Monthly Archives: October 2018

Which customer niche…B2B, B2C, or B2G?

Published October 29, 2018 | By daryl

When considering WHAT to consult about, you should also consider WHO you will serve. There are three general niches to consider:

B2B – Business to business
B2C – Business to consumer
B2G – Business to government

Each niche calls for different business approaches. When starting out, it is best to focus on one of the three. You can always expand into the other niches later.

B2B – The realm of many technical specialists like engineers, and where I spent my consulting career. Our clients ranged from Fortune 100 companies to small firms. Most were designing and manufacturing technical products, and were experiencing EMI (electromagnetic interference) problems.

Problems ranged from product test failures to production line failures. A common denominator was pain, always a good motivator for calling in a consultant. Much like being a doctor or dentist 🙂

Marketing was outbound — writing magazine articles, speaking at conferences, networking through professional organizations. Credibility and visibility were key. The reach ranged from local to world-wide.

Sales were inbound — clients usually called requesting help. (No cold calls or knocking on doors to convince clients of a need.) Referrals were golden.

Purchasing was via purchase orders or contracts. Since our consultations were typically a week or less, we used simple quotations or engagement letters. Simple contracts were used for longer projects.

Payment came from company funds, and may not have been officially budgeted. But when the “cost of failure” was significant, money appeared.

Our clients were typically Project Manager, Directors, or Engineering VPs, with appropriate purchasing authority. We rarely dealt directly with purchasing agents, or with the “C-Suite” so prized by management consulting firms.

B2C – The realm of many business specialists (accountants, lawyers, financial planners…) or personal specialists (coaches, counselors, personal trainers…) Clients are often individuals or small businesses.

Most clients are seeking brief help or experience they do not have themselves. It may be driven by pain, seeking improvements, or even fun (such as wedding planners.)

Marketing is often local — networking/speaking with civic groups, or writing local magazine/newspaper columns are effective. But thanks to the Internet, the reach is often expanded through blogs, Facebook, and on-line communities. Either way, high touch personal involvement is key.

Sales and purchasing are often simple (checks, credit cards, or PayPal.) Payment comes from personal funds, which often means smaller fees than B2B.

B2G – The realm of many larger consulting firms. Those working with the federal government are often referred to as “Beltway Bandits.” Nevertheless, there are opportunities for individual consultants if one understands and is willing to work with the bureaucracy.

After working many years in the defense industry, we elected not to pursue this niche. In our early days, however, we did pursue a state grant (which we won) and several federal SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) contracts (which we did not win.) I’ve known several consultants who built their practices around grants and SBIRs.

Marketing is highly dependent on networking. As such, it can work well for those leaving a government career (military or political) where one can leverage contacts and experience.

There are also publications (such as Commerce Business Daily) that list projects and RFPs (Requests for Proposal.) A word of caution – many are “wired” for preferred vendors. Not complaining — it is just the way it is.

Sales consists of submitting RFPs. In order to maintain fairness, there are strict rules and deadline for RFPs. If you are new to the game, you may want to partner with an experienced vendor or contractor. Often times, small special efforts are sub-contracted.

Typical payment is via contract, which may be subject to audit. As such, you may need an accountant to assure compliance with government accounting rules.

Typical B2G clients are government agencies or branches of the military services. Your point of contact will be a program manager, unless you are working on a subcontract.

The choice of your business niche is personal – there is no right or wrong. While we were successful in the B2B niche, I know successful consultants in the B2C and B2G niches. Just choose carefully and wisely.

Join us for our next FREE monthly teleconference.
“Ask Daryl Anything About Consulting”
Register Here

Posted in Marketing | Leave a comment

How to handle “Let me think it over…”

Published October 15, 2018 | By daryl

Here is a blunt but polite way to handle this common objection to moving ahead with a consulting project, from my friends at the Rain Group.

It is called “Get a Reality Check.”

“Most of the time I when hear, ‘Let me think about it,’ what people really mean is ‘No thanks.’ Can you tell me is that what’s happening here today?”

Many salespeople are afraid to pose this question because they believe they are somehow “planting a negative thought” in the prospect’s mind. David Sandler, the founder of Sandler Training, used to say, “You can’t lose what you don’t have.” If you need a reality check, ask for one.

Ironically, posing this question usually gives you the information you need to rescue the sale. You’ll learn if there is a chance of working together. If there is not, it is better to know now before you waste any more time.

This is but one of eight recommended responses. For all eight, visit here.

Your time is too important to chase non-opportunities. Furthermore, you need to know when to move on to better ones. It was our policy to make not more than three follow up phone calls. By being polite, we often got callbacks later.

But even if not, our time was better spent on paying projects.

Finally, don’t fear rejection. It is a fact of life selling anything. But you do need to know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Asking the question above helps you decide.

P.S. Many years ago I enrolled in the Rain Group’s on-line class on selling professional services. Even as an experienced sales engineer I found it very useful in my consulting business. Or just read their book.

Join us for our next FREE monthly teleconference.
“Ask Daryl Anything About Consulting”
Register Here

Posted in Sales | Leave a comment

Simplify your expertise…

Published October 1, 2018 | By daryl

This post was inspired by a recent post from fellow AZ blogger (and person I have long admired) Pamela Slim. She started off with this quote, which I borrowed:

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” ― Shunryu Suzuki

It got me thinking about our roles as consultants. Most of us have wide knowledge and experience in our area of expertise. As such, we could offer many possible solutions to the problems faced by our clients.

But our real value is the ability to winnow those possibilities down to a select few, and then make recommendations. Much like a doctor (also a professional consultant) who makes a diagnosis followed by a prescription or recommended course of action.

So how do you do this? You begin by asking questions, and then carefully listening to those answers. Those answers may lead to more questions, so you dig deeper.

As a consulting engineer, I’ve long followed a methodology used by medical doctors known as differential diagnosis. First heard this from a client whose brother was an MD. As we were troubleshooting his problem, he shared this approach he had learned from his brother.

Later, I had a chance to expand my understanding thanks to an MD from the Mayo Clinic. An airplane seat mate, I asked about the term. As a teaching doctor, he broke into a big smile and shared his knowledge (and wisdom) as we flew across the country. The flight was most memorable, and has since influenced consulting approach.

The goal is to “rule things in – rule things out.” For example, the Mayo MD said, if a patient presents with a red rash, there may be a hundred possible causes. But with some additional information (such as vital signs or simple questions) one may be able to quickly reduce this to but a few possibilities.

Based on that, you begin by treating the most likely cause. Even then, you are playing the probabilities, so if the initial treatment does not solve the problem, move to the next most likely solution. Or, as mom and dad used to say, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again…”

I have since modified the approach. Rather than prioritizing solely on probabilities, I first try the very simple solutions. Learned this after spending several days trying most likely solutions, while ignoring an easy low probability solution that worked. A bit embarrassing.

Doing this also gives rise to an occasional consulting miracle. For example, even if the simple solution has a 1% probability of success, that still means that one out of a hundred times it works. And when it does, everyone thinks you are a genius. 🙂

Finally, don’t just treat the symptoms — seek to treat the cause. The goal is to not only understand the problem, but to identify the underlying root cause of the problem. Asking questions, digging deeper, and using differential diagnosis all help.

We’ll dig deeper ourselves in a future post on the “Five Whys'”.

This post precipitated a new category — troubleshooting — where I will share more insights on this important facet of consulting.

Join us for our next FREE monthly teleconference.
“Ask Daryl Anything About Consulting”
Register Here

Posted in Troubleshooting | 1 Comment