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NOVEMBER 17, 2008
NETWORKING, RELATIONSHIPS, JITA KYOEI, AND UBUNTU
I attended a busy event at Babson College last week, and continue to be both impressed and disappointed as I observed networking in action.

The word “networking” may bring to mind thoughts of busy bars with rapid fire business card exchanges, insincere glad handing, and constant elevator pitching. I observed some of this at Babson last week. That was the disappointing part.

What some folks miss is that networking is a means to an end, not an end in itself. That end is building and sustaining relationships with people. When you think about networking, think about creating authentic and honest relationships. By focusing on how you can help others to succeed and prosper, you contribute to their success as well as your own. But first things first: you have to meet people of similar minds and similar business interests who will be good connections. That's where the networking comes in.

Doc Rivers, coach of the Boston Celtics, introduced the team last year to the concept of ubuntu. Derived from the African Bantu language, the word ubuntu roughly translates as “I am what I am because of what we are together.” Whether you are a member of a sports team, a community group, or a business—the concept of ubuntu applies. It is a humanistic philosophy in which we achieve our potential through others by being unselfish, generous, and trustworthy.

The authentic relationship-based approach to networking is one that even the most introverted professional services practitioner can adopt and feel good about. Ubuntu.

Importance of Relationships

Referrals top the list of how buyers find professional services providers. For our upcoming 2009-2010 How Clients Buy study (to be released in December 2008) we asked 231 buyers of professional services how they initially identify potential service providers. Their top two answers, surprise surprise, were referrals:

  • Referrals from colleagues—79 of buyers are somewhat or very likely to find service providers this way
  • Referrals from other service providers—75% of buyers are somewhat or very likely to find service providers this way

Through building and sustaining relationships you are able to increase the likelihood of generating these valuable referrals. Keep your relationships strong with clients and you'll generate referrals and repeat business. Netoworking becomes a part of the process because it's often the first step in creating these important relationships.

If networking is so critical, why do so many people avoid doing it? Many professional service providers simply fail to understand what networking is or the benefits it brings. We like the American Heritage Dictionary definition:

Network (verb): To interact or engage in informal communication with others for mutual assistance or support. 

Key to this definition is the concept of mutual benefit. (Extra credit: look up jita kyoei.) Use this as your touchstone to remain focused on the positive and effective elements of networking. I observed networking with mutual benefit in mind at Babson as I overheard someone helping another person deal with a sticky problem without sounding self-interested and with an offer of a follow up discussion.

If you think networking is mostly about collecting business cards, reeling in favors, and meeting lots of people you’ll be disappointed with the results. Networking in its simplest form is about relationships. And relationships are about giving, not about getting. The more you give, the more you get in return.

Keep in mind, networking is about:

  • Building relationships before you need them—laying the groundwork to produce good results.
  • Building relationships with people you can help and who can also help you—it’s as much about what you give as it is about what you get.
  • Teaching people what you need from them, and what they can expect to get from you in return—in other words, keeping the lines of communication open both ways.
  • Trusting that if you put energy into your relationships you will receive something in return—which means not keeping a rigid scorecard.

Networking is not about:

  • Something you do to someone.
  • Going to conferences and collecting a lot of business cards.
  • Manipulating people to get them to work with you.

OCTOBER 22, 2008
BUILDING TRUST THROUGH MARKETING
Joe, cousin of Joe the Plumber & Joe Six-Pack, is a senior vice president for a supply chain consulting firm. He has 20 years of experience in the industry and, with those that know him, is widely regarded as a top expert and practitioner in his field. On Monday, his assistant told him that his business development team had set up two sales meetings for him for the week, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday.

Joe’s meeting on Tuesday was with Joyce, the vice president of operations at a large commercial shipping company, and was set up by Audrey, one of his company’s top business developers. Here’s how the meeting went:

Joe: Nice to meet you Joyce. I’m glad to be here.

Joyce: Nice to have you here. Over the last several years it’s been great getting to know about you and your firm. I’ve read your white paper on emerging supply chain management technologies as well as listened to you deliver a webinar on strategies for global sourcing in my industry.

Joe: That’s great to hear. I hope you enjoyed the presentation. Might I ask, how did you hear about the webinar?

Joyce: Well, I have been meaning to come to one of your events for a long time, ever since Audrey called me back four years ago to introduce you all. She mentioned that she’d put me on your company’s communications list.

For one reason or another, the events either didn’t work with my schedule or they didn’t fit into what was on my plate at the time. But I’ve been getting the event invitations and brochures in the mail along with the research briefs you send out with them and put in your newsletters as well. So I’ve followed along.

Now that dealing with supply chain technology is square on the middle of my plate, when Audrey sent me the email to view your on-demand presentation on your capabilities in the area I put it on my to-do list to call her. Of course, she called me first so I was more than happy to set up this conversation. I’m ready to dive in with you to see how you might help…

Joe's meeting on Wednesday was with Eric, the vice president of operations at a large steel company set up by Sarah, another business developer at his firm. The meeting kicked off a bit differently:

Joe: Nice to meet you, Eric. I’m glad to be here.

Eric: Good to have you here as well. Now, Sarah’s done a good job over the last few years of trying to get in touch with me, so I figured I’d let her good persistence pay off and we could, at her request, get together to meet. Supply chain technology is, after all, on my plate these days.

Joe: Great. I’m glad Sarah’s done such a good job in the last few years keeping you up to date. I’m assuming you know about our firm and what we do since Sarah must have sent you our newsletter and event invitations. Have you ever attended one of our webinars or seminars?

Eric: Actually, Joe, I don’t know anything about you or your firm. You have newsletters and webinars? I’ll be sure to check them out in the future. Meanwhile, can you tell me a bit about you, your firm, and your areas of focus?

Joe: Ah, sure. Let’s start there, then.

Of course, we’d all rather have the conversations that go like the one with Joyce than the one with Eric. The difference was that the company’s marketing reached Joyce but didn’t reach Eric.

Because Joyce received the company’s marketing, she:

  • Knew about the company.
  • Could likely articulate how the company helped people like her solve problems like hers.
  • Remembered the company during her elusive time of need and planned to call.
  • Felt an affinity and preference for the company before ever interacting with an individual from the company personally due to the education she received from the company’s marketing efforts.

To that last point, it’s likely that, even though Joyce didn’t have any historical experience working with the company she built up a level of affinity for, and initial trust, with them. This is what often happens with a referral: trust transferred from the referral giver to the service provider.

Marketing, when done right, can have a similar effect of trust. Instead of receiving the transferred trust that comes from the referral source, the company builds up the trust themselves over time through their marketing activities. Is it the same kind of trust that comes after having worked with a company, and having gone through thick and thin for several years? Of course not; but it’s enough trust and affinity to make the sales process go that much more smoothly and have that much more chance of winning the client.  

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR MARKETING SUCCESS
Regulation play in the 1925 U.S. Open ended in a tie between Willie Mcfarlane and golf legend Bobby Jones. Their first playoff round ended in a tie. Jones then lost the U.S. Open by one stroke to Mcfarlane in the second playoff round.

In the first round of the tournament, on the eleventh hole, Jones’ approach shot slid off the front of the green into the high rough. As his practice swing swept through the grass near his ball, Jones saw the ball had moved. Nobody else did. Still, Jones informed his fellow player Walter Hagen that the ball had, indeed, moved, and he assessed himself a penalty stroke.

After the round, folks lauded Jones for adhering to the rules. His response, “You’d as well praise me for not breaking into banks.”

Business, like golf, doesn’t always go according to plan. Like Jones, when setbacks happen at professional services firms, strong leaders do not look the other way or let themselves off the hook. When profitability flags in a division or practice area, they hold themselves and the team accountable.

Rarely, however, do leaders assess themselves penalty strokes when the firm fails to craft or execute a marketing and business development strategy that helps the company succeed and grow.

I'm curious to hear any feedback that you might have to the following question:

Year after year, business leaders at the vast majority services firms dedicate much blood, sweat, and tears into the delivery of strong client work, hiring of great people, and investing in other areas of the company. Why do they dedicate so little mindshare and energy to marketing?

Now, I'm not saying that service firm leaders should do any less focusing on client delivery and strength of their internal teams. The backbone and strength of any services firm is the front part of the service profit chain.

Still, there's that middle part of the chain focused on "External Service Value." Creating and improving the overall concept of the service, and communicating the firm's value to the market, rarely gets the attention it deserves.

Marketing and business development can have a major impact on the success of the firm. If leaders are not doing all they can in these areas, then the firm very likely is not enjoying all of the success it should be. As creating this success is the job of the leader, perhaps a penalty stroke or two are in order.

AUGUST 20, 2008
INC. MAGAZINE'S FASCINATING FAST GROWING COMPANIES
Wellesley Hills Group was named to Inc. Magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the nation. We're number 1,125 in the country and 46 in our region.

I'm always fascinated by the annual Inc. 5,000 rankings and featured businesses. This year is no exception. Here are some of the companies (besides, you know, mine) that jumped out at me.

Advertising and Marketing

Business Services

  • Revel Consulting – "Pure Consulting" so they say on their website. What's old is new. There's always room for a good player in a service field.

  • MasterPlans – They write business plans with a "team model" – not a "new market creating" innovation, but more of an innovation of process in a well-worn area. I'm betting a pretty strong sales and marketing effort gets them the revenue. Imagine if they launched and then just waited for referrals? Think they'd be in the Inc. 5000?

  • Infra-Strategy – Seems like software and technology type help for law firms. Law firms have seemed to me to be the last professional services firms to view themselves as competitive businesses, not clubs for the well-educated. (Well, maybe the architects are even a bit more old school.) No clubs anymore. It's manage like a good business or suffer the consequences.

Computers and Electronics

  • Nantero – Designs and sells nanotechnology-based semiconductor devices. I don't get it (though I'm sure it's all real small), but it sounds cool.

  • Metrofuser – Remanufactures and resells used printer parts. ZZZzzzZZZZzzz, but there's business to be had everywhere I guess.

Consumer Products

  • Skullcandy – Designs headphones. Coolest name on the list so far.

  • FURminator – Can you believe $25 million dollars in revenue for pet-shed-reducing products like brushes and shampoos? And right after I said cool name to Skullcandy, I get FURminated.

  • Bad Boy Enterprises – Says Inc., "Makes an electric all terrain vehicle called Bad Boy Buggie. Designed for hunters, it looks like a golf cart crossed with a monster truck." Every self-respecting man needs to have a Bad Boy Buggie.

Energy

  • Oil Chem Technologies – Helps get oil from aging and depleted oil wells. If this is what's growing fast, here's hoping the Chevy Volt takes off. Click here for the most fun in this blog post. Salutations, Brother Biz.

  • Solar Liberty – The savior for Oil Chem Technologies. Let's hope.

  • Blue Sun Biodiesel – Produces biodiesel fuel from soybeans from its own farm. Who knew edamame was so versatile!

Financial Services: I almost skipped this section. It all seemed so same-old same-old. But then I just got disappointed in myself for not recognizing elegance in the mundane. Just because a business is not doing something "new" doesn't mean it's not worth mentioning.

Perhaps Integrity Asset Management, First Western Financial, and Engenuity Financial are working overtime to do a good job for clients. Just because their claims to fame seem simple – wealth management – doesn't mean they don't deserve kudos for building their companies faster than the rest of the folks that are busy complaining how hard it is to grow in this "crowded field."

Well, looks like I only made it through the Fs category-wise and this post is already, as an old colleague of mine would say, heavy with goodness. Tune in soon for a continued look at the fascinating list of fast growing companies.

AUGUST 07, 2008
RAINTODAY EVOLUTION

In 2004, John Doerr, Erica Stritch, and I went on a mission to find the best publications focused on marketing and selling for professional services. We found great writers and experts, we found great articles, and we found some quality niche publications that trade associations put out for their areas of specialty.

We found a few decent overall publications for marketing-in-general and sales-in-general (and a lot of junk...another story). As long as we looked, we didn't find a publication that did marketing and selling professional services justice.

In the best tradition of "put your money where your mouth is" we decided to build it. Thus was born RainToday.com. As RainToday's popularity grew it took on a life of its own. We offered more events, more content, and more research. Now, we're offering more once again: RainToday.com membership. For those of you that subscribe to Rainmaker Report, rest assured that the complimentary weekly newsletter is still complimentary. There's just a lot more available now (and a lot more coming). We created membership as the easy package for you to take advantage of it all.

The press release on the RainToday.com evolution is below. I encourage you to have a look at the site. Please email me at mschultz @ whillsgroup.com if you have any feedback. I'd look forward to hearing from you.

RainToday.com Introduces Premium Subscription Membership

Framingham, MA – August 06, 2008 – RainToday.com, the premier online source for insight, advice, and tools for growing a service business, announced the launch of their new premium membership services.

RainToday.com Annual Membership brings professional services leaders, marketers and business developers the latest tools, events, articles, case studies, interviews, and research around marketing and sales for professional services. With access to the largest database of content on professional services marketing and sales, RainToday membership focuses on helping professional service providers generate more revenue and grow their firms.

“The launch of this new site marks a major evolution at RainToday,” said Erica Stritch, General Manager of RainToday.com. “RainToday.com has emerged as the leading provider of marketing and sales resources for professional services. Through our new annual membership, RainToday members will have access to the latest research, case studies, interviews, webinars, guides, tools, and other premium content to help them generate more revenue and grow their firms. And this is just the foundation - the future of RainToday holds blogs, discussion forums, live events, podcasts, and more.”

RainToday.com Membership benefits include:

  • Webinars and teleseminars: Members have access to RainToday.com’s library of webinar and teleseminars with well-known experts in the field including Seth Godin, Ford Harding, Mike Schultz, Jill Konrath and more.

  • How-to guides and tools: RainToday members receive specific how-to advice and templates from tools such as The Professional Services Guide to Online PR, How to Write and Market a White Paper, How to Set Appointments through Cold Calling, and more.

  • Insights: More than 190 professional services marketing and sales experts write for RainToday including Michael W. McLaughlin, Bruce W. Marcus, John Doerr, Charles Green, and Patrick McKenna.

  • Premium Content: Members gain access to interviews with services marketing and sales practitioners and templates and tools to help budget, plan, and implement lead generation, marketing, and sales activities.

  • Research: In addition to free tools and events, members save 20% on all RainToday Research such as What’s Working in Lead Generation, Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report, and How Clients Buy.

“While there are a number of subscription-based websites out there focused on marketing and sales in general, RainToday is the only site designed specifically to address the unique challenges that professional services firms face," said Mike Schultz, Founder and Publisher of RainToday.com. “RainToday is the hub for the best thinking in services marketing and selling. RainToday.com membership will give leaders, marketers and sellers of professional services research, tools, ideas, insights and fresh perspectives that will be immediately useful for them.”

To learn more about RainToday.com Annual Membership and to start a risk-free 7 day trial, visit the RainToday website at http://www.raintoday.com/membership.cfm.

JULY 24, 2008
BEST SPEECH EVER NOT DELIVERED BY A HUMAN
I'm sure you've heard before that great presenters:

  • Structure their presentations well
  • Make their points clearly
  • Use visuals and other media to underscore their points
  • Connect with the audience, and
  • Allow their personalities to shine through.

Common as it is to hear this advice, it's less common to see it all come together.

You will see it all come together if you watch the two and half minute presentation above.

Items of note:

  • The presentation begins with "in conclusion." A perfect fit for its comedic and Pantagruelian purposes.

  • Great visuals, but you won't see any PowerPoint. It won't be invented for more than a decade.

  • Great use of non-diegetic sound to underscore and facilitate the progression of the presentation.

  • The connection to the audience is one-to-one. Perry Lafferty, Bob Wood, Lee Currlin...these fellows were all CBS executives that would have a hand in green lighting the show.

  • The comfort of credibility and experience are perfectly interwoven with the ideas of new, different, and progressive.

  • The call to action, value proposition, and ROI are clear as bells.

  • It's not about wants. The United States of America, he says, needs this show.

  • Even though it's a self-described a sales pitch, with his passion, energy, and enthusiasm, I believe every word he says.

All this, and he's not even a human. Assuming you are, imagine what you can do in your next presentation if you put your mind to it.

JUNE 26, 2008
PLAY REGULARLY AND KNOCK IT STIFF
Starting when I was 12 and through my teens, I used to caddy and work in the bag room at Salem Country Club, a very nice private golf course in lovely Peabody, MA (go Tanners!).

There was this one member, Mr. MacTavish (name changed to protect the guilty), who would come in seething about his round of golf. He was a former club champion and somewhere around a 2 handicap. He used to throw his clubs at us to clean them as he complained to his friends about that shot he missed on the 17th. "If I got up and down from the bunker I would have had a good round. Damn lip on the bunker made me go from par to double bogey. Grrrrr…."

The man might have scored under par on 17 of 18 holes, but he seemed about as happy as my dog at bath time because he missed a shot. (Of course, regardless of his mood, he didn't tip. The MacTavish...not the dog.)

Then there was Dr. Vontzalides (actual name used to praise the praiseworthy). He'd invariably come back from a round of golf in a good mood. "Did you see that shot I had on the 11th? Never knocked it so stiff from 175 yards before in my life." Of course Dr. Vontzalides was a terrible golfer — constant golf lessons notwithstanding — and might have scored 120 on the round over and above all his mulligans. And he always had 2 bucks for the kid.

Last week I was speaking with a professional at a major accounting firm. After nearly a decade in the profession, she is just now beginning to get started with business development and revenue generation. I told her the Dr. Vontzalides story for two reasons:

  1. She was beating herself up for everything she tried that didn't seem to work.
  2. She was only playing one hole at a time.

Right now her ability to succeed in business development is about as good as Dr. Vontzalides' ability to succeed on the course. She's new at it. She's going to have a lot of misses. Unlike accounting, where many accountants get virtually everything "right" every day, business development is fraught with dead ends and lost deals. It's just how it goes, and she needed to stop taking it so personally.

If she played 18 holes, new at this as she is, she'd knock it stiff to the pin from 175 here and there. However, she was only playing 1 hole at a time. I suggested to her, instead of making 2 phone calls over a 2-day period, make 20 and send 20 emails. Then join the board of a group she's already involved with and plan an event, and contact 20 associations with a proposal for a speech at an upcoming event. Send 5 lunch invitations to business contacts she already has.

If she adds more activity, she'll give herself more chances of succeeding while, at the same time, improve her skills with all the practice.

Then she can celebrate when fortune favors her with success, and forget about all the shots that didn't pan out (yet).

And don't forget to tip the kid washing your clubs.

JUNE 11, 2008
ECONOMY: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
As of the writing of this post, the top headline on Yahoo! news is Oil soars on dollar, Energy Dep't report on falling supplies. The top video is Floods threaten economic disaster in Midwest. Dow down 1.4%. Nasdaq down 1.9%.

Regardless of whether or not we are actually in a recession, the economic news and outlook hasn't been good for about a year. As I speak with leaders of professional service business, most of them haven't reported ill effects on their firms from the economy. Still, they're nervous. And a case of the yips across a senior management suite can lead to all sorts of different behaviors, some good, some not so good.

For those of you who are feeling the crunch to "do something," here are some thoughts to help you avoid common mistakes and to take advantages of opportunities:

Don't overreact: When things are good, they're not necessarily as good as you think. When things are bad, they're not necessarily as bad as you think. Just because it's been slow for a few months, or you think it might slow down soon, don't start making wild decisions or cuts. Keep a steady head about what's really going on. Look past the wild swings in revenue (and enthusiasm and attitudes of team members) that might be caused by short-term factors.

Redouble your marketing efforts: As a marketing consultant and advocate, this might seem self serving. I don't mean it that way. I'm merely suggesting that during any economy, firms can grow faster and win more clients if they step up their marketing energy. Something about an economic slowdown seems to cause leaders at firms to focus inwardly. They self-analyze, having meeting after meeting about strategic direction, salaries and cost structure. When it comes to business development they say, "It's tough out there. I'm getting less action in the market than ever." So both marketing staffs and professionals who should be bringing in clients at firms slow down and do less.

This time and energy would have been better spent focusing outwardly, working to improve brand, fill the pipeline, and bring in more clients. If you can stop doubting yourself and your value, stop whining about how tough it is out there, and simply focus the firm on energetic marketing and business development, you may find that's all you need to weather the storm.

Take advantage of opportunity for change: Service firms "embrace change" about as enthusiastically as the sports community of Mexico embraces curling. However, service firms often shed their reluctance to change and propensity for slow decision making when faced with a business slowdown.

The halls at most service firms are abuzz with "what needs to happen to make this place better" during all economic conditions. When things are good, unproductive staff are often left to keep working. Sluggish marketing is allowed to plod along like the Old Gray Mare. Subpar business units and initiatives keep on keeping on. And bold, innovative initiatives die in committee because they're "too risky."

Inertia can be a great barrier to change. "All is well, why shake things up?" If you're the leader when all is not well, inertia is often replaced with a mandate for change. Take the opportunity to clean house, tighten the ship, and start new initiatives that will move the firm forward. As you approach making changes big and small, keep the following one question in mind, "If I make these changes and the economy and business stabilizes, will we be in better shape or worse when things turn around?"

If the answer is "better," make the changes and make them decisively. A slow time at the company is often the best time to reshape the firm and make it stronger for the present and future.

MAY 20, 2008
LEAD GENERATION PRESENTATION ON DEMAND
A while ago, I wrote a post called In Defense of Capabilities Marketing. A lot of companies market only their benefits statements..."We'll increase your revenue...improve your efficiency...make you more competitive..." but don't ever say what they do. Often times, I'm already sold on the benefits of something. I just want to know a bit more about how you do it.

When it comes to lead generation, many folks who we speak to want to know how it works when we generate lead for our clients. Thus we've created this on-demand overview presentation of Services in Demand, Wellesley Hills Group's lead generation and relationship nurturing program. Have a look, and let me know what you think.

MAY 09, 2008
MARKETING FIRMS - BRAND THYSELF
Marketing, advertising and PR firms all work to brand their clients. But how important is brand to these firms themselves? We sought to answer this question in the Wellesley Hills Group and RainToday.com's latest research report and found that brand does indeed make a difference for the firms whose very business it is to brand.

In the Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report: Marketing, Advertising, & PR Industry 2008 published in April 2008, 343 respondents described their company's reputation in its target market as either "very well-known" (brand leaders) or "not very well-known." Exactly one-quarter of the responding firms said they were "very well-known" and three-quarters indicated they were "not very well-known."

Here are four undeniable benefits the self-described "very well-known" companies enjoyed.

1. Brand leaders have increased their fees over the last two years.

Brand leaders were more likely to have increased their fees over the past two years: 79% of them have increased their fees, compared to 63% of less well-known firms.

2. Brand leaders have experienced annual revenue growth.

Along with an increase in fees, brand leaders were more likely to have seen their annual revenue grow in the past two years, while the lesser-known firms were more likely to have seen their revenue levels stay the same:

  • 79% of brand leaders "grew" versus 65% of lesser-known firms
  • 23% of lesser-known firms "stayed the same" versus 12% of brand leaders

3. Brand leaders receive higher fees by up to 33%.

Brand leaders not only priced their services higher than their lesser-known counterparts, (41% of brand leaders are premium-price firms vs. 24% of lesser-known firms), but they also got higher fees for their services.

The percent increase that brand leaders actually realized versus non-brand leaders by level of professional is as follows:

  • Highest-level professionals: 33% higher
  • Upper-level professionals: 13% higher
  • Advanced-level professionals: 4% higher
  • Mid-level professionals: 20% higher
  • Entry-level professionals: 27% higher

4. Brand leaders are more profitable.

Brand leaders were more likely to have been profitable in the past year: 69% of brand leaders were profitable versus 56% of lesser-known firms.

Making the Financial Case for Branding

Arguments about brand are common. Brand advocates tout the need for, and the value of, brand. Skeptics decry the value of branding, with calls of "show me the data," "prove the case," and the occasional "branding is fluff and puffery and doesn't do anything."

Lest there be any further argument about the value of brand, our research shows that firms that are well-known in their target markets receive higher fees, see their revenue grow, and earn higher profits than lesser-known firms.

This is not to say that lesser-known firms can't generate premium fees, grow, and profit. They can and do. But it seems the brand leaders have a better chance of doing so and have an easier time of it.