Commando Consulting, December 2010

From Task-Focused Helping Brawn to Value-Focused Helping Brain?

By Tom "Bald Dog" Varjan, Organisational Provocateur

Podcast version: MP3 Version

The time was 1988. Massachusetts Governor, Mike Dukakis was the Democratic presidential nominee. Unfortunately for good ol' Mike, he was harshly criticised for his softness on defence issues.

So, the great American PR machine went to work and conjured up a mind-menglingly splendiferous plan, so cunning that if you put a tail on it, then it would become a weasel.

The idea was to put Dukakis into a tough environment that would prop up his weaknesses on defence.

So, let's have him ride a tank. That will beef up his image.

So, the great photo was shot, and what happened? Hm? Nothing. Not a sausage. The tank didn't make a dickybird of a difference.

The tank actually tanked Mike's chances of becoming president.

Sadly the cunning PR plan miserably flopped, and George H.W. Bush's used the picture as evidence to prove that Dukakis, in spite of riding a tank, is far too weak for the double role of US president and Commander-in-Chief.

Some thought it was the tank to blame, but it wasn't.

In 1986, British Prime Minister and world-renowned handbag wielder, Margaret Thatcher was riding on a Challenger tank.

For some reason she achieved the total opposite of what Dukakis would achieve two years later. She was perceived as a strong leader.

So, what was the difference?

Dukakis used the tank as a tool, the proverbial penis extension, to help him to appear to be a strong leader. Maggie actually was strong leader.

Without the tank Dukakis was a rabbit but Maggie was a lion. Well, lioness.

Dukakis needed a tank to conceal his weakish character. Maggie had a strong character with or without a tank. Even with or without a handbag, mind you.

I mention this contrast because we can see the same in the world of consulting too.

Dukakis-calibre consultants often sell themselves short by selling finite elements like time chunks and poundage of deliverables, and in doing so they position themselves as commodities, a.k.a. temporary wage slaves.

They don't have the self-esteem to confidently wield their proverbial handbags to their clients and clarify how they work and what they charge for the value they bring to their clients' tables.

Ladies, get your handbags. Guys, count your balls and act confidently.

What difference would it make to you in your business and life if, instead of travelling all over the place in pursuit of suspects in the hope of turning them into paying clients, they would come to your office to attend the first meeting with you with all their key documents and signed cheques as a sign of commitment to working with you?

If this looks like a good direction to take just before the great Xmas overeating therapy, and you can put up with me for the last time before the end of the year, then hang in here hold on to your hat, and let's see what we have in store for your monthly torture.

Is your firm flooded with clients who...

• ...you should have ditched long ago and run away from very fast and very far?


• ...piss you off because you care more about their successes than they do?


• ...expect you to slave away on their projects and dedicating your life to their successes?


• ...make you work too hard on their projects while they go on playing golf?


• ...demand long working hours from you, so you can actually "earn" your fees?


• ...keep haggling over your fees and want to get it all for as cheap as possible?


• ...make you ask yourself, "Why am I wasting my life on this jerk?"

By contrast to the above disaster, have you ever desired clients who...

• ...proactively promote your services and furnish you with referrals?


• ...actively participate in projects and take your advice seriously?


• ...pay you on time for the value you contribute, not just for your time and deliverables?


• ...treat you as a peer and the relationship is based on mutual trust and respect?


• ...work with you collaboratively to make the most of your advice?

If the answer to any of the above question is "yes", there is a good chance you are being perceived as a service slave and work far too hard for your money.

And this is exactly how far too many consultants operate. They are extremely busy, stressed out, interrupted by all sorts of unexpected phone calls, text messages and emails, and running around like poisoned mice.

I often ask consultants these two questions

1. On a scale of 1 to 10 how busy are you? That is, how fast are you running on your proverbial treadmill?


2. On a scale of 1 to 10 how financially productive are you by running that fast?

In most cases the answer to the first question is pretty much between 9 and 11(?). It means, in some cases they simply can't do any more.

But the answer to the second question is somewhere between 3 and 5.

Then I ask...

"If you are already maxed out on your time, how do you want to push your revenue any higher?"

Yes, it is happening every day. Consultants believe just because they are busy, they are productive too.

Many of them are wasting a lot of time and effort on activities like preparing proposals for tyre-kickers and volunteering to attend "brain picking" sessions with suspects on the mission of collecting information.

Sadly, the conventional wisdom has become that consultants have to bend over backwards for prospects and clients, and jump as they whistle. And this is exactly how activity-based "service slaves" operate.

Essentially, service Slaves are hired to perform certain tasks and are compensated in proportion with the amount of manual labour they put in.

The other group is the Service Professionals, who are hired to help their clients to achieve amazing things with as little effort as possible, and being compensated for the perceived value of their contributions received by their clients.

And the two groups of people operate drastically differently.

It is common practice among Service Slaves that they accept any client who throws money at them. And it's a pretty unhealthy position to be in. It often comes from low self-esteem.

The Problem Is That Many Prospects...

...are not terribly serious about working with consultants. They expect you to put up a dog and pony show and push you around for reducing your fees.

It seems that clients' don't work towards specific objectives but hire consultants for the sheer hell of it.

Many prospects fail to view you as a professional. It can be partly because of the way you conduct your business, and partly because this is how they operate. They perceive you as a salesperson not as a consulting professional.

The problem is that service slaves hang in for dear life with any client as long as money can be earned. They should ditch these clients faster than greased lightning, but instead, they hope and pray for better times. But the better times never come.

These prospects are collecting information and gathering your valuable advice, but have no intention to retain you and make a fair investment in your expertise.

The other problem is that service slaves are so busy doing the work and chasing new sales that they have no time left to position themselves as experts in their fields. They are perceived as peddlers, and traded on price like potatoes.

They neglect a few age-old facts:

• Peddlers chase, hunt, hound and wrestle


• Peddlers meet anyone anywhere even only for 10 minutes over a cup of coffee


• Peddlers build rapport because they desperately need to be liked


• Peddles argue, convince and persuade (a.k.a. handle objections)


• Peddlers try to close on the spot because they're hungry for business

All in all, they act like peddlers, that is, service slaves.

And we all know the end result: Peddlers are hated and thrown out of more offices than you can shake a stick at. I don't mean that literally, but a proposal that is not responded to by the buyer is as bad as being thrown out of an office.

So, we become either a well-positioned service professionals sought out by great prospects, or ill-positioned service slaves pounding the pavement peddling our stuff.

When your prospects perceive you as a service professional, not a service slave, they start treating you with respect, they come to your office to meet you and won't even try to haggle on your fees.

Just imagine calling your dentist, requesting an appointment at your home in your favourite rocking chair, but then refusing to open your mouth when the dentist is about to start working on your teeth.

It may sound silly, but this is exactly how so many service professionals are treated.

Do you have the courage to put pretty strong requests to your prospects regarding how you expect them to behave and treat you? Can you resist the temptation when prospects are pushing you to "soften you up"? Do you have the spine, guts and balls to ask your prospects, using dental language, to "open their mouths" at the very first meeting?

Now Let's Compare How Service Professionals and Service Slaves Sell Their Services

Service labourers sell pretty much like used car salespeople, after all they sell time chunks to perform manual labour. They focus on products, like consulting, coaching, training, market research, workshops, etc.

• Focusing on tasks and deliverables


• Travelling anytime anywhere to meet prospective clients


• Wasting time on building rapport through small talk and chit-chat


• Convincing everyone that they need what you offer


• Not being willing to walk away from inappropriate prospects and projects


• Wasting time on explaining credentials and the firm's reputation


• Asking some disturbing questions to find pain, then agitating it as much as possible to close the deal


• Matching prospects' afflictions and aspirations with tasks and products. Dwindling sales = Buy my sales workshop. High customer attrition = Buy my CRM software


• Overcoming objections and moving towards the close


• Doing whatever it takes, including stroking the prospect's fear, shame, guilt and/or greed glands, to close the sale


• Relationship is based on tasks and effort of delivering services. I work for you, and I will perform these tasks and create these deliverables for you

This may be a fine approach to sell commodity services, but will never establish trust-based relationships.

In Contrast to The Service Slaves, Here Is the Service Professionals' Approach

• Accepting only those clients who match their "Perfect Client" profiles


• Focusing on objectives and outcomes. Process of collaboration and quality of relationship


• Asking prospects (only ones that fit the "Ideal Client" profile) to come to your office. Why? Because neither lawyers, nor medical professionals do house calls. Why should you? You are not a professional visitor


• Eliminating small talk and rapport, and opening the discussion with a meaningful and deep conversation


• Politely disqualifying everyone who refuses to co-operate with you in your interview process


• Never talking about your qualifications and credentials. Let people establish their own perceptions of you through your process, including your diagnostics


• Insisting that prospects bring all of their relevant documents and a cheque for the first payment to the first meeting. No documents, no cheque, no meeting


• Starting asking deep and uncomfortable questions, and start prioritising their objectives. Starting building trust, not rapport


• Using reality and core values to motivate prospects to move into action. If even their own core values can't inspire prospects to take action, then it shows you care more about their success than they do, thus you should politely end the meeting and ditch those prospects once and for all


• Asking only once to take action, and politely disengaging if there is any objection. It shows lack of commitment. Some say objections are buying signals. Well, tell this a woman who's been raped while screaming "No" from the top of her lungs.


• Closing is a natural part of the process, coming from the prospect not from you


• Relationship is based on the process of collaboration and the transparency of the relationship. I work with you, and we create the projected results together

Now you may say that you ask an awful lot from people to conform to your process.

Exactly. But you do it in their best interest. Can you imagine telling your doctor that you have changed your mind and you want him to perform your heart surgery in your home on your dining table with your favourite bread knife? How would you feel if your surgeon agreed?

People achieve certain results in their businesses and lives by adhering to certain processes. We call them habits. So, by asking them to conform to your process, you ask them to move beyond the limitation of their own habits and processes that has landed them in the very situation they try to get out of. That alone is a great value.

Remember you are in the service business. The more clients you have, the less service you can offer to each one. Prospecting for new business eats up both a part of time you are supposed to serve existing clients and some of your personal and family time.

How would you like to work with a select group of clients whom you can schedule fairly loosely, so you can have a fulfilling and meaningful personal life too?

How would you like to reduce your workload while increase your margins?

The relationship between income and free time is another differentiating factor between Service Slaves and Service Professionals. As the years go by, if you are a service professional, both your income and free time are going up.

Otherwise as you are getting more and better established, you're also getting busier and busier. Yes, your income is going up, but so does your level of busy-ness. And I dare to bet some vital parts of my anatomy that your margins are going down because you start operating in volume mode like a manufacturing plant.

Sadly, many consultants suffer from the workhorse syndrome, as David Maister is fond of saying. They achieve more by pulling heavier loads every year. That is, as the years go by, most consultants get busier and busier, working harder and harder to usually earn just marginally higher income than a year before.

Some of them are highly successful financially. They just have a couple of failed marriages, heart attacks and nervous breakdowns behind them, carry an extra 30-50lbs around their waists, stomach ulcers, almost constant headaches, an extra 30-50 beats per minute on the heart rates and a 10-15-year shortage on their lives.

They miss a couple of family anniversaries, some vacations with their spouses and some school events with their kids.

They don't even have their own lives. Their existence - no, it's s not a life - is dictated to them by their clients, calendars, mobile phones and emails.

Sadly, for service slaves the only way to be successful is to be a workaholic.

Now You May Ask about the Payoffs Of Being a Value-Based Consultant

• Fulfilling your deepest core values


• Earning higher personal income


• Enjoying more time off with your friends and family


• Enjoying better physical health


• Reaching your spiritual fulfilment


• Becoming a better parent and/or spouse


• Being highly respected both in your industry and target market


• Having a better sense of achievement and pride


• Leading a significant life (expressing yourself who you truly are) not just an impressive lifestyle (impressing others with what you have and do)

So, consider which one you want to operate as, but heed this: Somewhere out there, there are consultants who are not as smart as you, not as experienced as you, not as educated as you and working in a worse economy, are having a better time than you.

Why?

Because they have chosen to be consulting professionals not consulting slaves. And they have the spines, guts and balls to act as professionals.

What's the difference?

No, it's not the MBA or other accreditations. It's self-esteem?

How about you?

In his book, The Power Of Self-Esteem, Dr. Nathaniel Branden defines self-esteem as...

...the experience that we are appropriate to life and to the requirements of life. More specifically, self-esteem is...

1. Confidence in our ability to think and to cope with the basic challenges of life


2. Confidence in our right to be happy, the feeling of being worthy, deserving, entitled to assert our needs and wants and to enjoy the fruits of our efforts

So, reflect on this baby during the holiday season.

So, with all that, have a nice Xmas and a euphoric 2011.

Come and let's discuss this newsletter issue on my blog...

"Dynamic Duo" Mentor Programme... ...has 0 openings for May and 2 for June 2012. Click here to continue to read the fiendish details.