| Malcolm Sleath from coaching consultancy 12boxes suggests a way in which a senior member of the firm can initiate a productive dialogue with CEOs. |
| How to defend a key account from cutbacks |
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| | By Malcolm Sleath
In recent times, many
competent firms have
enjoyed high levels of
consultant utilisation
and got away with low
account maintenance, but
now they need to take
action to retain client
commitment in difficult
times.
Question: I’ve
downloaded Equiteq’s
100 Tips for
Consulting Firms to
Survive and Grow in a
Recession. It makes
the point that strategic
clients should have
account managers
assigned to them who
have the long-term
growth prospects of the
client in mind as
opposed to the current
live project. Until now,
our firm has been pretty
stretched in delivering,
and I know that I have
taken some accounts for | |
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| | granted and not spent
enough time nurturing
those where the existing
consultant demonstrated
high levels of
competence in taking
care of the project.
Reading the guide has
made me realise there
are some things I really
need to be getting on
with to defend one or
two accounts from
possible cuts. Do you
have any tips on how I
can introduce myself
into the situation
without making it look
as if it is a panic
measure?
Answer: I also
read Equiteq’s
insightful guide, so I
know where you are
coming from. It’s all
too easy to focus on the
excellence of our
current solutions and
delivery, and forget | |
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| | the detail of the
assignment can give rise
to paranoid fears that
you are thinking of
shedding an expensive
resource and want to
bring yourself up to
speed before doing so.
Assuming that is not in
your mind, you have to
have a game plan and
share it with your key
resource. He or she must
be totally comfortable
with what you are doing.
Remember, it’s not what
they say to your face
that counts; it’s how
they react when a member
of the client’s staff
asks them why you have
appeared on the scene.
Second, with the best
will in the world,
remember that your
consultant will be
inclined to defend the
project with the
original terms of
reference in mind. For | |
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| | them, the project might
look like a railway
track, and so they think
in terms of avoiding a
derailment. You can’t
count on them fully
understanding the
current priorities and
criteria of each of the
key opinion formers and
specifiers in the client
organisation because
their mind may have been
on other things. The
same could be true of
the project’s sponsor.
Your task, on the
other hand, is to relate
your firm’s presence in
the client organisation
to the current concerns
and preoccupations of
the senior team. Your
project has to be seen
as worthwhile by a wider
audience. You need to
increase your network of
stakeholders.
Continued on page 14 | |
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| | that the client’s
priorities are shifting
all the time. Projects
are often organised like
railway journeys, with
clearly marked mileposts
and proper stops and
junctions. But running a
business is more like
sailing a boat; the
weather is constantly
changing, and a course
that was optimum in
yesterday’s conditions
now looks like a route
to disaster.
First, I want you to
consider how a sudden
intervention might look
to the ‘consultant in
residence’. Unexpected
interest on your part in | |
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