“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”
– Zig Ziglar
Hi Everyone,
I’ve been working on our business development strategy and specifically how we qualify opportunities for Tahzoo. Our work needs to be centered around Outcomes not Outputs. What good is it, if our deliverables are on time and of good quality and yet the client doesn’t achieve their business goals? Remember we don’t get hired to implement software or execute bespoke consulting projects, we get hired to meet business goals and the objectives of our clients.
I have 5 simple questions that each of you need to be clear about at the beginning and throughout the duration of a consulting engagement. When I first start meeting with a client to discuss a project, I seek the answers to these five questions. Sometimes this can be done in a single meeting, however it’s often a series of conversations.
All consulting engagements start off as a diagnostic process. Just like a good doctor, your job is to understand what is going on well before you start passing out medicine.
- What is the business problem that the client has presented?
- What is the root cause of that problem?
- What is the customer or employee experience problem?
- What is the financial impact of not resolving this problem?
- What is the client’s definition of success for solving the problem?
These questions are discussions that need to be had so that the Client, You, and everyone else on the Tahzoo team has a common definition of success. During a project, the answers to these questions can and usually change which is why as an account team we need to always be reviewing our understanding of the client’s goals to ensure we are on target. If there is a change to the goals there is likely a change in scope, schedule, or budget that needs to be documented in a change order.
As I mentioned in last week’s Desk of Brad, we are moving to a new format for reviewing projects and accounts on a weekly basis. Regardless of the account you’re working on big or small, understanding the definition of success is the responsibility of everyone who is assigned to an account. Being a consultant, being a good Tahzoo employee, and being a partner to your client means that you know their goals, their definition of success and you are working with your team to ensure we are making our clients Heroes.
Let’s go be great,
Brad