Golden Practices Blog

Should You Let People Pick Your Brain for Free?

Yesterday I read an article on Forbes by Adrienne Graham called "No You Can't Pick My Brain For Free." And it prickled me a little.

The author has some legit points.

Some people definitely do try to take advantage of those who have knowledge and are willing to share it freely. And others are just oblivious to the fact that they are asking advice for which the potential advisor is usually paid.

But I have to say this.... the most successful business developers I've observed are those who are willing to "give a little away" and not selfishly withhold every bit of value within their brains.

Generosity and the willingness to have conversations that go beyond selling "why" they should pay for your knowledge (as Ms Graham advises) have worked very well for me, too. 

Her advice is far too black and white. She writes:

If you’re having problem drawing the line in the sand, here are some rules of thumb you should follow:

...Whenever someone wants to pick your brain, make sure you have your fee schedule in front of you. Give them a quote for how much it will cost them. They’ll either pay it or move on. If they move on, good riddance. They weren’t interested in paying you anyway. Let them figure it out on their own.

...Decline lunch/coffee invitations unless they are strictly non-business. If the conversation swings around to business, quickly and politely tell them you’re off the clock. If they are interested in a consult they can book an appointment and let them know what the charge is for that.

...Keep it light. Some of you will probably cave and throw a few nuggets out there. If you do (I hope you don’t), keep it general. Give the why and what but never the how. Anything beyond the why and what comes with a charge. And don’t even point them in the direction to obtain the how. That’s short changing yourself.

If I had held this attitude, there are many wonderful, very profitable engagements I wouldn't have landed.

IMHO, the problems she writes about weren't in the sharing. They were in being able to sniff out the "takers" early enough, and quite possibly in developing good listening skills.

Set boundaries relationship by relationship. But not in aggregate.

No way would I advise a lawyer, accountant or consultant to "decline lunch/coffee invitations unless they are strictly non-business." Guess you should decline golf and ballgames, too? How many relationships have been built on these age-old knowledge-sharing activities?

The interactions that Ms. Graham tells you to avoid allow for you to LISTEN as much as talk. Listening sells. Talking less so.

So, if you are a crummy listener and don't want the opportunity to learn more about a person's situation and needs so that you can eventually discuss ways you might be able to help them, then, yeah, pass on the opportunity to have a turkey sandwich or cuppa. 

Just don't be cynical thinking that everyone's out for your freebies.

If you're new to business development, it's a fact that you've gotta do a bunch of these things to learn how to sniff out the takers...the people who will never buy from you.

You'll get good at it. Trust me. 

Negativity and Social Media - Are You Turning People Off?

Are you a turn-off?

There's a risk of this if you hang out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn—especially if you use the "status updates" features within these tools.

If you are a negatively-oriented person, it won't take long for people to see that you view the glass half empty.

If you are using any of the these tools for relationship development, especially business relationships, you may be doing yourself more harm than good. While you might elicit sympathy—some will surely rally-round and empathize, thereby encouraging more of this posting behavior—humans are, overall, more attracted to optimists than pessimists. 

People definitely don't want to hire or refer folks to Negative Nellys and Donny Downers.

If you limit your Facebook to family and friends, it may not be such a big deal to air your daily woes. Though I'd suggest even family and friends get annoyed by Eeyore! But if you have business contacts as "friends," you really need to think twice about what you share.

If you're on Linked In or Twitter, you probably ARE there for business reasons, and being negative undermines your efforts, big time.

3 ways to discern if you're turning people off

Everyone has the occasional bad day. Crummy traffic, bad service somewhere, kids out of control, or the occasional cold or flu. A random post now and again about such human things is no big deal if you more than balance it out with a more positive outlook on life.

But when downers are the trend, it's something you'll want to recognize and improve. Here's what to look for:

1 - Consider your present situation and demeanor. 

Most of us can be divided into one of two categories: those who believe "stuff" happens to us and those who believe we make stuff happen. If you're a member of the former group, you probably have to work a little harder than the other group to NOT sound like a victim of circumstance.

Another factor could be that you're just feeling too stressed out or overwhelmed. If this is the case, consider taking a break from social media. It's also possible that the cause is stress from feeling obliged to be using social media! Maybe social media isn't something you enjoy in the first place. You aren't obligated to be there—you can take a pass. 

More serious signs of negativity, and even depression, are feelings of unworthiness, putting yourself or others down, expecting the worst to happen to yourself and others and dwelling on past failures and disappointments.

2 - Review your status updates. 

In Twitter, simply look through your Profile to see what you've been posting. In LinkedIn, from your home page, click on the words "Network Updates" over the status input field. Then choose the "My Updates" tab.

In Facebook, a quick and easy way to get a big picture recap is to use an app like "My Year In Status" which will auto-generate a random selection of your status updates. Go thru Steps 1 & 2. On Step 3, you'll see an option that says "Choose different Statuses" - this opens a chronological list of every status update you've posted over the last year. (To find the app, type the "My Year in Status" in Facebook's search box)

Pretend you don't know yourself, and read them as objectively as possible. Are you a complainer? What proportion are rants or whines versus neutral observations or upbeat messages. 

Look also at feedback trends. Do fewer people comment on your postings than on postings by other friends in your circle? Has your post feedback decreased as negativity increased?

3 - Ask a sampling of trusted people.

Preface the favor with "I'm trying to be more aware of how I come across to others. It's important and I really need frank feedback. I trust that you'll be honest with me." Then ask: "Would you mind looking at my postings and tell me if you think I'm coming across more negative than positive?"

Be open-minded to their feedback and thank them for their frankness. It's really hard to tell people you care about that they don't come across well. Most will avoid it like the plague.

If you find more than 25% your postings are downers, maybe it isn't a deep problem, just that "dilemmas" are an easy source of things to write about—and they are! So it's a temptation to avoid. Hopefully the tips below can help. 

If more than 50% are downers, perhaps you are significantly unhappy with your job or the way things are going in life. This happens to all of us at times! 

It might wise to take a break from social media posts and redirect your energy in working through the sources of your unhappiness. By all means, don't be tempted post a play-by-play of your personal therapy (can you say "AWKWARD"!).

What to do to improve your image

If you do discover you've been less than pleasant to listen to, and you aren't a glass half-full person by nature, I'm not suggesting you have to go through life feigning insincere joy. Pollyannas are annoying, too.

What you're looking for is balance. And a greater awareness of how you are coming across to people. This is actually a very big part of Marketing 101. 

It might be that the attitudes you've been conveying through social media represent impressions you've created in "real life" social situations. Yikes! Be glad you've become aware of it, and change it, now.

Going forward, think twice before hitting that post button. 

• Is your post a complaint or a wish that something was different? If so, what's your purpose behind posting this? Looking for a shoulder? Hoping people will ask you to elaborate on the problem to show they care? If so, skip it. Social media is not the place for this. Pick up the phone and call a good friend or loved one.
• If it's victim-oriented (stuff happens), can you turn it to a positive projection (I'm gonna make stuff happen)? (e.g. "Tomorrow is going to be a great day" instead of "Today was the worst day ever" or "I sure hope tomorrow is better than today was")
• Have you been posting positive stuff lately? The occasional crabbing is human nature. If your last post was negative, though, fix it or skip it.
• Post about things other than your feelings or life's events. Share news, links, songs, anecdotes, tips, etc. Broadcast about other people and their merits—be a promoter of others.

Greater self-awareness usually corrects most of the problem. We simply don't think about how we come across until someone brings it to our attention. You'll probably become more aware of others' posts now, too.

Hopefully, if you're guilty of the Negative Nelly/Donny Downer thing, this lets you self-assess and correct before too many people notice.

Networking in the Age of Social Media

Just out is an article I wrote for Association for Accounting Marketing's bi-monthly newsletter, MarkeTrends, on the subject of the coolest way to build personal credibility and your business network.

Here's an excerpt:

Blogs, despite their silly name, are the “next generation” in networking. Without leaving the comfort of your sofa and jammies, you can simultaneously snuggle with your kiddos and connect with people who share your professional interests, namely referral sources, prospects, peers, and even media.

For many young professionals juggling work and family, online networking is a viable alternative to cocktail parties and evenings away from home. For shy professionals, it’s even more appealing.

Professionals are discovering how to leverage social media technology—blogs and networking sites like Linked In and Pulse—to meet good connections and demonstrate their expertise, mostly by participating in online discussions related to their practice areas.

Some (not many) CPAs are even starting their own blogs. If you have a blog or want to have one, the sort of networking discussed in this article is requisite for a blogger to build a solid readership base, gain respect, and have their efforts really take off.

But plenty of opportunities exist through this same sort of networking approach for non-bloggers, too.

Even if you never want to blog, ever, this is a way to skip those cocktail parties and still develop a social network that elevates your career.

Download my article (pdf)

(reprinted with permission from the May/June 2008 issue of MarkeTrends, copyright by the Association for Accounting Marketing, 14 W Third St., Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64105; 816-221-1296)

Product and Service Improvement in Your Marketing Plan?

Yes!  If you don't have an Operating Plan as part of your firm's annual Strategic Plan.

Continuing to improve what you deliver (services are products, too) and how well you deliver it meddles in your processes, systems, tools and training...clearly areas "outside" of the marketing department. Or are they?

Product quality, which products you deliver, and the finesse with which you deliver them are pretty fundamental in your ability to survive and thrive, long term. Isn't that why you are in business? 

Product development is essential to evolving with your customers. And to besting your competitors through setting yourself apart. You either want to do altogether different things than your competitors, or do the same things, but do them differently...better.

So the Operating Plan and Marketing Plan should work in tandem and be integrated—not in isolation of one another—to support the Strategic Plan.

But, alas, most firms don't have Operating Plans at all. If yours does, be sure to include these Product Development initiatives in a category I'll refer to, here, as R&D (research & development). If your firm doesn't have an operating plan, then be sure to account for R&D in your marketing plan.

This chart shows essential top-level elements of Operating and Marketing Plans—expanded to show more details in the areas I'm referring to today. Click to Zoom.

 

Focusing on R&D is also focusing on your current clients—part of marketing.

And focusing here ensures you clarify and streamline your processes so that high-quality services are provided as effectively and efficiently as possible.

This impacts good use of personnel capacity, increases the recognition of need for training and delegating, and directly impacts the profitability of each project or job.

Profitability is one of the reasons you "do" marketing, right?

But profitability and marketing all too rarely intersect within firms...a problem worsened when segregating marketing from your operations and vice versa. See my earlier post, "Don't Separate Marketing From Strategy" for more on this.

Every critical operating or marking initiative shown in my chart needs to be interwoven into your team members' personal action items or they are likely to go undone. Placing product/service-related items in marketing plans is not unreasonable. Mentoring and people development is another area I often place into personal marketing plans.

I suppose this really turns an Individual Marketing Plan into an Individual Practice Plan and that is a-OK. Call it whatever you like. But ignore these crucial activities at your marketing's peril.

Networking Event Follow-up: The Rule of Three

Bruce Allen suggests that three follow-ups from an event are a lot better than none and I'd have to agree. He says:

One event = one email, one note, one call.

With the best intentions in mind, writing handwritten notes to everyone you've met is a great idea. But it can seem like a monumental undertaking so what happens? Days go by...then weeks...pretty soon months...and then it's a year. No follow-ups made. I hate to admit it, but I've done this, too (sssshhhh).

Bruce, on his blog Marketing Catalyst, suggests this, instead:

Sort through the stack of business cards and select three. Hang on to those three cards and toss the rest into a corner to gather dust (or hand them off to get entered in a database or whatever -- just get them off your desk).

Email one, write a quick note to another, and call the third. You're done. I'd say this can easily be done in about 5 minutes.

This approach makes sense. Sure it would be optimal to follow up with everyone. But because three is better than none, which is what we end up with most of the time, then three sounds great to me.

Bruce's post is #7 in a series of posts on tips for networking at an event. These are excellent bits of advice! Check out the whole series starting at post #1.

Visit Your Clients

Surprisingly, when we urge professionals to spend more time thinking intentially and proactively about their clients (instead of just working on bringing in new biz), we are often met with looks--or even heavy sighs--that suggest, "you've got to be kidding."

As we coach professionals of all levels on their individual marketing efforts, it seems like we constantly need to emphasize the importance and benefits of spending a greater percentage of energy or effort on nurturing existing clients (versus new biz development). Existing clients should receive this heavier focus for many reasons:

1. increasing the level of service to increase the level of satisfaction/delight;
2. affect longevity in customer relationships;
3. inspire referrals from current customers; and, oh yeah,
4. increase the number of project opportunities relative to meeting customer needs--needs you won't know about or be able to help them with if you aren't TALKING with them.

I write today because I just saw Tom Collins' post over at More Partner Income discussing the results of a survey by The Remsen Group. I tend to take surveys with a grain of salt but look at these percentages reported in answer to the question:

Which of the Following Marketing Tactics Has Your Law Firm Found to be Most Effective at Generating New Revenue?

Meeting with customers AND specialization (reflected in organizational involvement) reign.

Well, now, isn't that what we've been telling you all along? :-)

More Clients Like "You"

"Find your five favorite clients.  Take them to dinner.  Don’t let them leave until they answer this question:  What can I do to get more clients like you?"

This suggestion comes from Matt Homann's [non]billable hour blog.

Okay, about my posting this in "5-minute marketing," I know the dinner itself will take more than 5-minutes, but the invite and asking the question won't!

Essential Career Advice for Professionals

I appreciate how, in a single, brief post, Maister imparts career advice that covers:

• how to be trusted by your employer (partners, colleagues, etc);
• how to build a loyal and appreciative customer-base;
• why sincerity must underlie your service mentality; and
• what commitment really means

Consider his post entitled You Gotta Serve Someone wherein he discusses core beliefs and pure service mentality.

Part of why a vast majority of partners don't delegate or cross-sell others' work is because this mentality is lacking:

Whenever a superior, a customer or client gives you something to work on, you have their affairs, their reputation and their future in your hands. If you mess up, the embarrassment you will feel is nothing compared to the mess you will land them in. You are being trusted with someone else's baby. Deserve it. Being good is important, being trusted is essential.

What can you do to increase others' trust in you? Maister addresses this:

It can be difficult to accept the "server" mentality. Dale Carnegie once wrote that "You'll have more fun and success by helping other people achieve their goals than you will by focusing on your own goals."

When I first read that, as a college student in England, I was shocked. It sounded like communism, or at a minimum, a self-sacrificing religious principle. However, as I progressed through the real world, I realized Carnegie was right. His principle is actually the vary (sic) core of exchange capitalism: I will give you what you want if you give me what I want.

To make this work, you must be sincere in trying to help the other party. It's not just a bargaining process ("You give me this, and I'll give you that, and then we'll go our separate ways.") Human beings don't work like that. We look for relationships, even in minor transactions.

'Bare minimum' work doesn't instill value. Value comes from genuinely WANTING to better someone's situation or result. He explains:

If I hire somebody to do something for me (clean my house, handle my divorce, do my taxes, diagnose and cure my ailments), I don't want them to focus only on the bare minimum of fulfilling the contractual terms. If they do, I'm going to focus on paying them the bare minimum - and no-one's going to be happy.

What I'm looking for is someone who wants to help me, and will deal with whatever arises. Such a person will get paid well, hired again, and promoted, and referred to others. If I hire you, never forget you're there to serve me. If you're not willing to do that, I don't want you.

Are you committed?

Another key attitude is commitment. Commitment is not numbers of hours you work, the sales you generate or the rates you charge.

It means placing other people - the client and your colleagues - first in your professional life. Commitment means attention to details, not because you might get caught, but because you want to provide the best product or service available and you relish the opportunity to step up and take on responsibility. 

Maister concludes:

It's the paradox of professionalism: the more you put yourself first, the less people want to work with you and the less of life's rewards you get. The more you focus on serving others, the more they want to be with you and give you what you want.

People (bosses, colleagues, clients, subordinates) can spot immediately those who bring a truly professional attitude to work, and reward those who do. 

I'd like to say I agree with these last two paragraphs. They sound great, but they aren't entirely true.

I do sometimes see self-serving people get ahead in life. And sometimes I see firms reward those who aren't as deserving as others who are overlooked. Life IS unfair sometimes. Thankfully, such situations are the exception and not the rule.

Overall, David's advice is spot on. The real stars in firms, those who progress and build strong practices, often aren't "marketer types" -- they are service types. Throughout their careers, these stars get more business from in-house peers, outside referral sources, and client word-of-mouth. Almost entirely because of attitude. (The rest is skill, of course.)

Remember, skill without good attitude is worth far less than great attitude with marginal skill.

And David has nailed the elements of the sort of attitudes that make this success happen. So, now we know. The choice is ours.

Highly Effective Marketing Strategy Can Cost Almost Nothing

I've been sitting on this post for awhile. It's quite good:

I have this new marketing strategy that costs next to nothing and:

• Will bring you a substantial increase in search engine traffic
• Will greatly enhance your ability to communicate with your market
• Will increase your odds of being interviewed by the media
• Will allow you (or someone you designate) to instantly post news updates to your web site
• Willl guarantee that your web site has fresh reasons for people to come back
• Will allow you to be seen as a thought leader in your industry and
• Will give you a tool to help cement strategic partner relationships

Above are the words of John Jantsch in his Duct Tape Marketing post: "I'm Just Going to Stop Using the 'B' Word."

He's talking about blogging, of course. A powerful marketing weapon tool many firms (from massive firms to sole practitioners) are curious but tentative about--a problem compounded by the silly name. 

So, forget the name, and familiarize yourself with the tool.

Quick!  Before your competitors do it.

Fly On The Wall #1: Respect, Referrals & Cross-selling

Fly on the Wall is a really good description for a consultant sometimes. I think that is my favorite part of my job. A lawyer at a firm I've worked with for years suggested the term today when I shared an anecdote with him.

"Anecdote" per Wikipedia: A brief tale narrating an interesting or amusing...incident...to reveal a truth more general than the brief tale itself, or to delineate a character trait or the workings of an institution in such a light that it strikes in a flash of insight to their very essence.

I love that: strikes, in a flash of insight, to their very essence.

As someone privileged to observe numerous firms, I'm going to offer periodic "Fly on the Wall" postings to share anecdotes in their original context or their expanded context. Tonight's is this:

Referral Sources Within Your Own Firm: Cross-selling Killers

As this lawyer (experienced, but new to this firm) embarks on his first, formal Individual Marketing Plan, I advised as to the importance of starting off on the right foot "marketing" internally--to make sure his plans include creating positive impressions with the other professionals in his firm.

In his area of practice, Estate Planning, his success can be tremendously enhanced through referrals from other lawyers in the firm. Conversely, his success can be greatly impeded if few or no referrals come from his colleagues.

Anecdote 1: 
I recently observed (though certainly not for the first time) a scenario in which a particular firm partner is rather socially challenged and exudes negativity. As one would imagine, she is not very good at developing business. In fact, because she is ineffective at selling, she's highly dependent upon referrals.

She receives a lower than normal number of client referrals because of her attitude. And though a couple people in the firm do send some work her way--she is very proficient, after all--most would rather not have her directly interact with their clients. Those partners would rather refer that work to another firm before sending it to her.

Meanwhile, her small client-base is shrinking and her charge hours are much lower than her goal. The firm beats up on her for billing too few hours and spending too long doing the work she does. She is annoyed that nobody is fixing the "firm's marketing problem." She thinks she'd benefit from a direct mail campaign or other formal marketing efforts for her services.

Anecdote 2:
A professional in another firm often complains openly to partners and team members about how much he dislikes his work. He comments about what a bother clients are when they call him. And he expresses, in a way that doesn't suggest he has the initiative to change it, that he doesn't really know how to do some of the tasks he is charged with.

The firm has written initiatives to develop the practice area in which this professional is a key player. The plan relies on other partners cross-selling this partner's services to their client-base. The firm hasn't had much success, though. Can you guess why?

Lessons:

Both of the above scenarios are classic examples of really bad internal marketing.

I've long believed the biggest barrier to cross-selling was "trust" lacking on the part of the potentially referring partner because of his or her perfectionist traits. But I now see that the introduction and trust both come easily if the receiving party merits it and does a good job demonstrating, internally, they are the best person for the job.

If you fairly are new to the professions, and haven't developed bad habits yet, take heed! Or, if you've been around awhile and want to increase cross-selling referrals in your specialty area, here is some advice that may help:

1. Recognize that whether or not you convey confidence and competence to your colleagues in the office (basically your attitude and approach toward work) dramatically impacts the future likelihood of those colleagues entrusting their clients or friends to you. (Even what you say in a partner meeting matters!)

2. Know that social skills are every bit as important as technical skills. If you could benefit from some enhancement in this area, a place to start might be amazon.com under "business social skills"...

3. Don't complain to peers or managers/partners about doing work, clients, your direct reports, insufficient skill level on your part or on the part of your team, or anything else over which you should, under normal circumstances, have the ability to improve or influence. Increase your skill, build or trim your team, and if you need to, pick another more stimulating practice area.

4. Be as positive and confident around your co-workers as you should be around an external referral source or client.

5. Be sure to do all of these things outside the firm as well!

In both of the troublesome scenarios I described above, isn't it a shame the owners won't be forthright with each other about the real causes of the problems?

Instead, they try to throw money and time at the problem, investing in marketing efforts and plans that won't succeed without the major behavioral changes that go undiscussed.

A great book about corporate honesty (and a very quick read) is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni.

Networking Tips From a Guy Who Knows How to Schmooze

Something about Guy Kawasaki's tone as a blog author makes me feel like we're shooting the breeze over nachos and a cold beer. It's in this tone that he offers some good refresher tips on how to network, but more importantly reminding WHY we network.

It's a good post, check it out...

Saying "No" As Part of Your Strategy for 2006

Happy 2006!

A new beginning. It's either another year to pretty much do the same ol' thing or it's a year to set about making better, more doable goals than ever before.

As someone who participates in or leads innumerable brainstorming sessions (even if I'm by myself!) I'm well aware there is an abundance of great ideas. Some of those great ideas turn out to be not the best ideas because of circumstances--further research shows they won't provide the advantage or result desired.

Most of those great ideas aren't practical to implement. Resources (energy, money, leadership) are limited. And as Grandpa often reminded me, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right."

So what to do this year to make things different? Better? More effective? Say no.

Decker Marketing has a neat post outlining 12 Places to Say No. The 12 are listed below. See Sam Decker's blog for more details and the sources of inspiration (to him) for each.

Strategic Plan for 2006 -- 12 Places to Say No
(*italics are my comments)

1. What strategies, initiatives and activities will you say "no" to?

There is great feeling focus, empowerment, and impact when everyone agrees on paper the activities that will not be done.

2. What measurements will you ignore?

...pay close attention to [those]...related to customer satisfaction and the levers that directly drive growth, margin, operating expense and ROI.

(Ignore those that emphasize destructive behaviors and are LAGGING indicators, such as charge hours and realization--focus on LEADING indicators, KPIs that contribute to growth)

3. What customers will you not target?
Who is your ideal prospect, client or customer? If you haven’t identified them, you should. Then, articulate who you will not target. Finally, make decisions on segments of your customers that deserve "platinum” treatment, and those who don’t.

4. What relationships will you not keep?

People are the key to a company’s success. Therefore, people who aren’t working out are draining effectiveness and risking success...."Life is like 6 sides of a dice. There is no seventh side. You have to choose where, how and with whom you spend those 6 sides…and how much time you spend on each side."

5. What competitors will you not follow?

Most companies should only pay close attention to a couple of competitors. If you try to pay attention to the entire set of competitors in a large industry, you spend too little time focusing on the customer.

6. What will you remove from your web site?

Web sites are magnets for content and pages that build up over time. Eventually, many of these pages get one visit per month. It’s often why large companies do a redesign every 2-3 years…get an outside perspective.

7. What money will you not spend?

Every dollar spent in an organization should be thought of as an investment towards greater operating income -- even petty cash. With this in mind, what things, or even entire budget categories, will you not spend?

8. What meetings will you decline?

...choosing meetings is a conscious decision every executive needs to make. The meetings should be used to make strategic decisions, where multiple functions are involved. Decline or delegate informational meetings.

9. What trips will you not make?

I can't deny the power of 'showing up' in person....great things happen when I show up and interact with customers and colleagues. Nonetheless, trips are very time consuming…consider how you can use technology to replace trips, and only travel when it can make a big impact towards your primary goals.

10. What slides will you not create?

Early in my career, I believed the audience should know as much as possible....the audience probably cared about the information that was on two slides. The “less is more” principle definitely applies to presentations.

11. What will you not say?

[A particular man in high regard]...sticks with a principle of saying nothing that does not move the ‘agenda’ forward or uplift others....By consciously choosing 2 or 3 things not to say this year (or ways to say them), perhaps you can ironically discover what’s ‘missing’ from your leadership effectiveness.

12. What thoughts will you not entertain?

I’ve come to realize that everyone (even great leaders) have thoughts of inadequacy. It seems the great leaders choose to remove those thoughts when they appear. Don’t tolerate negative thoughts about yourself or others. If that doesn’t work, then as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do the act, and the attitude follows.”

So, here's to a year of great success and choosing to say "no" strategically!

1. What strategies, initiatives and activities will you say "no" to?

There is great feeling focus, empowerment, and impact when everyone agrees on paper the activities that will not be done.

2. What measurements will you ignore?

...pay close attention to [those]...related to customer satisfaction and the levers that directly drive growth, margin, operating expense and ROI.

(Ignore those that emphasize destructive behaviors and are LAGGING indicators, such as charge hours and realization--focus on LEADING indicators, KPIs that contribute to growth)

3. What customers will you not target?
Who is your ideal prospect, client or customer? If you haven’t identified them, you should. Then, articulate who you will not target. Finally, make decisions on segments of your customers that deserve "platinum” treatment, and those who don’t.

4. What relationships will you not keep?

People are the key to a company’s success. Therefore, people who aren’t working out are draining effectiveness and risking success...."Life is like 6 sides of a dice. There is no seventh side. You have to choose where, how and with whom you spend those 6 sides…and how much time you spend on each side."

5. What competitors will you not follow?

Most companies should only pay close attention to a couple of competitors. If you try to pay attention to the entire set of competitors in a large industry, you spend too little time focusing on the customer.

6. What will you remove from your web site?

Web sites are magnets for content and pages that build up over time. Eventually, many of these pages get one visit per month. It’s often why large companies do a redesign every 2-3 years…get an outside perspective.

7. What money will you not spend?

Every dollar spent in an organization should be thought of as an investment towards greater operating income -- even petty cash. With this in mind, what things, or even entire budget categories, will you not spend?

8. What meetings will you decline?

...choosing meetings is a conscious decision every executive needs to make. The meetings should be used to make strategic decisions, where multiple functions are involved. Decline or delegate informational meetings.

9. What trips will you not make?

I can't deny the power of 'showing up' in person....great things happen when I show up and interact with customers and colleagues. Nonetheless, trips are very time consuming…consider how you can use technology to replace trips, and only travel when it can make a big impact towards your primary goals.

10. What slides will you not create?

Early in my career, I believed the audience should know as much as possible....the audience probably cared about the information that was on two slides. The “less is more” principle definitely applies to presentations.

11. What will you not say?

[A particular man in high regard]...sticks with a principle of saying nothing that does not move the ‘agenda’ forward or uplift others....By consciously choosing 2 or 3 things not to say this year (or ways to say them), perhaps you can ironically discover what’s ‘missing’ from your leadership effectiveness.

12. What thoughts will you not entertain?

I’ve come to realize that everyone (even great leaders) have thoughts of inadequacy. It seems the great leaders choose to remove those thoughts when they appear. Don’t tolerate negative thoughts about yourself or others. If that doesn’t work, then as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do the act, and the attitude follows.”

So, here's to a year of great success and choosing to say "no" strategically!

Doing Business Abroad: Need-to-Know Etiquette

Here is a great resource for cultural tips including do's, don'ts and even appropriate attire:

http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/  scroll down to view by country

Why is this important? Cultural understanding can be the difference between success or failure in a business dealing.

As an American--

...do you know which cultures consider it entirely inappropriate or rude for men to stand with their hand in their pocket?

...do you know how to show proper respect, rather ceremoniously, in the exchange of business cards with a Japanese person?

...do you know which cultures frown upon women wearing slacks or crossing their legs?

...are you conscious of ensuring no one can see the bottoms of your shoes in Russian or Saudi Arabian cultures?

Learn how and when to present a gift--and when not to, how to behave in public, tips as to how decisions are made, what to expect as far as eye contact and body language, and much more.

This other site offers a handful of examples of multi-cultural business situations gone bad, and why.

Honing Your Speaking Skills

Most of us recognize the value of speaking on business topics to increase our credibility yet few of us spend enough time and energy to make the presentations as impactful as they could be.

Tom Antion's blog is a great resource of tips and ideas. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

A recent post conveys advice from Terry Paulson, Ph.D.,CSP,CPAE who recommends scripting the beginning and end of your presentation, but don't tightly script the whole talk.

"...most speakers lose far more than they gain by preparing exact wording for an entire speech. Craft and shape your opening and closing, but don't fall victim to scripting the whole thing. As a pilot, you plan and execute with precision your takeoff and landing, but once airborne know how to enjoy the ride taking people to the locations they want to see."

Tom's whole post on the topic is here.  If you ever speak, I think you'll learn a lot from subscribing to his blog.

Holiday Cards: How to Do or Not to Do, Those are the Questions

Each year, usually later than September, CPA firms and law firms begin the process of dreading how to deal with the holiday card issue "this" year.

A fun article appears on ABA Law Practice Management Section's website on this very subject. The article, authored by Mary Beth Pratt, CMO at www.pepperlaw.com, contains numerous ideas about making holiday card delivery special as well as providing lots of alternatives to what many perceive is the overused, impersonal holiday card strategy of old.

*many thanks to Tom Kane's Legal Marketing Blog for referencing this article!

Do You Use Bad Consulting Approaches?

When advising your clients, there are some mistakes you can make that impact their satisfaction with the process and their willingness to consider you as an advisor/consultant going forward.

Mike McLaughlin of Guerrilla Consulting wrote here about his review of a pre-publication version of Consulting Mastery by Keith Merron.

According to McLaughlin, Merron opens with "Rules behind the Rules" -- some tactics he apparently feels are employed by consultants all too often:

1. Rather than offer unique solutions, listen to understand the problem in such a way that you can prove your predefined solution fits the client's problem
2. Proclaim specialized knowledge, even if it is not well developed nor unique
3. Convince clients that they are in trouble if they don't use you and come in like a hero to save the day
4. See change management as something you bolt on to the process, rather than the greatest challenge in the process
5. Leverage young talent at high margins to make a lot of money
6. Collect your fee, regardless of the outcome

I concur with McLaughlin that many consultants do not exhibit these traits. However, 2 and 6 occur regularly in professional service firms. Both are customer satisfaction nightmares.

Number 6 is the antithesis of value billing.

The fifth one (about leveraging young talent) would happen a lot in firms if partners/managers were better at letting go of work (perhaps if they didn't have those high billable hour requirements!). And I'm not sure I see number 5 as a terrible problem, anyway, as long as the client understands who is doing the work and has agreed to the price.

The first one is primarily the sales faux pas of an untrained advisor.

Think about these "don'ts" and consider how your firm's processes might be encouraging them as well as how your clients might feel as the recipients.

Choose: Do What You Want or Achieve What You Want

Summing up sales, marketing and even planning, is Larry Anderson's One Sentence Journal from Jun 26:

The Price of Achievement

All of us, at times, must do things we don't want to do in order to achieve what we want to achieve. That is the price of achievement. Then you must decide which you prefer, doing what you want, or achieving what you want.

So true. Which do you choose?

Don't Worry About "Building Relationships" Anymore

Forget the marketing objective of developing "relationships." You know what? Just completely scratch that off your list. It's far too vague and it's not adequate, anyway.

Replace it with something far, far more potent.

Conversation.

Have lots of them. With clients. With people you just meet. With referral sources. With people you buy from. Everyone.

Have frequent, sincere conversations and your business will improve.

And when you're having these conversations, don't forget to smile. There's a wise, old Jewish proverb: "Don't open a shop unless you know how to smile."  It's amazing how many business people forget to smile. Especially while they're having a conversation.

Individual Marketing Plans: The Permission You Need to Start Small

If you've never had a formal, written Individual Marketing Plan (IMP) --or just never had success completing one, try this:

Just Set Small Goals!

1.  Don't set goals that are too big even if you feel very enthusiastic about them.

It's great to be eager, but it is far more important that the plan is realistic so there won't be unnecessary barriers to achieving it.

Start off slowly.

If, for instance, you're thinking, "I'll meet with one client or prospect per week for lunch," well, while that only means 4 per month, realize that this is a huge goal if there are currently zero taking place on a regular basis.

You probably won't hit this lofty goal, then you'll feel guilty and dump the whole plan. I see it all the time. It's too much habit to change all at once.

Instead, just start with a smaller goal of 1 or 2 per month.

2. Build slowly so you can get into a routine of scheduling and developing conversation so these lunches are as productive as possible.

Starting with a small goal makes a lot more sense when you realize what is involved in accomplishing your goal: effective communications with people who have the influence to use your services.

Fact is, the time commitment isn't just the lunch. The devil is in the details. The goal includes personally scheduling the lunch and -- if you do the meeting right -- 20-30 minutes reacquainting yourself with the client's file and reading the latest First Research profile on their industry before your meeting. 

The QUALITY is far more important than the quantity of your marketing efforts. Don't skip this PREP-WORK.

After maintaining your pace for a couple months, then try adding another.

Yeah, it's simple psychology, but by setting yourself up for some small "wins," you'll end up feeling much better about your planning time and marketing effort.

3.  This is so important...make sure you identify, up-front, exactly who you'll call and when.

Don't just plan "go to lunch with one client per month" and file that away. What is it that you can put into your Outlook?

"Call some client sometime this month"??

When, exactly, do you think you'll get around to thinking about who it makes the most sense to ask? Well, you won't.

Each month comes and goes because it takes too much time and energy to think about it on the fly.

So, what do you do? Procrastinate. You'll think about it later, right? Wrong.

Don't feel bad. We all do it.

Define your plan thoroughly the day you make it. Think through the details of the goal on the front-end! Decide who will be Jan, Feb, etc. Even go so far as to put their phone number on the plan itself. Then you'll have no reason to procrastinate.

Try it, it works.