Build Trust to Win More Deals...

The consultant title tells clients you have been where they are, you have made some mistakes, and you have learned what really works. Clients know that consultants also have the benefit of seeing the mistakes and successes of other companies. This experience and perspective is what clients pay for when they hire a consultant.

When consulting a solutions consultant (sales engineer), the client is looking for the technical person on the sales team to keep the sales rep honest. Sales engineers must overcome clients' naturally defensive posture, and fear that they will be sold something that doesn't really work the way it was positioned. In short, the client must trust you.

One of the key skills that solutions consultants need to constantly work on is competency. However, developing competency takes time. As Stephen Covey teaches in "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", we have to take time to "sharpen the saw". In part, this means consultants must spend time learning more about their subject matter (products, industry, integration, and so on).

Here are four things you can do to keep sharp:

1. Keep up with sales bulletins, solutions briefs, white papers and technical manuals for all of your products. If these resources don't exist, create them! You'll learn more by creating the content, and you will also help your peers.
2. Setup a web dashboard to proactively monitor current events related to your company, field, clients, and competition.
3. Read magazines (trade publications) to gain perspective on trends.
4. Read books related to your field. If you need some inspiration, go browse the aisles of your local book store.

TECHNICAL TIP: Setting up a web-based dashboard that monitors news feeds, and social media, is fast and easy. Some services even allow you to setup alerts. My personal preference is NetVibes, but some other good ones include: HootSuite and TweetDeck.

(For more on how consultants can build trust, watch my video on YouTube)

Copyright © 2013 | Howard Leary

Influencing Change

Peter Block (author of "Flawless Consulting") teaches that, as consultants, our primary objective is to influence our client to "do something differently", and not to do it for them as a surrogate manager. In my experience, that something varies by client, but typically results in a change to a business process, management method, or in the way technology is used in the business.

During discovery, it is tempting to create the return on investment analysis for the client. However, in doing so, we take on the role of a manager. Instead, our focus should be on influencing how to build the model and providing guidance on realistic expectations. Take the time to counsel your clients on which factors to consider, but insist that they create and own the analysis.

When clients begin to rediscover their customers, employees, and processes, there is a palpable difference in their mindset and approach to the business. This awakening helps put the consultant in a better position to influence the actions the client will take to fix the issues.
Copyright © 2013 | Howard Leary

The Importance of Building Trust

The importance of building trust-based relationships is more important now than ever.

Your clients need to know that you understand their challenges. However, they also want you to be proactive about protecting their interests after the consulting engagement. Being proactive and providing alternatives that benefit the client builds trust, repeat buyers and the coveted “word-of-mouth” referral. This is a fundamental truth in any relationship, and it carries over into our consulting lives, as well.

To build trust, you must provide value. One way you can do this is to help your client discover ways to make it easier, friendlier and faster for their customers to do business with them. To be extraordinary, make sure it’s easy to do business with you, as well.

Do something today to start listening to your client's customers. Their frontline retail sales associates, bank tellers, contact center agents, and anyone who participates in the delivery of their products and services are a great place to start. Exploit social media and other feedback loops to tap into this knowledge. However, any market researcher will tell you that the best research is primary research. Get firsthand accounts about what your client's customers want, directly from the customers.

“Most importantly, everyone in the organization should understand how their contributions impact customer satisfaction.”

Everyone in the company should know what their customers want. Dashboards are an effective way to monitor customer satisfaction and to communicate results to the client and their organization. Just like any good information vehicle, keep these dashboards simple and highly visual. Everyone in the organization should be able to instantly tell how well the company is doing in meeting customer expectations.

Help your clients use this information to drive product development, marketing, sales and service to deliver what customers want. Companies who can tap into this knowledge will have an edge on their competition. However, companies who take action on this knowledge and use it to differentiate the customer experience will dominate their marketplace.

Copyright © 2013 | Howard Leary