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Surviving The Slowdown The following interview appeared in the February 2001 issue of "What's Working in Consulting," Published by Kennedy Information. Just because the economy might be slowing down doesn't mean your consulting business has to. Bradley E. Hosmer, head of the Beta Consulting Group (www.betacg.com) in Concord, NH - and a specialist in marketing strategy and strategic planning - explains that for clients and consultants alike, success means learning new tricks in the age of change. Q. How should solo and small-firm practitioners proceed now? A. In times of slowdown, companies have less money to spend and are looking for quick results. So it's probably not a good time to pitch large projects with a long-term payoff. You're probably better off focusing your energy on trying to help a client solve a specific problem that they have right now. For example, maybe they've got a product line that needs rejuvenation, and you could help them gain some insight and get that product line moving again. Q. But many consultants are telling clients that a downturn is not the time to abandon strategic long-term planning. A. If you sense that a company is ready, willing, and able to spend long-term dollars, then why not try to pitch that kind of business. But if the client simply doesn't have the money, they you're wasting your breath. As a pragmatist, you should sell them what they want and can afford now, then position yourself for the future. Q. Beta has been in business for almost 15 years. How does this differ from the last slowdown? A. I think this economy is quite different, and my practice is quite different as well. But I can remember the bottom just seemed to drop out altogether during that one. I had about a month or month and a half with nothing much going on; it was very, very quiet. This time, I think the economy is not so much in lockstep anymore. I've got a client who told me he's having a record year, having had his best January ever. And he's not in a high-flying market at all; he's in the technical textiles field. But I have another company that just cut me out of the budget. Q. How do you handle that? A. I've known the owner of the company for awhile, and I know he's in a cyclical business, so we were both expecting this to happen. But last month I happened to be working nearby and asked him to get together for breakfast, just to catch up. After the meeting was over, I wrote up a summary and gave him some advice, for free. I view it as business development for the future. I was glad to spend a couple of hours at breakfast and another hour writing up my thoughts and recommendations. I know we'll be working together again in the future. Q. You talk about clients who get stuck in ruts. Can the same be said for consultants? A. I'm working with a group of consultants now that have a major opportunity sitting under their nose, but they aren't taking advantage of it because they are failing to see the bigger picture of how their market has changed. On the other hand, I know one consulting company that has changed its name three times since I've known them, precisely because they saw their markets changing and they followed the market instead of continuing to define themselves as they were defined 25 years ago by the founder. It's a real risk - especially for solo practitioner who can keep fairly busy with a relatively small number of clients. It's easy for them to get into a rut and not build new relationships in new industries. Next thing you know, all your contacts are retiring and you have no new ones. So I like to have a mix of startup companies, and longtime clients, as well as a mix of industries so I don't get typecast and so I don't end up with all my colleagues being the same age and all leaving the business at the same time. Q. Any tips for making this happen? A. A good exercise for consultants, particularly those concerned about their business, is to do a "reverse tree" of your clients and projects, like a family tree. Write down all your current projects or clients and trace back where they came from, to gain insight. You might find that 20% of your clients came about because you gave a speech at a trade show, so you know you need to do more of that. Bradley E. Hosmer, CMC, heads The Beta Consulting Group in Concord, NH, specializing in improved sales, marketing and new business development for generating profitable growth. For further information please contact Mr. Hosmer at Beta Consulting. |
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