You’re the manager of a small consultancy. Your team works hard and long. You have long term and repeat clients.
Then the Global Financial Crisis hits and your balance sheet begins to head south. What do you do?
As a Professional Service Firm, you know your business relies heavily on the relationships you have with your clients. But they are suffering too. So it is a little difficult to call them and see if there is potential business around.
1. Be a Partner not a Supplier – this is completely different to a supplier arrangement. A partnership is where each party is accountable for outcomes. It’s like being part of the business itself. A supplier will deliver services and products over a period of time until the tender is up for re-negotiaton. Then it is quite possible to be just one of a number of tenderers again. A Partner delivers far more than a supplier. Is in contact with the client even when there is not a sale in the offing.
2. Partnership Chain – everyone in your business is part of this partnership, from the Principal to the receptionist. Everyone knows who they are partnering with. There are no weak links in the chain.
3. Measure the Partnership - putting very clear metrics in place and developing your team to meet these targets will ensure there is clarity around goals and where there are gaps. It also allows your business to be proactive. Don’t wait for a client to call with a problem. See the problem, call the client, rectify the problem.
4. Regular Contact - ensure there is regular contact in the early stages of the partnership. Weekly if necessary. Setting up a partnership takes work and takes time. Signing a “Partnership Agreement” is not a partnership, it is an agreement. The key contacts at each firm need to meet on a regular basis to ensure everything is tracking well and, in the early stages, modifications may be required.
5. Identify the Benefits - if you are a service provider who wants to become a partner, begin listing and quantifying the benefits. You may need to deliver more than you currently do. Define what “more” means and develop processes if necessary. When you meet with the client this will be part of the conversation to convince them to partner with you.
6. Learn Their Culture - this is a critical point and maybe should be higher in the list. Get to know how the company works. Get to learn their values, their vision, their principles for people development, what their annual goals are. Remember, you want to be a partner, not just a supplier.
7. Love Their Issues - their issues are now your issues. And your team’s issues. If the client has an issue, you have an issue. It may not be of your making but if the client has conveyed it to you, how do you respond? Can you help in any way?
8. Start NOW! - go through your client base and determine which clients you want to partner with. Think of the Pareto Principle, or 80:20 Principle. Out of every hundred clinet you may between 10 & 20 you actually want to partner with. Identify the key players, review the work you have already done with them. If there are unresolved issues, document them and develop a process for managing them.
The Global Financial Crisis may appear to be abating but that will not apply to every business. It will apply to those who are ready for it, think differently and proactively and identify those businesses they want to partner with.
You can ensure your firm is one of the successful ones by working through these Business Continuity Tips and begin working on a partnership model rather than just a supplier model.
