There comes a time when you need to work with a consultant, or even just a specialist. Whether she's a doctor, a salesperson, or a web designer, I've found that the best approach is to give them constraints.
Often consultants will ask you to tell them about your situation. This is where you'll often want to describe the problems you have that you think they might be able to solve.
On the consultant's side, they're listening to what you're saying, but also playing Choose Your Own Adventure at the same time.
The Consultant is thinking....
If this, then Solution A is an option. If this, but also that, then maybe Solution B will work.
Essentially, a consultant knows which strategic bucket to drop you into based on how you describe your problem to them.
My Advice, and an Example
I've found the best way to have a productive first meeting with a consultant is to determine ahead of time what my constraints are, and make sure to provide that information at the first meeting.
It may be something like:
My budget is endless as long as each lead generated costs less than $25.
Or...
My budget is $10,000 and my expectations are to generate 400 leads.
Other Constraints to Consider Sharing
Why Take this Approach
Consultants are can be great at solving problems in their practice areas. However, without telling them what your constraints are their recommendations are often forced to be too generic.
By now you have noticed that I have redesigned my blog. The old design (Yikes!) is on the right. Click to enlarge the image.
I think the new look achieves the three major goals I had in mind:
1. A more defined break between post content and everything else.
2. An easier to read font -- Helvetica vs. Times
3. More color in strategic ways.
The only drawback I have found with this new design is that each <div> tag needs a title, thus the promo for Google Analytics on the bottom right, which I will probably replace shortly.
As always, your feedback is welcome via e-mail or in the comments.
The most common success factors for a small business are:
Speed - Act quickly. It's simple, but powerful.
You can't win the resource game. But, you can win by making decisions faster, adapting to changing markets quicker, and deploying your resources faster.
Big companies have momentum -- brand, customer base, assets, etc. Use momentum against them as things change.
Smart - Solve business problems with creative solutions.
A neat way to do this, create diverse teams. Another way is to think about problem solving as a skill on its own rather than an added bonus.
If you're customers see you as providing smart solutions, they'll view you as a trusted advisor.
Service - If you're not getting thank you e-mails or fan mail you're not doing a good enough job at service to make it a competitive advantage.
Non-retail related tip: If your employees don't know the answer to a question, teach them to say "I'll look into it and will get back to you in 30 minutes."
Then, teach them to drop everything, and solve the problem.
Wait, what if we can't solve the problem in 30 minutes? No problem. Keep your promise. Get back to the customer with a more informed time frame, and let them know that you'll keep them updated as you know more information.
Promises - Make a promise to each and every customer, and keep it. Keeping promises builds trust.
The idea of promises -- weather it be promotions, warranties or satisfaction guarantees, to name a few -- is powerful, and simple. Leverage it.
The Story
"AirAsia said 31-year-old passenger Liew Siaw Hsia went into labour on Wednesday's flight from the northern island of Penang to Kuching on Borneo island.
The aircraft made an emergency diversion to the Malaysian capital but the baby arrived just before landing, delivered by a doctor who was on board and who was assisted by the airline's flight attendants."
The Outcome
The Mom and her newborn son received a lifetime of Free Flights from AirAsia.
What a great move!
It allowed AirAsia to gain positive press. The story was also picked up by the AP, which also mentioned the lifetime of free flights, albeit less prominently.
The story also got the number one spot on the Yahoo! homepage, which according to this article by Data Center Knowledge can drive upwards of one million pageviews.
The Takeaway
Handle adversity well, and make it a word of mouth opportunity.
I am an entrepreneur and marketer living in Minneapolis, MN.
I own and manage Relevante Marketing. I help small and medium-sized companies leverage the internet to increase their leads, sales and customer loyalty.
I also run a few other small businesses online.
Internet Marketing Systems
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