Category Archives: Thursday Night Flight

TNF #046: Don’t back off before you hear a clear “No”

Welcome Professionals…

…sometimes we give up too early. This may be the case due to our own interpretations and assumptions. We have not heard a clear “No”, but we assume that the answer is “No”.

This week, I had an experience that inspired me to write this post as a reminder of this simple rule in sales. Never back off before you hear a clear “No”.

I have had a meeting with a client in May, who told me of a certain need. The very next day, I sent a proposal that was addressing this need. I never heard anything. I sent a reminder a few weeks later, asking for an answer. Did not hear anything back. I put it aside and forgot about it. When I reviewed my open client actions in my CRM system after the summer break in August, the open proposal came to my attention. My initial thought was: “They did not answer, so the proposal was probably not good enough.”

I was about to go to my next task when I thought twice. An unanswered email is just an unanswered email. Everything else is an interpretation. It might be correct, but it might just as well be wrong.

I sent the same proposal again to the client. Stating that I had not heard anything, yet. I asked very directly if the reason was: a) no time, b) no interest, or c) the email got lost. The reply from my client came within one hour: “Thanks for the reminder … we do it as suggested … my assistant will schedule a meeting!”

That was it! I was positively surprised and thought about the reasons for my earlier hesitation. I think it is just human that we fear rejection. We need to overcome this. The worst answer would have been that my client does not like the proposal. But then I would have had a chance to revise it.

An unanswered email is just what it is. A reason for you to get in touch with your client – again!

Stay persistent,

Malte

Thursday Night Flight is brought to you by Malte Müller Professionals. Sharing best practices for top management consultants on topics like communication, client handling, problem solving, appearance, and fitness. Check out www.mm-professionals.com for more material and free resources!

TNF #045: Choose status symbols wisely

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Welcome Professionals…

…let’s face it: we live in a world of status symbols. It is just human to use either obvious or more subtle signals to convey a certain message.

This also applies to the consulting world. It is worth to take a closer look and choose status symbols wisely, though. Many top management consultants earn a good amount of money at comparably young age. They also mingle with executives at a much higher seniority which also earn a good amount of money. There is a temptation to show off some of the riches and success. Mind the pitfalls. Some of the most expensive accessories may have you look rather cheap.

Everything that is communicated too directly and too obvious is to be avoided. Classical examples are the golden Rolex watch, a necktie with Hermès logos or custom made shirts with your initials stitched on the front side, usually in high contrasting colors. Loud and obvious status symbols are for wannabes.

If you want to make a statement that is more inline with the business model of a top management consultant, express a dedication to high quality and customized solutions. Just like your own products!

Keep an individual style. A custom made shirt should stand out through its superior fit, not through colourful monograms. A positive high quality signal is a good pair of welted shoes. Generally, do not wear visible logos in business attire. The ones who care for quality will notice in any case.

Talking about status symbols. A noble gesture of understatement is in most cases adviseable. We are in a service business where we want to let the client shine. And we want to put the focus on content, concepts, and ideas. Not on blinky accessories.

Happy shopping!

Malte

TNF #044: Surfing your client dynamics

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Welcome Professionals…

…I am currently enjoying my summertime vacation in Italy. Today, I went windsurfing on the Lake of Garda. The wind was steady, but not really strong. In order to go a bit faster, I went back to the surfing gear rental and got a bigger sail.

This reminded me of a good analogy.

Imagine the lake as your client’s organization, the wind as the current organizational dynamics, and the surfer as the consultant. Dynamics will change over time, they might differ from day to day. You don’t even know what they are like and how they work until you test the water. It neither makes sense to work against them nor to complain about them. Just as it makes no sense for the surfer to complain about the weather.

Instead, we need to choose the right gear from our methodological toolbox that fits the circumstances and works for the goals. Every time, in each and every interaction we need to hold on for a second and assure that we are working with the right set of tools. Because dynamics change from time to time, just like the wind.

Of course, we are not doing that for the fun of it, but in order to create value.

Wishing you good vibrations –

Malte

TNF #043: Summertime, when the living is easy

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Welcome Professionals…

…it’s this time of the year, when most people in the Northern hemisphere go to summertime vacation. What makes up for a good relaxation during the summer for a top management consultant? Can you enjoy your summertime vacation at all or do you have to be ready for work at all times?

I personally have tried various models. I have shifted my vacation plenty times due to important project phases. I have interrupted my summer vacation for important proposals and client meeting and have traveled back to work. I have been riding my bicycle with the laptop on the back to the next WiFi hotspot in order to download and submit large PowerPoint files. I have stood outside in the rain for hours in order to listen to endless conference calls. On the other hand, I have also tried to make myself unavailable to any work, went to nature spots in a tent without any connection to the outside world.

The extremes of being ready for work all the time or being completely out of business for weeks don’t work for me. Here is what does the trick for me. This is how I get a decent amount of relaxation and find some work/life-balance in my vacation time:

Pursuing some sports activity each day, that takes my full attention, like surfing, beach volleyball, a bicyle tour, etc.
Playing with my children and having them make the rules
Indulging in a good meal and/or Italian icecream and/or a good bottle of wine
Good and intense conversations with my wife
Checking emails each day and answering the most important ones, but limited to some distinct times of the day (usually early morning or at some down times of the day)
Calling my assistant every other day to get the latest news and give instructions to important matters
Never interrupting for any important client meeting or proposal, simply re-schedule
Most important: Not trying to force relaxation. It is like forcing myself to sleep now. It never works like this

How about you? What works for you?

Wishing you a good summertime relaxation

Malte

TNF #042: How to get out of urgency mode?

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Welcome Professionals…

…in last week’s blog post, I revisited a popular concept: The Eisenhower decision matrix. I made the point that we must dedicate time to our long-term oriented goals.

Urgency always finds a way to occupy our time. If we do not take deliberate action, we will miss out on what really matters and what creates future value.

Some readers have asked me how this can be done. There is actually only one way from my point of view. Scheduling time to these long-term goal activities (important not urgent) and sticking to it.

There are two different categories of these activies. The ones that need to be followed regularly like physical exercise and nurturing of relationships are best to be built into your daily routines. It helps to build strong habits that will be followed at all times.

Project work falls into the other categorie. Activities like building intellectual property or acquiring a skill need deep work. Time blocks of a full day or half a day where you shut down all distractions and focus on your work. It is best to set up a project plan for these kind of activities like you would do for a consulting project. Book these activities to your calendar and stick to it.

Hope this works for you to get out of the urgency mode.

Malte

TNF #041: Get out of urgency mode!

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Welcome Professionals…

…time is precious, specifically for top management consultants. We seem to be under continuous time pressure. From my point of view, this problem is getting even worse over time. We continuously run the risk of falling into the urgency trap.

Let’s revisit an old and popular concept that many will be very familiar with. The Eisenhower decision matrix shows importance vs. urgeny on the axes (see picture). It gives some guidance what to do first (important and urgent), what to focus on (important not urgent), what to avoid (urgent not important) and what to limit (neither important nor urgent).

This is a very simple concept which is easy to understand. Yet, it is difficult to apply. The key difficulty is to focus on activities that are important, but not urgent. This is where the long-term value of our business lies. In our context, this could be deep work in order to build some intellectual property.

With the rise of communication technology we find ourselves in a constant urgency mode. Most of the time we are mastering a crisis, that is solving an urgent and important problem for your client. Deadlines are tight. The rest of the time is at risk to be filled with urgent but not important activities like answering emails, messenger items, checking social media and so on. The increase in communication gadgets (both devices and apps) puts pressure on deadlines as well as it creates new distractions. It is a very high risk that we must make ourselves aware of.

All too often, the valuable acitivities of the 2nd quadrant (important not urgent) are dismissed. In the favour of some client deadlines we tend to neglect, e.g.

physical workout – not urgent, but important for long-term health
relationships and friendships – not urgent, but important for long-term sanity
capability building – not urgent, but important for long-term competitiveness

We must make sure that we dedicate time blocks for these long-term oriented goals. It takes awareness, willpower and focus get out of the urgency mode!

Wishing you lots of success,

Malte

TNF #040: The Power of Introductions

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Welcome Professionals…

…as top management consultants we meet a lot of people. Multiple project assignments lead to a large and diversified network of contacts. Have you ever felt the power of introductions?

Connecting people through introductions can be perceived as a great value when done appropriately. In fact, it let’s you stand out as someone who generously shares a precious and scarce resource. Precious, because personal relationship make the juice of business and private life. Scarce, because it is not easy to meet and approach people. It requires a good filtering platform to find appropriate persons and it requires some courage for a cold contact.

What a value lies in good introductions! Bringing two people together that share a common interest, a common problem, maybe a similar background, values, style. Maybe for business or for leisure. It might be for an exchange of experience or just for a good conversation at an event.

If an introduction is well placed and therefore perceived as precious, the value links back to the connector. It is a good way to deepen client relationships.

Of course, it is important not to just randomly connect two strangers. They need to share a common interest in some way. Another highly recommended procedure is the double-opt-in method. You would ask both persons if they agree to the connection before you share their contact details.

Try it and add value!

Malte

TNF #039: Customer Experience

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Welcome Professionals…

…what is a premium professional service? Well, we would expect a superior solution to a problem with a high quality delivery. But this is not enough.

Another dimension that strongly influences the price realization and the overall satisfaction is customer experience. It is very obvious in many ways when we look at consumer goods. Not the products with the superior functionality or the highest quality finish sell for the highest prices. It is very much about customer experience.

What are you doing to provide a special customer experience with your service? Do you offer special events for your clients? Do they get access to special material or special people? How do you stage-manage the whole value creation process?

Let us know and share your wisdom!

Malte

TNF #038: Happy Birthday

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Welcome Professionals…

…today is the 11th birthday of my son. In the past, I have been absent on many of his birthdays. All for good reasons, having important client meetings and postponing the birthday party to the weekend.

Today is different. I am scheduled for his birthday party when he returns from school at 4 pm. Means I have to leave the office at 3 pm. Both party and traveling time are booked to my calendar, like any client appointment would also be. I already shifted a meeting with my boss because this would have meant for me to be 30 minutes late to the birthday party.

I know I have to be punctually on time. I want to be there to look into his eyes when he tears off the wrapping paper from the presents. From experience I know that the window of attention I will get from my son is quite small. Right after 2 pieces of birthday cake he will prefer to test out his presents and maybe show them to his friends. That’s alright. Then I have plenty of time to do some calls, answer emails and prepare for meetings.

As consultants we enjoy a high degree of freedom where we can do our work. And just because we can work anywhere, anytime, does not have to mean that we work all the time. Why not book a private event into the calendar and treat it with the same importance as a business meeting?

Giving it another try,
Malte

TNF #037: Let the client lead the talk!

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Welcome Professionals…

…today I had a great client meeting with a surprising outcome. I met the CEO of an outsourcing provider that offered me in the end to promote my service to his clients. On my way back to the office, I was thinking why it went so well. From my point of view the main driver was that I let the client lead the talk.

I must confess that the temptation was very high to lead the conversation by myself. We met for the first time, until then we had only emailed and talked on the phone. I had initiated the meeting in order to sell my services to this company. I was pretty sure that I had a very compelling story, I had prepared thoroughly and I had great references to boast with.

When we started the conversation, he asked me: “So you are an engineer?” – “Yes, indeed”, I replied, then he already jumped in “Me too. You know, we have that in common!” And on he went. For the next 45 minutes I was only able to throw in a few words which were picked up by him as key words for his following elaborations.

It was fun listening, I learned a lot about him, the company, the strategy, his competitors, and so on. I think I managed to demonstrate by my body language and my few drop-ins on his topics that I was listening closely. Maybe he even heard about one of my references that I was squeezing in. Maybe not.

In the end, he thanked me for taking the time to come around. He concluded that it was a great and interesting conversation. Then he said: “You know, I get asked frequently by my clients if I can recommend somebody for these specific projects. I will refer to you next time now that I know that you have the expertise!” I was stunned.

This meeting served as a good reminder for me: Let the client lead the talk!

Wishing you fruitful conversations

Malte