Business Performance Coaching

Having recently increased my networking in and around Christchurch to increase the exposure of my Small Business Consulting company I often get asked “what is it you do, why would I employ your services”, in answer to that this is the first in a series of blogs that breaks down my role as a business consultant.

As a business consultant it is vitally important to develop a strong relationship with your prospective client because without that good relationship it will be very difficult to develop trust and with out trust a client will never let any consultant into their business.

What do I mean by a strong relationship and what do I do to get each encounter off on the right foot?

Firstly I know my target market, I specialise in an area of business where I am absolutely comfortable with and one which I have a lot of personal experience, that of Small Business.

Secondly my appearance also reflects my target market, I drive an average tidy family car, my business dress is professional but casual (like the photo on my home page!!) and I conduct myself in a friendly and professional manner.

Thirdly I do not have huge overheads, my office is my home or my clients business premises (more often than not), the courses I run and the tools I use are all developed by myself resulting in no expensive franchise or third party overheads for external intellectual property.  This ensures my services are also well priced for my target market.

Why are these points so important?

Potential clients perceptions are everything, in that first 10 – 20 seconds on meeting someone the average person will make up their mind as to whether they like this person or not so it is vitally important for myself and every other sales person, business owner, manager to ensure that they uphold the company’s image and conduct themselves in a polite professional manner suitable to the market that you conduct business in.

Let me give you an example:

In a previous job I used to be a Key Account Manager for a large communications company, my clients ranged from multi million dollar companies down to local tradesmen with a couple of staff.  In this role I quickly realised that my business attire was not suitable for all my clients and neither was the way I conducted business.  On one particular trip down to Southland I had a very important meeting at the head office of one of the South Islands biggest clients to negotiate a new contract term for their business communications, naturally I walked into that meeting with a shiny pair of shoes, business trousers and a well pressed shirt and all went well.  Feeling all fired up after that meeting I went to visit a number of local branches of that same large company (primary business was line haulage and road contracting) and all I received was guarded conversation at best and a refusal to talk to me at all at worst.

Pondering in my motel room that night over why the rest of my day didn’t go that well I thought I would change the way I dressed (as I did feel awkward at some of these branches), so I wore I company polo shirt, a pair of hiking trousers and a pair of steel toe capped boots and went out to the least friendly companies the following day, my reception was incredible, not one premises did I get the cold shoulder, and in a couple of the branches I got extra business.  What a lesson learnt, by dressing in a way that was acceptable to the environment, the conversation got off on the right foot and as such was more relaxed, once the conversation was relaxed the range of topics of conversation opened up and the meetings were succesful.

In summary, be comfortable in the market you’re in, be polite, pay attention to detail, if the clients you deal with don’t wear suits then don’t go in there looking like a lawyer (no offense lawyers!!), but at the same time, if your client is a large corporate that does wear full professional attire then don’t attend a meeting in T shirt and jeans, it’s all about perception and people will always feel more comfortable dealing with people like themselves.

Tags: Small Business Consultant and Business Development Specialist Services