A key aspect of client management success is to know where you are, where you will be and the opportunities and threats facing you. At the very least you must be able to communicate, administer and plan (the CAP takes of ICECAP). The ICECAP model is a useful way to remember the six vital actives that should be underway in all assignments. These activities will help you to sell. Selling is critical for any consultant unless they are that very small minority to whom the buyer wills always come to.
Selling is a key skill however the consultant who sells as a “partner” and not as a double glazier is likely to win and keep the business. Selling should take place in all 8 phases as well as under all ICECAP approaches especially expansion.
From the moment you become the consultant you should be thinking about and actioning expansion activities. Without expansion you are unlikely to realise the full potential within the client organisation.
When you are undertaking an initial assignment you should visit other parts of the organisation to sow the seeds of further work. Do the same for your current assignment. For example, who will train the end-user of a new IT system? – would they like some help in this area? As the consultant you should be able to imagine all sorts of opportunities. You should use all appropriate internet resources to exploit these opportunities.
Timing is critical here. Asking a client to contact to meet with you to discuss a new business opportunity whilst he/she is in the midst of dealing with the implementation of a new system is likely to meet with cool response. Trying to expand from an existing project that the client is not totally satisfied with may also not be very sensible. You must not give the impression that expansion has a higher priority than delivering value.
Selling at the expansion stage involves three critical activities:
- Personal selling – ultimately you will need to meet the client contacts face-to-face to convince them of the business benefits of your proposed solution
- marketing activities – in large organisations you cannot possibly meet all of the people who may have an interest in your products or services. You should identify who can help you
- Client planning – you need to be proactive rather than reactive
No sell equals no work!