In my career I have been fortunate to work for two of the best companies in the world: Accenture and Microsoft. In my eleven years at Accenture I gained a great education in systems development, project management, strategic planning, and customer service. In my nine years at Microsoft, I took most of what I learned at Accenture and learned to apply it in a very practical and effective way. Both experiences were key to my growth as a professional.
When I left Accenture for Microsoft, I found myself moving from the consultant’s desk to the client’s desk. At Microsoft I had the opportunity to work with a large number of consulting firms in my various jobs managing IT projects, leading Corporate Procurement, and managing Corporate Planning and Budgeting. Working with many of these firms, I have had ample opportunity to reflect on my own career as a consultant and think about how much better a consultant I would have been if I had seen things more from the client’s perspective. It is this pragmatic or client-based consulting that dramatically increases a consultant’s effectiveness and builds long-term, win-win relationships with clients.
The “Aha”
As I transitioned from the role of consultant to that of client, I was able to clearly articulate some principles, or “Ah-has,” that many consultants don’t understand or practice on a regular basis, as follows:
Consulting is more about listening than talking – Being an active listener and asking the customer lots of questions is crucial to gaining a deep understanding of the customer’s problems and hot spots. Too often I have seen consultants rush into their perspectives on theories or problems without really taking the time to listen to what is important to the client. Sometimes things worked well, but there were times when the consultant’s perceived understanding of the problem did not represent the client’s true problems. The end result was an angry client who saw the consultant as a pompous jerk.
A consultant must resist the temptation to present solutions before the client has a chance to fully explain the problems. The consultant may understand the problem very well, but to develop a connection with the client, he must let the client articulate her problems and concerns. That client connection time is important to building the trust and credibility that both consultant and client need to work together effectively.
True credibility is most quickly achieved by demonstrating a careful understanding of the customer’s problem. – A consultant may have a great understanding of the industry or functional issues facing other businesses, but that doesn’t mean those issues apply to the client. When a consultant assumes that the problems faced by other companies apply to the client, he takes a definite risk in establishing credibility with the client. Worse still is when the client explains her problem and the consultant doesn’t recognize the problem or doesn’t understand it after repeated explanations. The longer a consultant takes to understand a client’s problems, the more his credibility will be shaken.
A consultant needs to put themselves in the client’s shoes, understand the client’s problem from their perspective, and not make generational assumptions about the complexity or urgency of the problem. Show an “I feel your pain” perspective of the customer’s problem and you’ll quickly overcome the credibility hump and get the customer where they want to hear.
“Concise” is more important than “more” – I personally fell victim to this as a younger consultant. Many of my presentations were measured in part by the number of slides and the amount of information I could fit into a presentation. It was commonplace for me to create 100+ PowerPoint slideshows that took several hours to go through. When I joined Microsoft, the first time I created a presentation to pass the weight test, I was really gutted. I quickly learned to focus on concise, precise presentations, where every word is treated as if I were spending a dollar.
A consultant needs to let go of the need to cram as many pretty slides into a presentation as possible. The client doesn’t necessarily need to see all the gory details. I have learned to concentrate many of my presentations on a main platform and an appendage. The core platform focuses on three main components: a concise articulation of the problem, the proposed solution to the problem, and how the solution will be implemented. The appendix contains other pieces of supporting information that the consultant only reviews with the client if necessary. I was able to get my point across to my client in a very clear and concise manner and was able to elaborate on questions as needed. It’s true that you may only need a small part of your appendage and much of your hard work may never see the light of day, but if you’re solving the customer’s problem, who cares?
The client usually knows the theory, what they may not know is how to apply it in practice – I’ve been through too many client presentations where a consulting firm brings in their industry expert to talk about issues facing my industry. After they would go on for about fifteen minutes telling me the theory that I already know, he would ask them, “So how did you fix it?” Most of the time, the industry insider only knew vague details about how someone else solved the problem, if the problem was solved at all. Knowing the theory only gets you through the first mile in a 26-mile marathon; Knowing how to apply the theory in a very practical and effective way will help you get through the rest of the degree.
Clients want to know how their problems can be solved in a practical, direct and effective way, not on lofty theories. If your theories don’t solve the problems, save them for late-night philosophical discussions over your favorite drink.
Relationships are more important than short-term fee goals – True, consultants are in business to generate fees and make money. There is nothing wrong with a profit motive and the goal of making money. Where it does become a problem, however, is when short-term fee goals cause a consultant to do something that is not in the best interest of the client. Those consultants who always seemed to have a hand in my pocket were not the consultants who survived in the long run.
The consultants I respect the most are the ones who would tell me things like “I really don’t think you need me on this” or “You could probably do it yourself and save some money.” When a consultant puts my best business interests before their own fees, my trust in them increases exponentially. It’s true that the consultant may have a short-term fee because he didn’t sell a job, but the long-term win-win potential between client and consultant was more achievable and much more lucrative.
Saying “I don’t know” is okay sometimes. – Being a consultant does not mean that the fairy of omniscience came to you one night, waved her magic wand and considered you the omniscient. Sometimes problems arise that the consultant cannot answer. Some of the most unpleasant situations I’ve seen were when the consultant tried to fake his way through a topic that he didn’t have to address. A simple “I don’t know” would have been much better than throwing up a smoke screen and hoping no one would ask questions.
Having said this, there are two caveats to keep in mind: First, whenever a consultant says “I don’t know”, you should follow up with “but I’ll find out and give you an answer by x date”. Second, a consultant only gets a few “I don’t know”s before being labeled an incompetent idiot who doesn’t know his stuff. Having a solid understanding of the topic in which the consultant professes to be an expert is mandatory; having a shaky understanding will get you voted off the island in the first round.
True effectiveness as a consultant means that the consultant listens to the client, understands their pain, concisely presents practical solutions, and demonstrates the utmost in honesty and integrity. Keep these things in focus, and you will win and keep the best customers. You will establish yourself as a pragmatic consultant who sees things from the only perspective that matters: the client’s.
