At Equiteq we explore the websites of consulting firms on a daily basis, we've analysed thousands of them! Most are dull and do not express the unique value proposition of the company, or make it easy to comprehend the services being supplied. Well this example is one I stumbled across the other day, it won't be to everyone's taste but I use the word 'outstanding' because that's what it does, stands out in the crowd and for that reason I like it. Take a look at their site Centre for Customer Awareness Network

In the early 1990's my old consulting firm, WCI Group nearly went into receivership (chapter 11 for our American readers). We faced closure because the services we were offering had been made unattractive because the economy had suddenly gone from boom to bust almost overnight. From 1986 through to 1990 we had prospered in good economic times. Our sales proposition was very evangelical! We were early proponents of the Japanese 'Just-in-Time' (JIT) manufacturing revolution that hit the automotive and electronics industry in the 80's. I used to spend many hours at public and private seminars/workshops banging the table about how western manufacturing had to change to compete with the east. In the boom times of the late 80's the message worked and we grew rapidly. When the 90's recession bit, no-one wanted evangelism anymore. Survival was the primary corporate instinct and 'cost-out' was what clients wanted to hear. Our JIT seminars went from 400 delegates to tens, producing losses and less prospects to follow-up. At the same time if we managed to get a sales meeting on a JIT training or pilot programme - our typical entry point for a new client - it just didn't go anywhere. Lots of talk but no commitment to work. This might sound familiar to you in today's similar economic environment!. We spent far too long trying to sell what the clients didn't want to buy. It wasn't obvious at the time that this was the problem but now, several recessions later, it is very clear. Literally days before the cash ran out we got one of those strokes of luck that saved the firm and taught me a huge lesson about making sure you are always selling what the client wants to buy. A colleague in another consulting firm who focussed on overhead cost reduction rang me to say that they had run out of capacity (!) and an existing client of theirs needed help. Could I help them?! 'Is the pope a catholic' was the thought that went through my mind! Of course we can help. The brief from my colleague was that the client needed cost out quickly so I built a proposal that did that and this was probably the first BPR proposal that my firm had done. In essence the proposition said to the client "if you give me £100,000, I will produce £250,000 cost savings within the next 3 months". I can remember the Chairman of this client paraphrasing the proposal back to me with these words and asking me if that is really what I meant. I said 'Yes' and his response was 'well, it sounds like a no-brainer to me. Go and do it'. That piece of work saved the firm and led to 5 years of continued growth off the back of a BPR methodology. It worked because it delivered what the client wanted at that point in the economy and it was clear what the ROI was for his investment in our services. I never forgot that lesson and today at Equiteq we spend much of our time re-inventing value propositions for consulting firms to make them attractive to potential clients. So the message is very clear. Today we are experiencing a global recession. Clients are again in survival mode and want cost out. Does your service offering make it very clear what financial benefits will accrue from your work? Can they see that what they will pay for your services will be paid back several times over and preferably this year? Are you prepared to give some form of guarantee on this and maybe even link your fees into the delivery of results. If the answer to some or all of these questions is NO then expect to have a hard time over the next couple of years. If the answer is YES then there is no reason why you should not grow and take market share from those who answered NO!  If you would like to read more on this subject then download our presentation on building Unique Value Propositions

In a consulting business it is common practice in situations where there is a standalone software product to separate the ‘value’ associated with the product and the ‘value’ associated with the service that is supplied using the product. The question in this situation is just how standalone is the software product and what is the size of the market for the product alone? Questions that need to be answered are:

1. Could the product be sold separately and used by a third party without the consultancy services?
2. Is the product fully documented?
3. Is the source code owned fully by you?
4. Can you estimate the market size for the sale of the standalone product and what data would underpin this estimate?

If the answer to these and other questions is yes, then there is sometimes a case for separating the product from the consulting business and valuing it separately. The reason you would separate the product from the business is that once developed, a software product has very high gross margins and thus intrinsically high value. The reason why it might not make sense is that there may not be too large a market for this type of product as a standalone and it might be difficult to persuade a buyer of the product of the potential revenue stream from the product alone.

In 9 out of 10 situations like this, it makes more sense to bundle the product in with the consultancy sale. Usually the net margins of the consulting firm are significantly enhanced by using such a product and this is then reflected in the price of the firm.

Clearly the specifics of any situation need to be investigated to see if there was a case for valuing the product separately or as part of the whole business.

White papers are one of the most effective offers and information products used by consulting and professional services firms to generate new leads and establish trust. A well written white paper allows you to demonstrate your expertise in a way that provides value to your prospects. It argues your point of view, addresses challenges your prospects face, and gives tips and solutions. Reading a white paper that contains valuable information such as this fuels interest and desire. Interest and desire in turn, lead to sales. But, writing the white paper is only half the story. Not only must you produce a well-written paper, you must get it in the hands of decision makers. This excellent white paper on the whole subject of how to plan, write AND market a white paper was produced by RainToday.com!