The pitfall of a small business consultant.

The most common pitfall faced by small independent consultants is that rather than remaining as business advisers, they end up as direct service providers, handling the major workload of the business process where they were expected only to provide. This becomes very expensive for the client and changes the relationship. In place of mutual satisfaction, you now have mutual dissatisfaction.

There are three possible outcomes in such situations - the client pays up and remains upset with you, the client doesn't pay your bills and you are upset with the client, or both parties reach an unhappy compromise.

In certain cases, time-schedule, lack of resources on part of the client, or other urgent needs may call for you to provide most of the work as a direct service provider. But in such cases, the client needs to understand from the very beginning that the instant situation needs a service provider with your experience, more than it needs power of consulting. The client needs to have a clear idea of the costs that may be chalked up if you were providing direct service, or the client is free to hire another direct service provider, to save the day. Even providing that little advice is sufficient for you to bill as a consultant, because the client was unable to recognise the situation. What you are doing is business consulting, and not creating a fallible situation.

How do people end up with the jobs they have?

A friend of mine recently said she'd been worried about her cat. When I asked what was wrong, envisioning broken bones, diseases, pit-bull terriers, she continued. "She seems depressed. I think she's angry with me."

My friend found, with little difficulty, a person she was sure could help. Not a vet, but a pet psychic, a person who, through spending time with animals, touching them, talking to them and more, feels able to effectively communicate with them. The pet psychic provided - at no small cost - a detailed report to my friend, who was satisfied with the results.

Good grief, I thought, how does one become a cat whisperer? If you can be a cat whisperer for a living, you can be anything. There are people who formulate antidepressants for pets. There are people who taste pet food.  There are people whose sole means of income lies in designing dog clothes in every size from Yorkshire Terrier to Great Dane (doubles as a horse blanket), and that's just pets.  What about citrus fruit colourer? Lighthouse keepers? The voice over chaps for cinema trailers? Somewhere out there, there is someone whose job is comprised, at least in part, of naming lipsticks and nail polish colours.

The mind boggles at how many forks on the road of life there are and the possibilities for different careers.

Of course things have changed a lot over generations. Being a brush maker for a living is probably unlikely now, and earning a living as a creator of applications for smart phones only popped into existence in the last decade. But regardless of the time we're living in, our careers shape our lives. How we support ourselves and pay our bills influences our interests and conversations, and becomes part of our identity. Clearly our ideas change as we get older or we'd all be firemen, ballerinas or spacemen. How many of us follow the career path we wanted in primary school when the teacher asked us what we want to be when we grow up?

Finding a job that is both enjoyable and pays well is a common goal. However, this enticing combination can be elusive. Generally, you are considered lucky if you have a job that falls into either category. If you make a lot of money, at least you're well-compensated for work you don't enjoy. If you love your job, at least you get to have fun even if the money isn't so easy to come by. However, for a lucky few, there are careers that encompass both. A high salary is a fairly easy to calculate, but the enjoyment you get from a career will vary from one person to the next.

Career paths are not always straightforward and it can be difficulty to equate what you learn at school to particular jobs. My own career path is a good example.

I left school with one “O”Level in Theology, it was a monastery school and I am dyslexic!  My academic achievements came latter; I now have a degree and amongst other acknowledgements of my skill I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

When I left school I had no idea what I was going to be able to do. I was interested in the countryside and farming so went to agricultural college and worked on the land before developing my interests in marketing. The combination of the two has taken me around the world. I’ve been a charity CEO for a dozen years and I’ve worked in over 30 countries. In Taiwan I worked on native art, in Zambia cattle ranching, in Singapore with social exclusion  and in the Netherlands ex-cons.

Throughout my career I’ve drawn on what I learnt at school. Not necessarily directly, I don’t think I’ve ever needed to recite the Kings and Queens of England but I have for example used my maths and science to create a field fridge in Africa. It is not just the straight academic skills that I have drawn on. Much of my leadership comes from my time at school.  I learned to work with others and tolerate or even welcome difference.

Every day is a school day. I learn something new every day. The challenge is to apply it.

Cram these essentials into every marketing message.

I've spent much of my career working on getting my message across. Specifically, what you should say to get people to donate something, try something or buy something. Sometimes I've succeeded and sometimes I've failed, but over time the same four critical components emerge again and again.

I've concluded a great message at its essence packs four complementary purposes into one powerful whole:

• It connects with other people based on their values
• rewards them with a benefit they seek
• asks for a specific action to get that benefit and
• sticks with us in a memorable way.

It has taken me a lot of practice to CRAM this into my head. If you're in the business of persuasion, you must CRAM your message into every key interaction with your target audience.

1. Connect to things your audience cares about. I mean core desires like saving time, feeling good about themselves, helping others, etc. You want to always answer the question, why should someone else care? Why is what you're saying personally relevant?
2. Identify and offer a compelling reward for taking action. What benefit will result for the people who listen to what you say? Good rewards are immediate, personal, credible and reflective of audience values. 
3. Have a clear call to action. Good actions are specific, feasible and are easy for people to visualize doing. So much of messaging falls down on this point. Make it extremely easy to get on board with what you’re asking of them.
4. Make it memorable. We don’t want simply to make an impression; We want to make a lasting impression. What makes something memorable? It’s memorable if it’s different, catchy, personal, tangible and desirable. But a word of caution: memorable elements should always be closely tied to our message. Think of all the advertisements that were so funny or memorable that we told a friend about them, but when asked what product the ad was for, we were not sure. We don’t just need a memorable idea or picture; we need an idea or picture that makes our product or cause memorable. Tell a vivid story or use a unique messenger to drive home points 1-3.

Has CRAMing ever worked for you? What would you add to the list?

A NEW New Years Resolution

As the 9th January is meant to be the day most people in the UK break their New Years resolution I thought that the 11th was a good day to suggest a fresh resolution. “Develop a sound social media strategy”.

Slowly but surely I am starting to understand how important it is for me to get involved with social media marketing. If you are like me and want to manage your online presence all by yourself, and you’re feeling overwhelmed, maybe this blog can help you stick to your shinny new resolution.

Start with the – “Why?”

Many people get into social media for the wrong reason and participate in the networks they joined too much or too little. Now’s a great time to really give some thought to why you are involved in the social networks you are involved in. Having clarity in the “Why?” is the first step in getting yourself organised and on track. Here’s a few ideas to help you answer the question.

• Are you involved with social media to boost your ego? Do you collect followers, connections, and Likes solely so you can tell your friends about the numbers you’ve amassed?
• Do you really want to engage with the people you’ve connected with, or do you just want to promote yourself or your product all the time?
• Did you join a particular social network just because “Everyone I know is on …?”
• Are you prepared to put in the time necessary to accomplish your social media marketing goals consistently throughout 2012?

The answers to these questions are important and will help you form your social media marketing strategy for 2012. Businesses and business people, wanting to succeed in the world as it is today, must WANT to connect. You must WANT to connect with you current clients, customers and prospects if you want to be a successful social marketer. These are the people who will help your business grow. Now, when I say “connect,” I mean really engaging in conversations with people instead of pummeling them with promotions for your product or service. I mean adding value to people’s lives on a regular basis with your posts ( like this one?! ). I mean working hard to build lasting online relationships with your connections so they trust and respect you.

If you don’t consistently provide your connections with valuable content you and your business will be forgotten. If you over do it and post too much people will get irritated and stop following you. The key to a successful social media strategy is the same key to a happy and healthy life: Balance.

Whether you are a small business or a BIG company your commitment to social networking should be consistent, compelling and engaging. The social community is a fickle one. They will follow someone who is consistent, compelling and engaging, but once you slip up, they’re gone, never to return.

Developing a social networking schedule you can handle, must also keep you accountable. Again, the goal is consistency. Build your schedule and stick with it for an entire month. At the end of the month, stop and evaluate your efforts to determine if you are still on goal. Do you need to tweak the schedule? Do you need to get involved in more social networks or less?

Here’s my New Years resolution social media marketing schedule. You can use my schedule to generate ideas that will help you create your own schedule to meet your needs and the needs of your social communities, accomplish your goals, and fit your particular business and work style.

I will…

Two times a day

• Check my Twitter feed. Reply when required and check the keywords I am looking for. Join a conversation or two.
• Check my LinkedIn profile and visit some of the Groups I am in. I will engage with my LinkedIn network in some way twice a day, every day.
• Check my Facebook Page and post something of value or respond to comments.
• Check my Google Alerts for information on your competitors and mentions of your own brand. Actually I have not really got to grips with Google Alerts so this is more a must learn how to resolution!

Once A Week

• Work on Twitter and Facebook Lists to be better organised so I am able to send targeted marketing messages when appropriate.
• Really spend some time in LinkedIn Answers and discussions in the Groups I belong to.
• Schedule tweets and status updates for the next week so I am consistently providing myr connections with “valuable” information.
• Spend some time building relationships with other influencers.
• Keep up to date on new products and social tools that may increase my efficiency and reach.

During the Week

Monday
Schedule tweets and status updates to provide meaningful content in addition to the content I scheduled in my once a week session.

Mondays and Wednesdays
Get involved in an industry specific conversation on Twitter.

Tuesdays
Respond to blog comments on my blog and leave a comment or two on another blog. Remember what I said about building trust and credibility!

Fridays
Check on the things I’ve been listening to. This would also be a good day to take a look at my analytics and analyse my website and blog traffic for the week.

I’m sure that your schedule is likely to be very different from this one. Consider your time commitments. Make the schedule something you will really do every week, stick to your NEW New Years resolution. Tweak the schedule along the way but remember that consistency is key.

Please share some of your own ideas in the comments.

IF

A poem about Trustees- thought I'd share although it is a little late for Trustees' Week

'If' a poem about Trustees by Alex Swallow
(but thanks very much Kipling)

If you can keep your head when all about you,
Have read the briefings five times to your one,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
And feel that your duty has been done;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
And plan ahead so your intentions don't surprise,
If you let your brain be constantly creating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream- and not make dreams your master,
If you have patience for the long-term game,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear a new agenda topic,
When your stomach rumbles and you've a train to catch,
If the finance sheets are making you myopic,
But you're determined that they've met their match;

If you can keep your mind fixated,
On those the charity's there to serve,
If you're working harder than anticipated,
And you approach the lot with vim and verve;
If you keep fellow members smiling,
When your own is wearing thin,
And hang in there when the pressure's piling,
And take your setbacks on the chin;

If every time one's added to your number,
You're bothered to make them feel at ease,
If you can drag others from their slumber,
To see the options you must surely seize;
If you can fill the unforgiving meeting,
With two hours worth of good work done,
Yours is the Earth, and everything that's in it,
And- which is more- you'll be a Trustee, my son!
(or daughter!)

Volunteer, Why?

All sorts of people volunteer for many different reasons, but one thing that unites them all is that they find it challenging, rewarding and varied.

Volunteering can add a great deal to your life and the lives of those for whom you volunteer. It offers you a chance to become involved in a project or with an organisation you really care about as well as an opportunity to meet new and like-minded people. It also gives you the chance to try out something different to your 'everyday' job, which may lead on to new career options.

Community groups and organisations benefit from the input of volunteers by gaining a new and valued perspective on their work as well as the precious resource of time. Even a small commitment can have a lasting effect on an organisation and the people it represents.

Here are some of the reasons why people chose to volunteer:

• Make a positive difference
• Gain skills
• Make new friends
• Have fun
• Keep busy
• Use existing skills
• Gain work experience
• Give something back
• Sample a career
• Do something different from paid job

Volunteering opportunities come in many different guises, from long-term regular commitments to one-off individual or group projects. Above all, it’s a chance to make a real difference. If you would like to volunteer or even explore what it could mean for you please get in touch with me.

Networking how to get beyond “Hello, what do you do?”

It is easy to go along to a networking event and gravitate to the people you already know. It feels safe and if you’re unsure of how to develop a conversation it is a lot less intimidating. It is also NOT the reason you are there. You are there to make new contacts and develop your network.

When it comes to making a connection in networking events, don't try to say something strikingly intelligent. Your words may be forgotten, but how you make people feel will be remembered.

I don’t know how many networking events I’ve attended, hundreds, and I’ve met some fascinating people. However, there are times when I feel disinclined to make the effort with more small talk. When I feel like this, I remind myself that the person I'm meeting has the potential to be my next big client or a newfound friend. If those thoughts don't shift my attitude, I just remind myself that the person I'm talking with deserves my respect and that dose it.

The real key to great conversations is to relax. Let the conversation flow naturally. That's easiest to do when you're fully engaged and genuinely interested in the conversation  and the person with whom you are talking.

Here are a few useful Questions that can help get the conversation flowing:

"What’s your connection to the event?" This question can uncover mutual contacts and usually leads to a more robust answer than if you asked the typical  "Have you been to this event before?"

"How did you come to be in your line of work?" For some, the path to where they are today can be quite an interesting story. Having a chance to revisit their story to success can leave helpful clues along the way as to who they are and what makes them tick.


"What separates you and your firm from the competition?" This is a great ego boost and gives an opportunity to develop the conversation along the line of "What is your biggest challenge in business?"

A question that draws out their personallity and can lead to more intersting conversatiosn is "What do you enjoy most about your profession?"

Don’t make it all shop talk as this can turn into an interigration or come over as a prelude to a sell.

"What’s keeping you busy when you’re not at events like this or at work?" This question gives the encouragement necessary for the person to share their passions and outside interests. It is an excellent way to add some enthusiasm into a conversation that has hit a lull, especially if they would prefer to be doing anything else than networking.

"Are you working with any charities?" This question makes it easy to launch into a deeper connection. If they’re not involved with a chairty, they often share reasons why not and this is usually revealing. If they are doing something of value they will be more than happy to share it with you.

Effective networking involves listening, not telling. So, ask people about their business instead of telling them about yours. Remember you are not there to sell but to establish enough common ground for there to be another conversation. Above all enjoy it!