The Weekly Brief
Memos written for consultants Aug 2014 - June 2024.
The secret of the puppy dog sale
I know. The headline reads more Enid Blyton than sales story. Perhaps more on writing headlines next week ... until then ... Once upon a time, before laser printers were popular, office documents were printed on very noisy daisy wheel printers. Ridiculously noisy, so much so that the most popular add-on purchase
Going against gravity
It's hard to do, but escaping the gravitational pull of delivery work is important if you're going to fit in sales activity. Here are three ways get motivated: 1. Quarterly. Imagine looking back at the end of the quarter, what has to happen for you to
Are you interesting, or interested?
As a consultant you've probably felt the pressure to impress clients. Here are some of the patterns I see consultants fall into when they bow to that pressure: 1. Pitching the process. We want prospects to value how we get the work done ... no matter what the issue
The power of simple listening
Earlier this week I was given a 'damn good listening to'. There was something big playing on my mind and I wanted to work it out. I bumbled and rambled for around 90-minutes. My listener offered me time and space to think things through. Perhaps 3 or 4
Are you doing value-subtraction?
Last week someone hijacked my weekly nugget of wisdom. They turned the concept I wrote about into a full length blog post on their site. Unfortunately they hid my nugget inside a boulder of padding and promotion. They did what I call value-subtraction. Padding is just one example of value-subtraction.
How many £20/hour tasks are you doing?
You know what I’m talking about, those jobs where you find yourself thinking “why am I doing this” ... but then you do it anyway. But, it's low reward work. The time spent on these jobs is time you could invest in business development. Look at it this
Can this executive buy?
Some executives have the power to make decisions. Others evaluate and make recommendations for their boss to consider. These recommenders can say no, but they can't say yes. That being so. Who do you want to spend your time with?
It's worth paying attention to attention
Pay attention while you listen. Framing, paraphrasing, analysing, summarising. Those all come later. Attention first. Pay attention while you speak. Notice your tone, pace, volume ... and how these affect others listening to you. Pay attention to your internal dialogue. That's the voice inside that distracts, interrupts, and meta-comments.
Are you problem solving, or creating?
I wrote the Consultant's Handbook 10 years ago in support of the Consulting Skills Workshop I taught for corporate consultancy firms. . A lot of words are bandied about in consultancy and it's important that we make distinctions between them. One of the conversations we'd
How do I talk to top executives? (aka the C-suite)
You’re more likely to get access to these busy executives via a politically savvy mid-level manager (aka The Fox) than going direct. Network your way to the top. Just about all top executives are open to high-quality business advice from consultants. Make sure The Fox understands how your meeting