| | By Malcolm Sleath
...continued from
page 12
Let’s look at where
you want to end up. As I
understand it, a
successful outcome would
be where you have had
conversations with senior
decision makers that
effectively reposition
your project in their
minds, so that it is
renewed as a compelling
proposition. As you know,
the Equiteq guide is full
of suggestions about how
you can reformulate your
offer.
But don’t expect to
parachute in with some
brilliant argument or
solution that will save
the day. Unless you are
particularly intuitive,
you simply won’t know the
right things to say.
Despite what I said
earlier about the
potential limitations of
relying on your resident
consultant and the
project’s sponsor, I
suggest you listen to | |
|
| | them first. One thing
that consultants are
often good at is
inferring a general
situation from specific
symptoms. So, after you
have got through the
‘how’s it going?’ stage
of your enquiry, focus on
‘what else is happening
around here’ and combine
this with your background
knowledge to guesstimate
the general situation in
the firm.
You may or may not
choose to share this with
the project’s sponsor,
but I would certainly
share it with the
resident consultant, and
then ask them to search
for evidence that will
confirm or modify your
hunch about what is going
on. You will shortly need
to test your hypothesis
on the client, but first
you need to think through
the strengths and
weaknesses of your
current project in
relation to the problems
your client will be
prioritising. How can you
now repackage your offer? | |
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| | What would it look like?
How credible would it be
as a way of addressing
the current issues? An
ice pack and the Equiteq
guide might help here.
Now for your approach.
This is almost like
talking to a new prospect
after picking up a
referral, except that in
this case your reference
is the fact that you are
already working for them.
But that’s it; it’s just
to let them know who you
are. If you imply that
you want to talk about
the ongoing work, it will
drag them back to the
terms of reference that
were in existence when it
started. They may feel
they are no longer
relevant, and you have
lost your opportunity for
repositioning the offer.
Instead, I suggest you
pitch it like this:
“Recently we have been
talking to one or two
people who have been
experiencing…” (Now set
out what you think is
going on in the company, | |
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| | but generalise it to
present it as a common
problem.)
Then you can go on to
say, “We’ve come up with
a few ideas on the
subject, and I wondered
if this was something you
would be interested in
discussing.” Make it
clear that you would get
as much, if not more,
from the discussion as
they would. People often
resist because they are
concerned about building
up a sense of obligation.
Build the reciprocity in
from the start and they
will be much more
comfortable.
On more than one
occasion I have found
myself in conversation
with a client, feeding
back to them what I
understand about their
situation, but presenting
it as a general finding.
By ‘normalising’ their
situation, I make it much
easier for them to talk
about it.
Of course, in reality, | |
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