Whatever product or service we are offering, delivering value is vital. With consultancy, the intent is always to provide value, and in our minds as consultants, we probably think we do. The problem is it isn’t what we believe that counts; it is what our client thinks.
What consultancy clients often think is that everything sounds good at the time, but then nothing happens. Dissatisfaction with any product and service we buy can lead to us blaming the supplier. However, often, the client doesn’t blame the consultant; instead, they blame themselves, for not taking action after the meetings.
Successful consultancy is not about delivering great advice. It is about engagement and taking action.
‘Starting with the end in mind,’ if what we want to achieve is ‘action,’ then our methodology needs to be focused on making things happen. It needs to take into account that the moment the meeting is over, our client is going to be on with other things. Our methodology has to be about making what we do integral with how our client is working. It needs to be seamless, natural, feel right.
So what we don’t do at Hargreaves Marketing Ltd is monthly ‘chats,’ or ‘get-togethers,’
What we do instead is provide a disciplined, evidence-based, structured programs.
For information on how we do that, please contact Adrian Hargreaves.