiocast downloaded on the spot.
A few of the other current Smartphone applications and content already available include:
• Vlingo which provides voice recognition for mobile applications like searching Google without the keyboard.
• Google maps and directions tailored for the Smartphone
• Goog-411 Free phone information services
• Forbes reader – no subscription required
• Wall Street Journal reader – no subscription required
• Instant messaging – From AOL’s AIM to Yahoo! Messenger and from the classic ICQ to Google Talk, there are a host of IM tools available for Smartphone us.
• Skype – Free Skype to Skype calls on iPhones and they’ve got versions for other devices too
Because Smartphones usually come with a GPS chip built-in, “location based services” are supposedly the next big thing in Smartphone apps. That means your phone can tell an application somewhere in the Internet ether where you are so that app can deliver just-in-time and just-at-the-right-place information to you. You could, say, drive up to a prospective client’s office while the most current, news of the day, prospect intelligence is beamed to your Smartphone as you enter the parking lot.
Who Will Step Up?
Maybe there are too many apps and too much technology for professionals to tackle and too little time to figure it all out? “This will continue to evolve rapidly as applications and devices develop – with the 4G license (next generation, higher capacity, wireless network) requirement to “unlock” devices from the carriers being the next leapfrog event,” said Tim Wise. Opportunity or overload? Perhaps, that’s why there’s not heavier usage of the myriad features and tools available with the current generation of Smartphones? But, if the potential exists for these tools and apps to provide competitive marketing advantage, who will step up to help? It seems that device manufacturers and their partner telecom service providers have a significant opportunity and, perhaps, obligation to support professionals’ realization of their Smartphone’s full potential. Perhaps, the technology teams within professional services firms, alongside the firm’s marketing leadership, should require more app adoption support and training from Smartphone device and service providers? We would like to hear from you about how you and your firm are getting the most business development benefit out of these high-potential technologies.
Government Stimulus Effect on Professional Services Firms
Earlier this summer, Jeff Anderson, Huron Consulting, Patricia Pryor, Cherry Bekaert & Holland and Jeremy Silverman, McKenna Long & Aldridge - three experts in serving government organizations and dealing with government contractors spent time with a sub-set of professionals involved with The Rainmaker Council to discuss how professional services firms can potentially tap stimulus spending and work with government entities. The following key points emerged from the meeting:
• Being a government contractor means being in a unique industry. If you participate in the government sector seriously, you need to rethink of your services – you’re no longer an “IT Services consultant” or a “financial services consultant,” for instance, but rather you’re a government contractor.
• Taking the step to participate as a government contractor is an expensive one due to the lead time to win projects and also because of the compliance requirements involved. Firms that that do business with the federal government are subject to a variety of rules and regulations. Most notable among them, perhaps, is the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) - codified at Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations - containing the uniform policies and procedures for acquisitions by the U.S. Government. Although many agencies supplement the FAR with their own requirements, the FAR represents an effort by Congress to create a uniform framework for contracting with agencies of the Executive Branch. Enforcement of these regulations has been highlighted and scrutinized recently due to negative incidents with U.S. contractors in Iraq such as KBR and Blackwater.
• The reason firms commit to government contracting is the large volume, long term annuity projects which can result. While government contracts can be terminated for convenience by the government at any time, 95% never are. The barriers to enter the government market are significant. As a result, firms with significant revenue from government contracts can command a valuation premium in an acquisition.
• You can’t just “run in and get your feet wet” in this arena – you need to demonstrate your firm’s long term commitment to it. Patience matters and you need to demonstrate to the bureaucrats that you and your firm have got it. Bureaucrats want to work with “government contract warriors who have deep experience” helping in their specific field.
• If a government project may pay over $100,000 to a service provider a bidding process is required. You can learn about government RFPs on www.fedbizopps.gov but by the time the information is available, you’re too late to get on the front end and shape the opportunity.
• To get in the door with a government agency the first time, some providers will offer to do a sampling of work or an entire project at no fee. Like with other areas of professoinal services business development, it is important to demonstrate your capabilities before an RFP process even begins. Offering training / educational opportunities.for a government entity is one good way to do this. Another is to offer what Ernst & Young calls “Accelerated Solution Events” which were essentially free consulting sessions.
• Responding to RFP’s or RFQ’s is not enough. Very specific expertise matters. The Government wants to work with providers who have experience doing the same type of work for government entities in the past.
• At the same time, to win you need more than “quals,” you need connections. When it comes to building relationships with government officials, however, you need to respect the “arms-length” requirements once a bid is underway and follow the rules to avoid compromising your government contractor status. You can’t, for instance, buy lunch for a government worker in an agency you’re wooing unless the lunch is under $25 and even then many government employees maintain a zero dollar tolerance policy.
• Small firms have a unique opportunity to compete as government contractors because of disadvantaged business set-asides. By definition, a Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) or,sometimes, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) is a small business that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. SDB status makes a company eligible for bidding and contracting benefit programs involved with federal procurement.
• Disadvantaged businesses often succeed by being highly expert in a portion of government contract work that is complementary to the work done by the “big” contractors. These firms often team up with larger government contractors to offer full service solutions and provide the larger firm with the bidding advantage of adding diversity and unique expertise to their bidding team’s qualifications.
• Procurement advocacy through lobbyists or your own team members can help you gain advantage ahead of the RFP. When using Lobbyists, keep in mind there are two types: “access” (people who are primarily just connectors to the key government officials) and “substance” (strategic influencers who deeply understand the issues) ones. Know when and how to use them and be careful playing any political cards.
• If you lose a bid, you can get debrief intelligence including disclosure of the winning bid information in detail. This can be helpful information for your next approach.
• Protesting of an RFP loss is an option, although, before doing so make sure you have a very good reason because even if you overturn the decision and win the work it may be the last opportunity you get to work with that organization. Bureaucrats have long memories and don’t appreciate the hassle and embarrassment of being second guessed.
• The Stimulus package doesn’t mean much more than regular givernment spending with a twist. It will most likey take 12+ months before any “stimulus” spending is granted. Stimulus = Procurement
• At the same time, there will be significant opportunity for government work as a result of the increased budget allocations for healthcare, environment/energy and infrastructure projects. Also, there are opportunities to support the government in areas where it has now become part or full owner of key business assets such as in the automotive and financial services sectors.
• An example of how the government is hiring a variety of professional services firms to help with bailout situations is the FDIC Receivership Assistance Contractor program. The scope of work under Receivership Assistance Contracts (RACs), which have been awarded to the contractors encompasses the full range of financial institution closing support functions, including: Facilities, Asset Management, Claims, Investigations, Settlement, Employee Benefit Plans, Financial Closing Process, Personnel Administration, Franchise Marketing, Branch Marketing, and Trust.
• Beyond a professional services firm being a government contractor itself, there are opportunities for professional service providers to prepare clients to work with the government by helping them achieve transparency and have reporting, disclosure and compliance processes in place.
Conclusion:
With increased influence and money to spend, the US Government is an attractive business prospect for many professional services firms and their clients. Working with the government takes massive commitment and patience but it could offer lucrative pay off both in short and long term, especially with the right exit strategy in place.
• Being a government contractor means being in a unique industry. If you participate in the government sector seriously, you need to rethink of your services – you’re no longer an “IT Services consultant” or a “financial services consultant,” for instance, but rather you’re a government contractor.
• Taking the step to participate as a government contractor is an expensive one due to the lead time to win projects and also because of the compliance requirements involved. Firms that that do business with the federal government are subject to a variety of rules and regulations. Most notable among them, perhaps, is the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) - codified at Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations - containing the uniform policies and procedures for acquisitions by the U.S. Government. Although many agencies supplement the FAR with their own requirements, the FAR represents an effort by Congress to create a uniform framework for contracting with agencies of the Executive Branch. Enforcement of these regulations has been highlighted and scrutinized recently due to negative incidents with U.S. contractors in Iraq such as KBR and Blackwater.
• The reason firms commit to government contracting is the large volume, long term annuity projects which can result. While government contracts can be terminated for convenience by the government at any time, 95% never are. The barriers to enter the government market are significant. As a result, firms with significant revenue from government contracts can command a valuation premium in an acquisition.
• You can’t just “run in and get your feet wet” in this arena – you need to demonstrate your firm’s long term commitment to it. Patience matters and you need to demonstrate to the bureaucrats that you and your firm have got it. Bureaucrats want to work with “government contract warriors who have deep experience” helping in their specific field.
• If a government project may pay over $100,000 to a service provider a bidding process is required. You can learn about government RFPs on www.fedbizopps.gov but by the time the information is available, you’re too late to get on the front end and shape the opportunity.
• To get in the door with a government agency the first time, some providers will offer to do a sampling of work or an entire project at no fee. Like with other areas of professoinal services business development, it is important to demonstrate your capabilities before an RFP process even begins. Offering training / educational opportunities.for a government entity is one good way to do this. Another is to offer what Ernst & Young calls “Accelerated Solution Events” which were essentially free consulting sessions.
• Responding to RFP’s or RFQ’s is not enough. Very specific expertise matters. The Government wants to work with providers who have experience doing the same type of work for government entities in the past.
• At the same time, to win you need more than “quals,” you need connections. When it comes to building relationships with government officials, however, you need to respect the “arms-length” requirements once a bid is underway and follow the rules to avoid compromising your government contractor status. You can’t, for instance, buy lunch for a government worker in an agency you’re wooing unless the lunch is under $25 and even then many government employees maintain a zero dollar tolerance policy.
• Small firms have a unique opportunity to compete as government contractors because of disadvantaged business set-asides. By definition, a Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) or,sometimes, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) is a small business that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. SDB status makes a company eligible for bidding and contracting benefit programs involved with federal procurement.
• Disadvantaged businesses often succeed by being highly expert in a portion of government contract work that is complementary to the work done by the “big” contractors. These firms often team up with larger government contractors to offer full service solutions and provide the larger firm with the bidding advantage of adding diversity and unique expertise to their bidding team’s qualifications.
• Procurement advocacy through lobbyists or your own team members can help you gain advantage ahead of the RFP. When using Lobbyists, keep in mind there are two types: “access” (people who are primarily just connectors to the key government officials) and “substance” (strategic influencers who deeply understand the issues) ones. Know when and how to use them and be careful playing any political cards.
• If you lose a bid, you can get debrief intelligence including disclosure of the winning bid information in detail. This can be helpful information for your next approach.
• Protesting of an RFP loss is an option, although, before doing so make sure you have a very good reason because even if you overturn the decision and win the work it may be the last opportunity you get to work with that organization. Bureaucrats have long memories and don’t appreciate the hassle and embarrassment of being second guessed.
• The Stimulus package doesn’t mean much more than regular givernment spending with a twist. It will most likey take 12+ months before any “stimulus” spending is granted. Stimulus = Procurement
• At the same time, there will be significant opportunity for government work as a result of the increased budget allocations for healthcare, environment/energy and infrastructure projects. Also, there are opportunities to support the government in areas where it has now become part or full owner of key business assets such as in the automotive and financial services sectors.
• An example of how the government is hiring a variety of professional services firms to help with bailout situations is the FDIC Receivership Assistance Contractor program. The scope of work under Receivership Assistance Contracts (RACs), which have been awarded to the contractors encompasses the full range of financial institution closing support functions, including: Facilities, Asset Management, Claims, Investigations, Settlement, Employee Benefit Plans, Financial Closing Process, Personnel Administration, Franchise Marketing, Branch Marketing, and Trust.
• Beyond a professional services firm being a government contractor itself, there are opportunities for professional service providers to prepare clients to work with the government by helping them achieve transparency and have reporting, disclosure and compliance processes in place.
Conclusion:
With increased influence and money to spend, the US Government is an attractive business prospect for many professional services firms and their clients. Working with the government takes massive commitment and patience but it could offer lucrative pay off both in short and long term, especially with the right exit strategy in place.
Professional Services Firms: The Honey Bees of Commerce
How Organizations Can Access & Benefit from Professional Services Firms' Extensive Influence in Today’s Economy
By Randy Hain, Managing Partner of Bell Oaks Executive Search
and Brandon Smith, Founding Principal of Core Growth Partners
An “all hands on deck” call has been made. It is clear that the survival of many companies, and industries for that matter, is going to require collaboration with innovative, deeply influential partners. The corporate C-suite needs to understand what resources they have and may need in the short and long term to avoid knee-jerk reactions that may cause more harm than good. No where has this call been heard loudest than perhaps among professional service firms.
As respective partners with two different professional service firms, our client experiences have been similar in many ways with regards to this new economy. We hope this piece will inspire further discussion on how organizations of any size can—and should—take advantage of the influence and cross-pollination offered by this sector of business.
Professional service firms—or knowledge-intensive firms—are an interesting study. Their main business is the delivery of specialized, expert services, and they differentiate by depth of knowledge and innovation in their particular fields. They span industries and functions from marketing to accounting, IT to people development, legal to recruiting, and on. They have an increasingly important impact on our economy and culture that is often disproportionate to their comparative sizes. And while varied, most traditional professional service firms serve the same critical role: help companies optimize their performance.
One can argue that professional service firms have largely delivered on that objective in recent decades. This success rests primarily on the professional service firm’s ability to influence others. In the past, successful firms effectively used this influence to help clients stay on the cutting edge of industry trends, manage complexity and maximize their ability to positively impact shareholder value.
Today, the need for influence is even greater, and the responsibility that accompanies it is larger in scale and scope. Professional service firms need to not only help client organizations prosper by maximizing their internal workings, but also improve their abilities to positively impact the community, industry and economy in which they operate. It is a mindset shift from maximizing shareholder value to maximizing stakeholder value. Stakeholders include all of us: investors, customers, colleagues, coworkers, families and friends. Professional service firms must make this shift through a focus on innovation, collaboration and relationships for the benefit of their clients and themselves.
Influence through Innovation and New Ideas
Naturally, professional service firms need to stay current on trends and technology while still maintaining an eye on the future. Ideally, this puts them in a state of near constant innovation. These firms are the equivalent of honey bees in the garden of commerce. Through networking, researching, continuous learning and adaptation, they are able to glean new ideas that they and their clients need to be effective. Successful professional service firms utilize their influence to gain acceptance of new thinking within their client companies and pollinate their existing business models with new ideas, thus facilitating innovation.
This constant sharing of new thoughts and ideas adds tremendous value to organizations. Historically, this was considered more of a value-add than a responsibility. But today’s business environment requires something different. Professional service firms need to intentionally pollinate as many business models and industries as possible to further the health and growth of our collective garden.
What this looks like today is the deliberate practice of sharing success stories and best practices between organizations. For example, we’ve been hearing that many consumer packaged goods organizations (particularly basic goods) are seeing revenues increases—but they don’t know why. These companies range from packaging companies that box the goods down to the convenience stores that sell these basic items on their shelves. They are all experiencing somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 percent increases in revenue and are mystified as to the reason. This is where professional service firms should collaborate and discuss this trend with others and identify the “why” so they can help other organizations implement the “hows” for the benefit of the larger economy.
Influence through Connections and Collaboration
Andrew Sobel, co-author of Clients for Life, wrote in an article titled “Who Advises the CEO?”: Today, a whole new cast of top management advisors has emerged. Many professionals, for example—management consultants, investment bankers, lawyers, publicists, university professors, executive coaches, and even pollsters—now style themselves as “counselors to management.”… At the root of this enormous advice industry is a simple fact: the job of leading and managing a complex organization really is harder than ever. The half-life of information is getting shorter and shorter, and the strategic choices available to a CEO have multiplied.
Professional service firms are at the heart of this collaborative process to advise senior business leaders. We live in a world that is increasing in its complexity and its degree of ambiguity. Consider the possibility that today is the most complex day in the history of human kind … and tomorrow will surpass today. This is both frightening and exhilarating.
Professional service firms are accountable to helping organizations make sense of this complexity and direct them to others who can help them weather the storm. It has been our experience that the most connected people tend to work in these advisory roles. They are continually meeting new prospects, getting introduced to other professionals, attending networking events and expanding relationships within their existing client base.
The best firms stand out by utilizing their influence and contacts to make useful connections for their clients that add value and contribute to highly-effective collaboration. Clients should come to expect these connections to assist with their personal and professional development and provide needed services for their companies that not only lie outside the firm’s core expertise but that introduce other thought partners as well.
Influence through Enhanced Relationships
Historically, many professional service firms assume a “vendor” or “transactional” relationship posture. “Tell me what you want and I’ll deliver that service.” Given their unique perspective in the world of commerce, these firms are called upon to elevate relationships with clients through cooperative problem solving and a comprehensive perspective of the industry and business at large. After all, referencing the honey bee analogy, clients know their patch of flowers, we know the entire garden.
How do professional service firms create this new level of client relationship, and what should clients look for? Carl Rogers, famous psychologist and one of the founding fathers of relationship-based counseling, offers three critical elements:
1. Accurate Empathy – We must get curious about what it is like to walk in our clients’ shoes. This entails asking precise questions to get clear … and help our clients get clear on what they are struggling with and needing.
2. Congruence – In our conversations with others, all of us, but particularly those in advisory capacities, need to elevate the quality of our conversations and more intentionally practice a level of gut-check honesty. It is our obligation as friends, colleagues and professionals to share not only the good news, but our worries and concerns, even if the result is lost business because it’s not what the other party wants to hear.
3. Unconditional Positive Regard – We need to care about our clients. They are people just like us who are struggling to do what needs doing.
To conclude, professional service firms have significant impact on our economy and the local community. But these firms need to continue evolving and transforming mindsets from a desire to maximize shareholder value to maximizing stakeholder value. For corporate executives, the question to ask is simple: “Do I currently engage with professional service firms that add significant value, act as collaborative partners, provide innovative ideas and put my interests above their own?” For professional service firms there is also only one question: “Am I a trusted advisor to my clients who uses influence to add value to the relationship and the greater community or am I acting like a transactional vendor?”
In our own careers, we have worked diligently to earn the right to offer the influence we have described. The value-added relationships we have forged with clients have provided the catalyst for active engagement in positively impacting their companies, employees and the greater community. It can be challenging in these difficult economic times to look beyond the monetary gains in a relationship, but our years of experience have revealed that we are in a marathon, not a sprint. Investing in collaborative relationships, providing new ideas and being good stewards is the right long-term formula for how professional service firms should do business.
We all have an opportunity to use our influence today. How will you wield yours?
About the Authors
Randy Hain is Managing Partner and Shareholder of Bell Oaks (www.belloaks.com), a nationally-recognized executive search firm. He has an established track record of leading successful searches and building teams in diverse industries and functional specializations ranging from individual contributors to C-level leadership. He has played the lead role in hiring, training and developing of one of the most successful search consultant teams in the business, and has earned a reputation as a values-based leader who invests heavily in his colleagues, candidates and clients. He may be reached at rhain@belloaks.com.
Brandon Smith is Founding Principal of Core Growth Partners (www.coregrowthpartners.com), a consulting firm specializing in leadership development and strategic culture building, as well as a Senior Lecturer in the Practice of Management Communication at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. With extensive experience in both executive development and corporate growth, he has worked with clients representing the following notable firms: Chick-fil-A, The Coca-Cola Company, Alston + Bird, McKinsey & Co., The Home Depot, Procter & Gamble, IBM and Bank of America. He may be reached at brandon@coregrowthpartners.com.
By Randy Hain, Managing Partner of Bell Oaks Executive Search
and Brandon Smith, Founding Principal of Core Growth Partners
An “all hands on deck” call has been made. It is clear that the survival of many companies, and industries for that matter, is going to require collaboration with innovative, deeply influential partners. The corporate C-suite needs to understand what resources they have and may need in the short and long term to avoid knee-jerk reactions that may cause more harm than good. No where has this call been heard loudest than perhaps among professional service firms.
As respective partners with two different professional service firms, our client experiences have been similar in many ways with regards to this new economy. We hope this piece will inspire further discussion on how organizations of any size can—and should—take advantage of the influence and cross-pollination offered by this sector of business.
Professional service firms—or knowledge-intensive firms—are an interesting study. Their main business is the delivery of specialized, expert services, and they differentiate by depth of knowledge and innovation in their particular fields. They span industries and functions from marketing to accounting, IT to people development, legal to recruiting, and on. They have an increasingly important impact on our economy and culture that is often disproportionate to their comparative sizes. And while varied, most traditional professional service firms serve the same critical role: help companies optimize their performance.
One can argue that professional service firms have largely delivered on that objective in recent decades. This success rests primarily on the professional service firm’s ability to influence others. In the past, successful firms effectively used this influence to help clients stay on the cutting edge of industry trends, manage complexity and maximize their ability to positively impact shareholder value.
Today, the need for influence is even greater, and the responsibility that accompanies it is larger in scale and scope. Professional service firms need to not only help client organizations prosper by maximizing their internal workings, but also improve their abilities to positively impact the community, industry and economy in which they operate. It is a mindset shift from maximizing shareholder value to maximizing stakeholder value. Stakeholders include all of us: investors, customers, colleagues, coworkers, families and friends. Professional service firms must make this shift through a focus on innovation, collaboration and relationships for the benefit of their clients and themselves.
Influence through Innovation and New Ideas
Naturally, professional service firms need to stay current on trends and technology while still maintaining an eye on the future. Ideally, this puts them in a state of near constant innovation. These firms are the equivalent of honey bees in the garden of commerce. Through networking, researching, continuous learning and adaptation, they are able to glean new ideas that they and their clients need to be effective. Successful professional service firms utilize their influence to gain acceptance of new thinking within their client companies and pollinate their existing business models with new ideas, thus facilitating innovation.
This constant sharing of new thoughts and ideas adds tremendous value to organizations. Historically, this was considered more of a value-add than a responsibility. But today’s business environment requires something different. Professional service firms need to intentionally pollinate as many business models and industries as possible to further the health and growth of our collective garden.
What this looks like today is the deliberate practice of sharing success stories and best practices between organizations. For example, we’ve been hearing that many consumer packaged goods organizations (particularly basic goods) are seeing revenues increases—but they don’t know why. These companies range from packaging companies that box the goods down to the convenience stores that sell these basic items on their shelves. They are all experiencing somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 percent increases in revenue and are mystified as to the reason. This is where professional service firms should collaborate and discuss this trend with others and identify the “why” so they can help other organizations implement the “hows” for the benefit of the larger economy.
Influence through Connections and Collaboration
Andrew Sobel, co-author of Clients for Life, wrote in an article titled “Who Advises the CEO?”: Today, a whole new cast of top management advisors has emerged. Many professionals, for example—management consultants, investment bankers, lawyers, publicists, university professors, executive coaches, and even pollsters—now style themselves as “counselors to management.”… At the root of this enormous advice industry is a simple fact: the job of leading and managing a complex organization really is harder than ever. The half-life of information is getting shorter and shorter, and the strategic choices available to a CEO have multiplied.
Professional service firms are at the heart of this collaborative process to advise senior business leaders. We live in a world that is increasing in its complexity and its degree of ambiguity. Consider the possibility that today is the most complex day in the history of human kind … and tomorrow will surpass today. This is both frightening and exhilarating.
Professional service firms are accountable to helping organizations make sense of this complexity and direct them to others who can help them weather the storm. It has been our experience that the most connected people tend to work in these advisory roles. They are continually meeting new prospects, getting introduced to other professionals, attending networking events and expanding relationships within their existing client base.
The best firms stand out by utilizing their influence and contacts to make useful connections for their clients that add value and contribute to highly-effective collaboration. Clients should come to expect these connections to assist with their personal and professional development and provide needed services for their companies that not only lie outside the firm’s core expertise but that introduce other thought partners as well.
Influence through Enhanced Relationships
Historically, many professional service firms assume a “vendor” or “transactional” relationship posture. “Tell me what you want and I’ll deliver that service.” Given their unique perspective in the world of commerce, these firms are called upon to elevate relationships with clients through cooperative problem solving and a comprehensive perspective of the industry and business at large. After all, referencing the honey bee analogy, clients know their patch of flowers, we know the entire garden.
How do professional service firms create this new level of client relationship, and what should clients look for? Carl Rogers, famous psychologist and one of the founding fathers of relationship-based counseling, offers three critical elements:
1. Accurate Empathy – We must get curious about what it is like to walk in our clients’ shoes. This entails asking precise questions to get clear … and help our clients get clear on what they are struggling with and needing.
2. Congruence – In our conversations with others, all of us, but particularly those in advisory capacities, need to elevate the quality of our conversations and more intentionally practice a level of gut-check honesty. It is our obligation as friends, colleagues and professionals to share not only the good news, but our worries and concerns, even if the result is lost business because it’s not what the other party wants to hear.
3. Unconditional Positive Regard – We need to care about our clients. They are people just like us who are struggling to do what needs doing.
To conclude, professional service firms have significant impact on our economy and the local community. But these firms need to continue evolving and transforming mindsets from a desire to maximize shareholder value to maximizing stakeholder value. For corporate executives, the question to ask is simple: “Do I currently engage with professional service firms that add significant value, act as collaborative partners, provide innovative ideas and put my interests above their own?” For professional service firms there is also only one question: “Am I a trusted advisor to my clients who uses influence to add value to the relationship and the greater community or am I acting like a transactional vendor?”
In our own careers, we have worked diligently to earn the right to offer the influence we have described. The value-added relationships we have forged with clients have provided the catalyst for active engagement in positively impacting their companies, employees and the greater community. It can be challenging in these difficult economic times to look beyond the monetary gains in a relationship, but our years of experience have revealed that we are in a marathon, not a sprint. Investing in collaborative relationships, providing new ideas and being good stewards is the right long-term formula for how professional service firms should do business.
We all have an opportunity to use our influence today. How will you wield yours?
About the Authors
Randy Hain is Managing Partner and Shareholder of Bell Oaks (www.belloaks.com), a nationally-recognized executive search firm. He has an established track record of leading successful searches and building teams in diverse industries and functional specializations ranging from individual contributors to C-level leadership. He has played the lead role in hiring, training and developing of one of the most successful search consultant teams in the business, and has earned a reputation as a values-based leader who invests heavily in his colleagues, candidates and clients. He may be reached at rhain@belloaks.com.
Brandon Smith is Founding Principal of Core Growth Partners (www.coregrowthpartners.com), a consulting firm specializing in leadership development and strategic culture building, as well as a Senior Lecturer in the Practice of Management Communication at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. With extensive experience in both executive development and corporate growth, he has worked with clients representing the following notable firms: Chick-fil-A, The Coca-Cola Company, Alston + Bird, McKinsey & Co., The Home Depot, Procter & Gamble, IBM and Bank of America. He may be reached at brandon@coregrowthpartners.com.
Creative Growth Strategies by Pamela Adams | Constant Contact
Email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools available today for professional services firms to stay in front of clients and prospects. When you add email to your marketing mix, you spend less time, money, and resources than with traditional marketing channels like direct mail or print advertising. In this article, we'll take a look at email marketing-where to start and how to make it work for you and your Firm - with a specific focus on list segmentation.
Where email marketing rises above other marketing methods is the user’s ability to deliver messages to a targeted, segmented, permission-based list of recipients. The relevance of the message to the recipient is key; email marketing allows for targeted communication to a pre-qualified, interested audience.
Using email marketing, in a few short steps, you can:
Send great-looking, professional email newsletters, and announcements
Build and manage your email addresses
Communicate consistently with your customers and prospects
Track which customers are opening your emails and what links they are clicking on
Where Should You Start?
No matter your type of business — launching an active dialogue with your customers takes just a few simple steps:
Build a list of people interested in hearing from you
Collect email addresses and request permission to send emails at every point of contact with your current and prospective customers and clients. This works in both your online and offline interactions. For example, you can add a “Join My Email List” sign-up box on your website, display a sign-up book in your store or office, and ask people you meet, such as when exchanging business cards, if they would like to join your email list.
Decide what you want to communicate
Compelling content will engage your readers and make them more likely to keep reading. Therefore, make your email campaigns useful, relevant, and interesting. It’s important to send personalized communications that address your audiences’ concerns and needs without being overly sales-oriented. This will position you as a source of valuable information, and even as an expert. You know your audience and what’s important to them – include plenty of relevant images or share an upcoming events calendar for “goings on” at your business.
Determine when you want to communicate
Developing a regular schedule will familiarize customers with the frequency of your email newsletter. Evaluate your business calendar to make sure you’re including timely information and strategizing the best time to communicate. Consistent and scheduled communication can strengthen the relationship you are trying to build.
By looking at your calendar and paying attention to the feedback and reactions from your customers, you can map out what information you want to communicate and determine the best timing. Planning your content and focus ahead of time will make it much easier for you to develop your campaign and stay on schedule.
By implementing the simple steps above, you can rest assured that your important emails are being read by your desired audience. Applying these tactics can help increase sales and provide you with the full benefits of a successful email marketing campaign.
Segment Your Customers
Not all customers are alike — what appeals to one may not interest another. Therefore, it is important that you connect your customers’ different interests to the marketing messages that you are sending. Segmenting your list of clients or targets based on their interests is an efficient way to stay out of the junk box.
By using segmentation, customers are notified only about new services, specials, and offers based on past buying patterns and what they’ve clicked on in previous newsletters. Every small business can segment its customer base at some level. Creating different email messages for different groups is a bit more work on your part, but it’s worth the extra effort when a message hits your customer’s sweet spot. Your general newsletters may appeal to most customers, but mailings that reach out to your audience segments can build even deeper relationships and drive more sales.
The tips and examples below demonstrate how to start targeting, or segmenting, your email marketing lists:
1) Start with the first touchpoint: The best time to collect information for segmenting purposes is when your prospect or customer initially joins your email list. You can easily create segmented lists by offering options with checkboxes on your sign-up form, both on your website and as part of a sign-up sheet at your business.
2) Ask for personal information: Ask for information, such as location and personal preference, to determine what's relevant to the person signing up. For example, an HR consultant might ask whether someone prefers to stay abreast of all HR-related news or simply wants news specific to their industry. That way, the consultant can create two separate lists and send HR industry news to one list and industry-specific news the other list.
3) Use online surveys: In your email newsletters, include a link to a short survey and ask for non-critical information that helps you add your customers to the appropriate segmented lists. Once you have the survey results, you can create new lists or add to existing ones based on how respondents answered questions. For example, “Are you interested in hearing about relevant industry events ands conferences?”
4) Use tracking reports: If you are using a professional email service that provides tracking reports, let the links that people click on help you understand them better. For example, take a look at the last three campaigns you sent that included links for a new business development strategy—if customers consistently click on the link; add them to your “growth strategies” distribution list.
5) Segment your list: Apply what you have learned about your clients in steps 1 through 4 and segment your email lists into groups based on whatever factors make sense for your business – it may be sales history, interests, gender, or age, for example. This enables you to target your specific messages to the group of people who will be most interested.
Overall, remember that there is a real person at the other end of each email address. Every time you create an email, ask yourself whether your email content is addressing the specific needs of your audience or whether you’re addressing only the needs of your business.
Pamela Adams is a Regional Development Director, GA for Constant Contact. She can be reached at padams@constantcontact.com
Where email marketing rises above other marketing methods is the user’s ability to deliver messages to a targeted, segmented, permission-based list of recipients. The relevance of the message to the recipient is key; email marketing allows for targeted communication to a pre-qualified, interested audience.
Using email marketing, in a few short steps, you can:
Send great-looking, professional email newsletters, and announcements
Build and manage your email addresses
Communicate consistently with your customers and prospects
Track which customers are opening your emails and what links they are clicking on
Where Should You Start?
No matter your type of business — launching an active dialogue with your customers takes just a few simple steps:
Build a list of people interested in hearing from you
Collect email addresses and request permission to send emails at every point of contact with your current and prospective customers and clients. This works in both your online and offline interactions. For example, you can add a “Join My Email List” sign-up box on your website, display a sign-up book in your store or office, and ask people you meet, such as when exchanging business cards, if they would like to join your email list.
Decide what you want to communicate
Compelling content will engage your readers and make them more likely to keep reading. Therefore, make your email campaigns useful, relevant, and interesting. It’s important to send personalized communications that address your audiences’ concerns and needs without being overly sales-oriented. This will position you as a source of valuable information, and even as an expert. You know your audience and what’s important to them – include plenty of relevant images or share an upcoming events calendar for “goings on” at your business.
Determine when you want to communicate
Developing a regular schedule will familiarize customers with the frequency of your email newsletter. Evaluate your business calendar to make sure you’re including timely information and strategizing the best time to communicate. Consistent and scheduled communication can strengthen the relationship you are trying to build.
By looking at your calendar and paying attention to the feedback and reactions from your customers, you can map out what information you want to communicate and determine the best timing. Planning your content and focus ahead of time will make it much easier for you to develop your campaign and stay on schedule.
By implementing the simple steps above, you can rest assured that your important emails are being read by your desired audience. Applying these tactics can help increase sales and provide you with the full benefits of a successful email marketing campaign.
Segment Your Customers
Not all customers are alike — what appeals to one may not interest another. Therefore, it is important that you connect your customers’ different interests to the marketing messages that you are sending. Segmenting your list of clients or targets based on their interests is an efficient way to stay out of the junk box.
By using segmentation, customers are notified only about new services, specials, and offers based on past buying patterns and what they’ve clicked on in previous newsletters. Every small business can segment its customer base at some level. Creating different email messages for different groups is a bit more work on your part, but it’s worth the extra effort when a message hits your customer’s sweet spot. Your general newsletters may appeal to most customers, but mailings that reach out to your audience segments can build even deeper relationships and drive more sales.
The tips and examples below demonstrate how to start targeting, or segmenting, your email marketing lists:
1) Start with the first touchpoint: The best time to collect information for segmenting purposes is when your prospect or customer initially joins your email list. You can easily create segmented lists by offering options with checkboxes on your sign-up form, both on your website and as part of a sign-up sheet at your business.
2) Ask for personal information: Ask for information, such as location and personal preference, to determine what's relevant to the person signing up. For example, an HR consultant might ask whether someone prefers to stay abreast of all HR-related news or simply wants news specific to their industry. That way, the consultant can create two separate lists and send HR industry news to one list and industry-specific news the other list.
3) Use online surveys: In your email newsletters, include a link to a short survey and ask for non-critical information that helps you add your customers to the appropriate segmented lists. Once you have the survey results, you can create new lists or add to existing ones based on how respondents answered questions. For example, “Are you interested in hearing about relevant industry events ands conferences?”
4) Use tracking reports: If you are using a professional email service that provides tracking reports, let the links that people click on help you understand them better. For example, take a look at the last three campaigns you sent that included links for a new business development strategy—if customers consistently click on the link; add them to your “growth strategies” distribution list.
5) Segment your list: Apply what you have learned about your clients in steps 1 through 4 and segment your email lists into groups based on whatever factors make sense for your business – it may be sales history, interests, gender, or age, for example. This enables you to target your specific messages to the group of people who will be most interested.
Overall, remember that there is a real person at the other end of each email address. Every time you create an email, ask yourself whether your email content is addressing the specific needs of your audience or whether you’re addressing only the needs of your business.
Pamela Adams is a Regional Development Director, GA for Constant Contact. She can be reached at padams@constantcontact.com
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Unleash More Velocity, Volume and Value
Consulting is a barometer of the professional services market overall and it is still struggling. Robert W. Baird & Co. is a financial advisory firm that produces quarterly research reports about the consulting industry. I recently caught a glimpse of Baird’s Q1, 2009 report and I took away these top three findings:
1. Weak and spotty demand: Current and predicted consulting engagement activity was weak across the board excluding restructuring work which was strong. While there’s still mostly the hint of work to come, the government consulting space is becoming more crowded as consultants are repackaging services in anticipation of a spending boom.
2. Competitive pressure is coming from David-sized firms at the expense of Goliath-sized ones: For instance, competition is being seen by laid off personnel attempting to enter the consulting market. And, smaller consulting practices are offering creative installment payment plans for cash strapped clients and lowering fees in an attempt to draw business away from larger competitors. As a result, Bill rates are under continued pressure.
3. Relationships harder to get and keep: Professional services firm buying decisions are increasingly made at the Executive level with declining buying power below that level. Plus, higher-than-normal management turnover at client companies leads to consultants having to “re-sell” their services and capabilities. It’s taking longer for client decisions to be made and for projects to reach completion.
Whether you’re a consultant, lawyer, accountant, or other form of professional services advisor, what can we do to win more business in an environment like this? Accelerate velocity, volume and value related to your client development efforts and service offerings.
1. Velocity: Existing relationships are fastest – Marketing 101 – what else can you do with/for your existing clients? But beyond that, if you and your team haven’t already done so, circle back to those most willing and able to help your practice including family, friends, colleagues from your community involvement, alumni from your firm, former clients, partners in kindred practice groups or offices across your firm. If they already know you, like you, trust you and, maybe even, have tried your services before – your odds of success and speed in getting work or referrals goes up significantly. Have you fully tapped these assets and helped equip them to drive work your way? Velocity also means proving that you can deliver results faster for your clients than any other competitor can – how else can tweak your delivery processes to accelerate project completion?
2. Volume: Volume of outreach matters more than ever. Existing relationships aren’t nearly enough right now – because it takes so much longer for any one opportunity to come to fruition, we need to dramatically increase the volume of outreach – look for leverage in your rainmaking. By leverage, I mean more opportunities for you to meaningfully connect with more than one prospect or referral source at the same time – this can be done through writing, speaking and other thought leadership activities but also through having meetings where you invite key contacts from different non-competing organizations and you’re the facilitator or match-maker. They meet each other and benefit from that but you get a two-for-the-price-of-one type encounter. We all ought to be asking ourselves “how else?” with regard to the internet as leverage – it’s a powerful tool for reaching out more broadly, more quickly through social media, e-mail, etc. Whatever means chosen, get the volume of outreach for yourself and across your office up to record heights – measure it – celebrate it – take it higher.
3. Value: Make ROI measurable, vivid and immediate – Not only do we all need to do a better job of highlighting and communicating the benefits of working with our firms, we need to be bolder than ever in measuring before-after results and finding ways to tighten our processes so the results are delivered with much greater efficiency and in nearly real-time. If you don’t typically measure quantifiable results in your profession, well now’s the time to start. If you already do so, challenge yourself to develop an offering whereby you can deliver the same results (or better) in half the time. Don’t imagine that it can’t be done. Nobody could run a four minute mile either until Roger Bannister did the impossible. Also: Value is a function of benefits delivered over price paid. If you’re going to get squeezed by clients squawking about “value” …and you’re gonna…get something back in return. Seek pricing quid quo pro. Make a concession if, quid pro quo, you get more ALL of the client’s work and push a competitor out. Make a concession if, quid pro quo, the client lets you do work for another division of their business that you’ve not before touched. Offer to work on partial or full contingency if, quid pro quo, the client pays a penalty if they impede your ability to get results for them - or put some other equal risk-sharing mechanism in place.
1. Weak and spotty demand: Current and predicted consulting engagement activity was weak across the board excluding restructuring work which was strong. While there’s still mostly the hint of work to come, the government consulting space is becoming more crowded as consultants are repackaging services in anticipation of a spending boom.
2. Competitive pressure is coming from David-sized firms at the expense of Goliath-sized ones: For instance, competition is being seen by laid off personnel attempting to enter the consulting market. And, smaller consulting practices are offering creative installment payment plans for cash strapped clients and lowering fees in an attempt to draw business away from larger competitors. As a result, Bill rates are under continued pressure.
3. Relationships harder to get and keep: Professional services firm buying decisions are increasingly made at the Executive level with declining buying power below that level. Plus, higher-than-normal management turnover at client companies leads to consultants having to “re-sell” their services and capabilities. It’s taking longer for client decisions to be made and for projects to reach completion.
Whether you’re a consultant, lawyer, accountant, or other form of professional services advisor, what can we do to win more business in an environment like this? Accelerate velocity, volume and value related to your client development efforts and service offerings.
1. Velocity: Existing relationships are fastest – Marketing 101 – what else can you do with/for your existing clients? But beyond that, if you and your team haven’t already done so, circle back to those most willing and able to help your practice including family, friends, colleagues from your community involvement, alumni from your firm, former clients, partners in kindred practice groups or offices across your firm. If they already know you, like you, trust you and, maybe even, have tried your services before – your odds of success and speed in getting work or referrals goes up significantly. Have you fully tapped these assets and helped equip them to drive work your way? Velocity also means proving that you can deliver results faster for your clients than any other competitor can – how else can tweak your delivery processes to accelerate project completion?
2. Volume: Volume of outreach matters more than ever. Existing relationships aren’t nearly enough right now – because it takes so much longer for any one opportunity to come to fruition, we need to dramatically increase the volume of outreach – look for leverage in your rainmaking. By leverage, I mean more opportunities for you to meaningfully connect with more than one prospect or referral source at the same time – this can be done through writing, speaking and other thought leadership activities but also through having meetings where you invite key contacts from different non-competing organizations and you’re the facilitator or match-maker. They meet each other and benefit from that but you get a two-for-the-price-of-one type encounter. We all ought to be asking ourselves “how else?” with regard to the internet as leverage – it’s a powerful tool for reaching out more broadly, more quickly through social media, e-mail, etc. Whatever means chosen, get the volume of outreach for yourself and across your office up to record heights – measure it – celebrate it – take it higher.
3. Value: Make ROI measurable, vivid and immediate – Not only do we all need to do a better job of highlighting and communicating the benefits of working with our firms, we need to be bolder than ever in measuring before-after results and finding ways to tighten our processes so the results are delivered with much greater efficiency and in nearly real-time. If you don’t typically measure quantifiable results in your profession, well now’s the time to start. If you already do so, challenge yourself to develop an offering whereby you can deliver the same results (or better) in half the time. Don’t imagine that it can’t be done. Nobody could run a four minute mile either until Roger Bannister did the impossible. Also: Value is a function of benefits delivered over price paid. If you’re going to get squeezed by clients squawking about “value” …and you’re gonna…get something back in return. Seek pricing quid quo pro. Make a concession if, quid pro quo, you get more ALL of the client’s work and push a competitor out. Make a concession if, quid pro quo, the client lets you do work for another division of their business that you’ve not before touched. Offer to work on partial or full contingency if, quid pro quo, the client pays a penalty if they impede your ability to get results for them - or put some other equal risk-sharing mechanism in place.
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