While teaching Sage Consulting Academy last week, I had what my mentor would call a BFO – blinding flash of the obvious – a sale is never really lost to “No decision.”
First, “No” is a decision and therefore, by definition is a …
Second, while a prospect may not select either you or a competitor, the prospect’s money is going to be spent on something. This could either be continuing to pay another third party to manually do what your system does, or they might simply be buying a new boat for themselves instead.
In either case the message to you (and your competitors for that matter) – You have done a lousy job communicating and convincing the customer that you and your potential solution create value for their organization.
Think about it, if you were the CEO of a small company and had the choice between a new ERP system and a boat, which would you choose? This is yet another reason why your value proposition must be a strong one.
The next time you think you have lost to “No decision",” I suggest you pause and reflect rather than just caulk it up to a confused potential buyer.
Those of you who follow this blog regularly will no doubt recall that I am an ardent adherent of Peter Block and his works. If you are also, I have some terrific news.
Peter has recently published a new (third) edition of his seminal work Flawless Consulting. I am thrilled to add it to my bookshelf next to the first and second editions. They are both terrific!
I am looking forward to reading and comparing this new edition to the first. It is fascinating to see how his thinking has evolved over the past three decades.
In addition, Peter has posted a video explaining the term – flawless consulting.
VeraSage Founder, Ron Baker has often used Snow White and Seven Dwarfs to illustrate the problem of applying efficiency to knowledge work.
“A LEAN six sigma guru would have advised Walt Disney to make Snow White and the Three Dwarfs as it would have improved efficiency by over 50 percent,” he intones.
Recently I was reminded of a scene from the Academy Award winning film Amadeus where the Holy Roman Emperor Jozef Franz (or was it Franz Jozef) criticizes Mozart’s opera for having, “Too many notes.”
Unfortunately, the clip cuts off before Mozart’s brilliant response, “Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?”
Knowledge work cannot be LEAN six sigma-ed. Once again, effectiveness trumps efficiency!
I have always thought of paid search (and even SEO) as a mistake in the consulting profession because it tends to lead to poor customer acquistion. In other words, it produces more D and F customers than A or B customers.
By their very nature web search prospects are in the gather information step in the buying process. They tend to be tire kickers who are generally looking at buying more on (pun intended) low price rather than a long-term relationship.
I think social media has the potential to change this because it turns search on it head. Instead of looking for people who already have their hand in the air (an intercept lead), social media allows the providers to look for people who have unrecognized need.
In my opinion, it is a much better place to spending marketing dollars.
In December, I created Ed’s List - a a list of IT (information technology) whom I consider to be true professional knowledge firms. Today, I am pleased to add another name to the List – Plus Computer Solutions in Burnaby, BC, Canada. As of January 1, 2012, they are no longer keeping timesheets! Said Wendy [...]
In July, I wrote a post for this blog decrying the use of the phrase “on premise” to describe traditional software that is deployed at the customer’s location. I posited that this should rightly be referred to as “on premises” with the final s in tact. Late yesterday, there is news of a victory of [...]
I am pleased to present the second (of what I hope will be many) interviews with professionals who are on Ed’s List. Once again, these are firms that offer only fixed price agreements, have eliminated timesheets for all professionals, and offer a service guarantee. This interview is with Peter Wolf of Azamba Consulting whose purpose [...]
Last month, Ron Baker and I delivered a Firm of the Future Symposium to 40 members of the THRIVEal+CPA Network. On the evening of Day One, Ron and I were honored to be guests on the first-ever live THRIVEcast. Enjoy! ET HORA LIBELLUM DELENDA EST!
First, “No” is a decision and therefore, by definition is a …
So today, I have heard or read the phrase "value billing" about a dozen times and I decided to write a rant post about it, only to discover that
