6/19/08

Consultant Week, Vol 4 of 5 - Implement Solutions

Final two days of Consultant Week. Today we'll discuss implementing solutions.

If I were to be hired by the boaters as a consultant, I would have to be talking to the person in charge. There is always someone that is in charge, though it may not always look that way. I need to be hired by this person, then communicate with this person what the problem is and what the solutions are and then it is up the the leader to implement the solutions. If the leader wants my help in doing this, I am available, but it is their team, not mine. I stand ready, but I need the leader to start the ball rolling.

If we want to build a website or do consulting or marketing with a business, we need to talk to the person or persons in charge. Many times it is the owner, sometimes it is not. We need a decision maker. We will need information, photographs, bio's, logos, database information and more.

This reminds me of my partner going into a business while prospecting and asking if the company had a website and the clerk at the register said, "we don't need a website." So Ryan says, "do you have a website?" The girl says, "no we don't, but we don't need a website." The problem is that this person is not the owner or a decision maker for the business, but just a clerk and yet, she is making key decisions for the company it would seem. Wow. I wonder what she based that opinion on? Do you think the owner gave her that authority? Perhaps, but unlikely--at least, we hope it is unlikely.

Once we have the key decision maker, we can move forward. Anything we want to get implemented is going to require the key person to give us the authority and/or the support to get the work done. There is usually a team and we need the team to be together on the solutions or they will just fall apart after we leave. The key person is the only person that can hold this all together by giving what we are doing the importance and authority it deserves.

When it comes to the websites, marketing, newsletter campaigns, training, or whatever we are doing for the company, we have to have the support and follow through of the key person. We cannot and should not do it on our own. I have seen a number of times where we cannot implement solutions because the key person is not following through giving it the importance it deserves by supplying the key ingredients we need to complete the job. We are a tool, not a magician.

Sometimes there may be resistance from others on the team. Some people resist change, no matter what it is. If we do not have the support of the key leader in dealing with the resistors, we cannot effectively implement the solutions. It would be a waste of time to even start. We all have to be together. This may require meetings, discussions, training, reviews, etc. We stand ready to help, with the key support.

Consulting is a tool to put in your tool chest. It needs to be sharp and ready so that when you need it, you can get the job done more effectively. It's good business.

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