Michael W. Carr
Founder MyDfwTX.com

How To Get Optimum Results When You're Consulting With A Client

Key Conciderations

By: Dr. Jeffrey Lant

I've been a marketing and business development consultant for a long time -- just on 20 years now. As a result, aspiring consultants are always asking me, "How do you get maximum results when you're working with a client?" Here's a check list that will help.

Step 1: Assess Prospects Carefully Before You Take Them As Clients

It's important to remember that we consultants live by our successes. That is, the more successes we have, the more people will want us. The more people want us, the more we can raise our fees and the faster we can get away from one of the major drawbacks of consulting -- the lack of a secure pay-check.

Thus, only take on a client where you are reasonably sure you can deliver success. New consultants particularly, partly spurred by the necessity to make a living, partly by unseasoned optimism, take on lots of clients they shouldn't. They're more willing than us scarred veterans to overlook structural problems in any potential relationship that make success difficult, if not impossible.

Thus, do yourself and the prospect a favor by doing an in-depth review of the prospect's situation before you even consider taking this person on as a client. Review such important factors as:

the client's financial situation. Do they have the money to pay you, promptly and in full? Do they have enough resources so that if you discover additional problems along the way that must be solved before the objective can be reached (which often happens), they'll be able to do what's necessary to correct them?

I constantly hear from consultants that they got into a relationship with a client only to discover that that client really didn't have the money for both consulting services and for implementing the consultant's recommendations. Often this so strains a relationship that it breaks down entirely, creating more problems for both consultant and client than if the consultant, upon completing his home work, had said, "Not now" and indicated under just what circumstances he would be prepared to go ahead in future.

the client's decision-making capability. Over the years I've become aware of a certain type of executive who is afraid of leading. These people may be good at moving up the executive ladder; once they're there, however, paralysis sets in. They, then, become a significant part of the problem.

You can discover if your prospect is likely to be this kind of person by doing several things:

discussing his/her decision-making skills with other people at the organization.

Find out what you need to know by asking questions like:

what can you tell me about Ms. Prospect's decision-making style?
does she take advice before making decisions? Is she willing to hear what other people have to say? Or is she secretive and autocratic about making decisions?
does she make decisions promptly and efficiently?
once she makes a decision does she change her mind frequently?
does she accept responsibility for her decisions?
is she willing to admit a mistake should one occur, or will she deny everything?
how would you rate her decision-making skills overall?

Do these questions seem too blunt and direct for you? They won't if you've been in the consulting business for awhile. The last thing in the world you want is to get into a situation where you have to deal with a person who:

won't listen to you or anyone else
either makes decisions but frequently changes her mind, or
won't make any decisions at all, paralyzing your attempts to bring about success.

You'll find this situation completely frustrating... and it will deprive you of what you need from this assignment: the kind of success that you can leverage to get other clients who want to achieve similar results.

The bigger the assignment, the larger the potential success, the more you need to probe a potential client to ensure that you're spending your time and mental resources on someone who will repay your efforts.

Being clear on how the prospect wishes to work with you.

Personally, I'm a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-going kind of guy. I like people who are willing to:

work with me to uncover real problems
candidly review their resources for solving the problems
create a step-by-step plan (with dates) for solving the problems
fully involve me in the solution process
regularly discuss the situation with me, hear what I've got to say and consider it carefully
review both plan and progress along the way to see how things can be made better.

Unfortunately, not everyone works this way. That's why you've got to be clear on precisely how the prospect wishes to work with you.

Ask questions like these:

will you be candid and forthright about what resources you have available for solving the problem? (If a prospect won't tell you what he's got access to, a bright red flag should go up immediately.)
will you work with me to create a step-by-step plan for solving the problems once they're fully identified?
will you make sure that we know who's responsible for each aspect of the plan... and make it clear to them that they're involved and what we expect from them?
how do you see me being involved in the decision-making process?
how often and how do you want to communicate? Regular on-site meetings? By telephone? Fax and e-mail?

In short, be clear on what kind of a relationship the prospect wants with you.

Many prospects say they want your assistance but never do what's necessary to create an environment in which successful results can be obtained.

For instance, they won't: set precise objectives and the dates for achieving them tell you what resources are available involve key personnel and make sure that these people assist you set regular meetings where both progress and ongoing problems can be reviewed and sensible strategies created and implemented take personal responsibility for achieving success review your recommendations, see why you're making them, and work with you to implement them.

Lant's Observation: People often hire consultants to give the illusion that they want to achieve successful results when all they want is the perception of action. You've got to decide before taking the prospect whether you want to be in a situation -- even a well-paying situation -- where your real job is providing an illusion of progress, while the executive makes real progress impossible.

Step 2: Be Clear On The Objective The Prospect Wishes To Achieve

Everybody likes "success." But as Theodore Roosevelt once said, the important thing is to work with people who know the next step they want to take and were willing to do what it took to get there... not the 2000th step. That, he rightly said, could be dealt with later.

The longer you're a consultant, the more successful you are, the more people will contact you trying to tap into your skills and experience. But just because they want you doesn't mean they know what they want to achieve.

You'll find your lot as a consultant easier, and your successes more substantial, if the client is precise with you about what he wants and when he wants it.

I've recently finished a very frustrating stint with a client who couldn't or wouldn't decide where we were going with the assignment. I kept pestering him to decide what he wanted to achieve, when he wanted to achieve it, complete with a ton of recommendations and alternatives. No luck.

Finally, the "decision-maker" just hid, deciding that it was better to ignore me and my constant attempts to get clarity on where he wanted to go than to admit he didn't know and wasn't willing to do what was necessary to get us there. Result: frustration for all parties, spiced by my growing contempt for the poor man.

How did this situation arise? For two reasons: because the person who retained me didn't stay involved in the daily work of the consultancy... and because the decision-maker who inherited me had a deep-rooted aversion to setting goals and working systematically to achieve them. He was, he said, a "big picture" thinker. Well, while he concentrated on that "big picture," the company's debt expanded, its place in the marketplace eroded, while daily life at headquarters was marked by constant policy shifts, internal upheavals and a daily game of musical chairs in personnel.

This situation could have been avoided by the original contact being honest about the fact that he didn't want to be involved in day-to-day operations and by my probing for more information about the operating style of the decision-averse executive, who would go to any lengths rather than set an objective and do what was necessary to achieve it.

After discussion with your prospect, either you or the prospect should be able to set down in just a sentence or two the precise objectives the prospect wishes to achieve during the consultancy. If you can't get this kind of clarity, there's muddle in the executive suite... and you'd better pass on this client until such time, if ever, they get their act together.

About The Author:

Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also a syndicated writer and author of 18 best-selling business books. Details at worldprofit.com and JeffreyLantArticles.com

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