by Bruce Newman

This article first appeared in The Productivity Insitute (PI) newsletter.

Consultants are defined as experts in their area with considerable knowledge and experience. Frequently, outstanding consultants have a wide range of knowledge that not only enhances their specific areas of expertise but also offering new alternatives to additional situations.

Advantages of consultants include:

1. a wealth of in-depth knowledge and experience
2. the ability to quickly get up to speed which is helped greatly by their knowledge and experience (point 1)
3. understanding that the duration of the job is finite and not a long term commitment
4. training is usually not required
5. having the skills to identify the problem (if one exists), design a solution, sell that solution to management (if necessary) and help ensure that it is properly implemented.

Successfully working with consultants entails several important aspects, the most important probably being good communications. While good communications is important for any business, with consultants it is essential. It is through these communications that you relay your business needs to the consultant (and how in turn, the consultant helps provide the solution). The success of almost every project lies upon the understanding by the consultant of the company’s business and project goals. For this reason, you should know beforehand the specific goals of what you want to accomplish. A detailed scope document is usually very helpful. Furthermore, should the project go off track, a project scope document will help pinpoint where the problems occurred and help facilitate corrective measures.

It is also important to also understand that consultants do not walk on water. Do not expect the consultant to be a miracle worker. For example, if your specific needs greatly exceed your existing software application, no amount of consulting for that application may be able to save it. You might need a new application or at least some type of workable solution. The consultant may be equally - or more - important as advisor when developing a solution. Their background and knowledge may help direct you towards additional resources and available services.

Even if the consultant has the solution, remember: it’s your decision. Don’t abdicate final decision responsibility to the consultant. You know your business and needs better than the consultant. Whatever decisions and paths you take, you and your business are the ones that have to live with it. Staying involved with the project and retaining decision responsibility helps ensure that project goals are understood and met.

Finally, make sure you learn from the consultant. Having the consultant explain certain aspects of what has been done and most importantly, what you can do and need to do once the consultant is no longer actively working on your project will great facilitate acceptance and use of the completed project.

Rated outstanding consultants can greatly help companies and provide excellent prodinst and value. Being able to work with them before, during and after a project will help ensure long term success.

 
Bruce Newman is a consulting guru and the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC (http://www.prodinst.com) which provides prodinst by matching the specific software products and services needs of companies to rated outstanding consultants who can meet those needs. Need an outstanding consultant? Any company that wishes to improve their productivity can sign up for this free service and be contacted by up to five rated outstanding consultants. Also available is an informative blog and free newsletter.

by Jeff Shomay

This article was originally printed in The Productivity Institute (PI) newsletter

“Can you tell an intriguing story in just six words?” This challenge was once given to Ernest Hemingway. According to legend, he did, and considered it his best work. Is it possible? Here is his story, judge for yourself: “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.”What do you think? Here are some more:

• Honey, have you seen the baby?
• Patrick had never eaten worms before…
• Thought I was right. I wasn’t.
• Once upon a time… the end.
• I came, I saw, I conquered.
• Three went to Iraq. One came back.
• Both sisters - breast cancer - I’m scared.

Each six-word line has a totally different impact, doesn’t it? How do they make you feel? What do they make you think? Six words can be powerful. But what does this have to do with marketing?

Read on…

Besides being short and to the point, which is always good, this exercise scratches the surface of something much larger - the art of planting small seeds that grow into powerful thoughts. Isn’t that the purpose of marketing - to plant short messages in your consumers’ minds that become thoughts like “That’s just what I need, I’ll take it!” Looking back at the above lines, let’s uncover some of the principles at work, making their sums more than just six words.

1. The power is in the unexpected. These lines use words or phrases that don’t usually go together to get a bigger effect. “For sale: baby shoes, five dollars” is not as interesting, in fact we likely would skim right over it. But those two unexpected last words get our attention and our invoke feelings. When you want to make an impact, try connecting unexpected words or ideas together.

2. The right words = the right response. When you only have six words, each one counts. “Three went to Iraq, and two died” just doesn’t have the same impact. Never say in three words what you can say in two, and always ask if you can say something in a stronger way.

3. In the end, less is more. To make an idea grow, it has to leave your ad and enter their mind. The best way to do this is to give them only what they need to fill in the rest of the story on their own. Maybe they need more than “Once upon a time… the end,” but if Hemingway wrote a six-sentence paragraph about why the baby’s shoes were never worn and how sad it was, it may be more melodramatic, but it sure wouldn’t get the same impact or be remembered. Lay guidelines, but leave it up to your audience. When your customer is filling in their own story, they’re selling themselves, and you can’t do better than that.

4. If you move them, you’ve won. We react strongly to things we can identify with. I don’t know about you, but the breast cancer line really hits me. I don’t even know who the woman is, but I can feel her fear and want to help her. Find an emotional aspect of your product or service or sell the benefit in emotional terms, and people will listen and take action.

This is a quick intro into some powerful principles that you can employ when you want your message to make an impact. Do companies really use this in real life? Have you ever heard these lines?

• Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. (Not exactly six words, but the principles are the same, and that’s what’s important)
• No one can eat just one.
• Where do you want to go today?
• Read my lips: no more taxes.
• What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
• Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.
• The few, the proud, the Marines.

These lines all have specific built-in meanings and feelings to influence their audience. They work. Can you identify their power principles? Start putting these principles to use for yourself and see what happens!

Credit: some of the above lines came from online posters - britta02, Graeme Gibson, Kevin Smith, and Julius Caesar.

Jeff Schomay is CEO of “Inspire Your Buyer“. Marketing and Branding that stands out and gets results. “Turning potential buyers into inspired buyers”. www.Inspire-Your-Buyer.com

“Inspire Your Buyer” creates powerful branding and marketing for you, using the same principles that Hollywood Filmmakers, Top Entertainers, and Marketing Gurus use to capture and captivate an audience and shape its response. We’ll get you a stronger reaction, check us out!

Challenge: Send your own six-word marketing lines to jeff@inspire-your-buyer.com. The top selected 5 will get special free and discounted services. Must receive by New Years!