Four Ways to Exceed Clients’ Expectations Put In Consulting Practice

 
by nyki_m

I was reading Four Ways to Exceed Clients’ Expectations by Steven DeMaio.

The title intrigued me a lot as I am a filed consultant working with customers day and night on their small, medium, and supersized problems. Meeting customer’s needs is my highest priority. Exceeding the customer’s expectation is my stretch goal.

I decided to test the advice against what works for me in the field.

1. Agree To A Deadline You Know You Can Beat

Agreed.

I have simple mantra – “Under-promise, over-deliver”. To beat deadlines I apply pattern of productizing services I deliver. That way it is easier to set clear scope and deliverable. It also allows massive reuse of related materials saving tons of time. The materials include:

• Service marketing brochures.
• Readily available SOW’s and costs breakdowns.
• Deliverable document templates
• Checklists for conducting the service.

2. Be An Astute Questioner, Not A Silent Sage

Agreed.

I strongly believe that in most cases customers know solutions to their problems, they only need to be guided to the solution. And that is done by asking the right questions.

It is not uncommon when after asking a several questions I can recognize an a-ha look on a customer’s face. Sure sign that we are heading to the right direction of the solution.

The anti-pattern is shooting directions without getting solid understanding of the context. Good consultant brings in experience based on solid principles. Principle based questions lead to the specifics associated with customer’s uniqueness.

3. Be Collegial

Agreed.

Getting jobs that are not of your expertise won’t get you any closer to meet the customer’s expectations, let alone exceeding it. Say No to what you cannot make shine. It does not mean sticking always with what you know – that way you will become obsolete very soon. Build your new skills proactively so that when the opportunity for something shows up you will be ready to offer your newly acquired skills. Better off… create the opportunity yourself.

4. Offer Constructive Suggestions At The End

Agreed.

This approach serves a solid ground for future engagements in case the current one was successful. By successful I mean the one that met its goals and exceeded expectations.

5. Prioritize

This is my addition to the list (trying to exceed the expectations from the article).

I cannot stress it enough. Always (usually I refrain from being absolute but not this time) – ALWAYS be aware of the progress toward the goals. It’s impossible to exceed the expectations when they are not met. It is not uncommon that during the gig a customer or even a consultant (including truly yours) tempted to add more scope due to excitement or demand by superiors. The way I cope in such situations is stopping and reflecting on the original goals, its progress, and the available resources. The I offer the customer to decide on his own what he’d compromise –schedule, scope, quality.  I brainwash myself and the customer with a simple mantra – core requirements come first.

Practice This - Get Results

• Under-promise, over-deliver – good surprises are better than bad surprises.
• Ask principle based questions – let the customer solve their own problems, make him a hero.
• Track and prioritize – make sure you hit your core goals first, the foundation to exceeding them.

My Related Posts

• Consultant Writes Proposals That Sell
• Grow Quality - Not Quantity
• What’s The Powerful Skill Of All? Is It Asking The Right Questions?
• The Power Of Saying “No”