| 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 |
| |
|
| | 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 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 that
the client’s priorities
are shifting all the | |
| |
| | 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 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
... | |
|
| | 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
the detail of the
assignment can give rise
to paranoid fears that
you are thinking of | |
|
|
Previous Page 
