Organization 101
I've been discussing the importance of the success loop of organization/control/power/success/self-esteem (http://www.contrarianconsulting.com/self-esteem-and-control/). I'd like to focus on what I mean by "organization." Many of you will find this heretical, counterintuitive, and irritating, which is why I'm having so much fun suggesting
Finding and Influencing the Buyer
• Spend time with non-buyers only to get to true buyers. If you are seen as the peer of low level people (e.g., HR) you will never go farther. • Talk in terms of client results not your methodology. • Never cite
Optimism, Please
When I was managing international sales forces for a consulting firm, I had a sign in my office: "No whining." Too often, I'd just point to the sign when one of my visitors demanded bonus pay for breathing regularly or
If You Want To Earn Seven Figures In The Consulting Business
• Be specific about the value you provide, your ideal buyer, and what influences that person. • Speak and write, speak and write, speak and write. • Peer-to-peer referrals are the platinum standard, a commercially-published book the gold standard. • Converse with enthusiasm,
Strut Your Stuff
Early in my career, a veteran consultant, arrogating wisdom, gave me some really bad advice—"Be humble and low key," he said, "don't overwhelm the prospect." Shortly thereafter, the briefly low key Alan was facing a buyer who said, "You don't
How to Impress Prospects Immediately
• Don't insist on a long message on your voice mail. Just say, "Thanks for calling, we'll be back to you promptly, please repeat your number twice when you hear the tone." No one cares where you are, that you
Consulting Buyer Survey Highlights Peer Referrals As Key
Here's a study done by Hinge and provided to me by Peter McLean which, among other things, shows that 91% of buyers of consulting services do so by asking a friend or colleague for a recommendation. It also points out
What You Can Learn From My Wife, The Consultant
A new cupcake shop opened on Main Street in East Greenwich. This is the most affluent city in the state, sometimes called a "country club of a town," and these niche shops are all the rage in many states. My wife
If You’re A Customer, You’ll Just Have To Wait
In the Miami airport, two huge escalators taking people to the trains that roam among miles-apart gates were stopped. There was no one to call, no signs about what to do, no way to restart them. I figured there had
Hundred Dollar Cold Calling
If you walk down the street and find a hundred dollar bill, and you're mentally healthy, you probably think about your good fortune and then spend the money, or save it, or look for the owner, or contribute it to