| | By John Niland
The word “downturn”
may well be misleading,
in that sooner or later
we expect a
corresponding “upturn”.
But what if the events
of last September
represent a fundamental
change in how we supply
our services? Quite
simply, life may never
be the same again. To
fully appreciate this,
think about your own
purchasing behaviour:
Before taking
on financial
commitments, are you
reflecting more
carefully?
Are you
spreading payments over
a period, and/or linking
those payments to
results?
Are you talking
to more people?
Are you trying
to make existing
facilities last longer?
Are you very
conscious of the costs /
risks associated with | |
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The shock of the last
12 months is likely to
permanently influence
two generations of
decision-makers. A young
28-year-old manager is
not likely to unlearn
these practices in a
hurry. Neither will his
50-year-old boss – if
indeed he is still there
in 12 months’ time.
So how do we
successfully engage with
“post-crunch”
decision-makers?
There are three
important shifts to
consider:
a) Without question,
purchasing-cycles have
got longer, both for
services and for
recruitment. We do more
checks, we take more
advice, we involve more
people, we are more
disciplined and vigilant
than before. And we are
likely to remain so for
many years to come.
b) More people are
involved in making | |
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| | decisions. Cynics might
say that nobody wants to
take the blame. Others
would say that “gung-ho”
decision-making has had
its day. Either way,
there are more people
involved.
c) Decision-makers
are committing to
smaller chunks at a
time, which means that
service-providers will
have to go through the
sales process (or
contract renewal, or
interview-round) more
often. There will be
more centralised
procurement to endure.
In a nutshell, we can
all expect an increased
cost-of-sale per invoice
raised.
But probably the
biggest frustration of
all will simply be that,
often after a costly and
time-intensive process,
a customer will either
defer a decision or use
another supplier. Having
consumed your resources,
taken your free advice,
they may leave you with
“Thanks very much, maybe
next time”.
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So … how do you adapt
to meet all this? There
are three major
adaptations needed – how
we market, how we
deal with enquiries
and how we manage
time.
Here is a typical
sequence by which
enquiries might be
handled:
Week 1: Email
from prospective client,
followed by a swift
call-back from us to
discuss requirements.
Tell them a little about
us. Usually arrange to
meet them, though
sometimes (for a small
job) we might offer to
send them a proposal,
skipping the next step.
Week 2: Initial
meeting with the client
to find out more,
analyse their issue and
discuss some possible
solutions. Discover who
the decision-maker is.
Share expectations about
timescales and resources
needed.
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End up with a
request-for-proposal.
Perhaps some discussion
about rates.
Week 3: Write
the proposal outlining a
solution, together with
some of our previous
experience, action plan
and quotation. Send by
email, and ask for
acknowledgement.
Week 4: Call to
see what is happening;
finally get through on
third attempt. Prospect
explains they are really
busy with something else
but they will get back
to us next week.
Week 6: No
call-back received last
week, so we email them
beginning of the week
after. Prospect responds
from another country,
explaining last-minute
change of plan … “leave
it with me” and I will
get back to you.
Continued on page
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