Part 3: Matching Strengths and Customer Relations
In Part 2, the discussion centered on the need to focus on your talents and strengths. The notion that we should take time to identify our weaknesses and develop strategies to address them via education and training is too slow and cumbersome. Today’s businesses want immediate needs addressed and any thing that you cannot do requires you to find team members who can.
In review, the four “talking points” regarding setting up your consulting business are:
1. Know your strengths (includes your area of expertise);
2. Be prepared to develop and exploit opportunities instead of presenting yourself as a “problem-solver”;
3. Match your strengths to customer needs; and,
4. Manage customer relations with more energy and attention to detail than you think may be reasonable (the customer will tell you when to stop)
This discussion will focus on numbers 3 and 4.
Matching strengths means you need to find out more about your potential customer before you approach them. In other words, do your homework first. You can find out about companies through their website or if they are a publicly–traded company, you can learn more by visiting investing or business sites such as thestreet.com or forbes.com.
Certainly a good place to start is to use your favorite search engine to see what is being said about the company you are investigating and/or the industry they represent. A really good insight would be to explore public discussion areas such as blogs or newsgroups. Another excellent source of information is the local newspapers from the town where the headquarters are located. You can also learn inside information from the local chamber of commerce or the Better Business Bureau.
Remember: business is about the consumer. Your critical step is to learn what the consumer is expecting from the business you want to help. The opportunity is in the future; trying to understand what went wrong in the past is difficult (see comments about problem-solvers versus opportunity exploiters in previous discussions). Use the company’s past mistakes to your future advantage. The best place to learn about mistakes is from the consumer of the product.
Matching your strengths with a business need may take weeks or months to prepare. Don’t fall prey to developing quick fixes, as companies will see through that kind of tactic. Plus, you’ll find that companies will pay more if you are delivering a customer-focused solution.
Finally, number 4 from above. This strategy cannot be said enough times: under-promise and over-deliver. Bring more to the table than your customer expects and respond immediately to their requests. You may not get your answers as fast but never leave open the thought that you are non-responsive. Always leave the customer relationship with the idea that you did everything and establish the perception that you went beyond the 100 percent effort.
In sports the thought is that you can’t always win the game or the match but you should never leave the playing field with the idea that you could have won if you tried harder. As athletes state, “they leave it all on the field.” This is the same approach you need with your customers. You can’t always win but when you are engaged, you never leave without exhausting every piece of energy or thoughts.
Your dedication and energy to the task will not go unnoticed. Plus you’ll get outstanding recommendations for your next project.
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