German barbershops & Consulting
Client in a German barbershop: “I need to cut off ONLY the tips —just ONE cm.” Barber: “Only one cm? Sure. Look, here’s the 1 cm. Looks good?” Client: Yeah. Barber goes straight to cut everything BUT one cm of hair. That client… was me. ???? Besides the bad moment of having my hair cut in the total opposite that i wanted it, it made me wonder. “Was I not being clear enough?” Ranting about this with a German friend he said something that made absolute sense only then: “Well, in a German…
Prep the room
So, you’ve got a gig, quickly got to see the patterns that are holding your clients back and you are ready to move on. You make things happen. You know what to change, how to pivot the approach, how to implement actions, put a plan in motion and so on. You make shit happen. And you hit resistance. Intellectually, your client is following your arguments and understands them. In principle, it’s only logical to implement your advice IF they want to get to the results they want. But they don’t…
It’s some kind of emo thing
That was Chad Smith, drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers, after hearing (and playing) “The Kill” by 30 Seconds To Mars in one take —listening to it for the very first time. If you like music, you might enjoy this vid (if you haven’t already seen it bc it’s gone crazy viral). [My recommendation: If you’ve never heard the song before, check it out here.(3:51) Short version of the jam (3:46) here Long version (8:45) here ] Chad’s level of expertise is such that he goes into an unknown situation and…
Another day in paradise
3 chords. No effort. Just a warm up. A world, epic riff that makes it stand out and recognizable all over the world (and time). That’s how this song was made. However, Dominic Miller’s first intention was to make it about the song and himself until he heard: – “That’s the riff!” – “Wait. Hang on a minute, mate. I’m gonna do something really epic that’s gonna show not only great your song is, but how great i am” (I’m just warming up!) When he understood it was not about him or about how epic…
That dark place of doubting yourself
Writing a proposal and sending it with 3 options. Commenting on it with friends and getting back “But this is not how things usually work here. You need to give a (daily/hourly) rate.” It makes you think if you approached it right. If the price was too high. If you need to show more value. If you need to prove it. if you need to keep giving freebies (and free advice). If the prospect will walk away because you’re too expensive. If —maybe— you thought too high of yourself and shot too high….
New into the world
Sometimes businesses are like newborns. As you —in your consulting practice— get to help them, their transition into seeing things is transformative for them. They have their eyes closed (to a different perspective). Then they open them, but can’t make sense of things (yet). First they see shades. Then, high contrast (white and black). Then, forms (new to them). Then, familiar forms (to them). Then, shapes (and faces). They start recognizing the world around. They get to see things. Your job…
6 misbeliefs
Here are 6 misbeliefs on approaching your market. The client is always right. Which means you do what they tell you. Branding is strategic, marketing, tactical. Which means —simply nonsense. Your business needs to have a purpose. Even if you fake it. We bring solutions to our customers. Unlike everyone else who brings only problems. .Always use charm prices. Because that’s the best way to sell. Give discounts to close more deals. Because a full price might be too much. Have you fell for any…
Pri[n]ce charming
Friend-of-the-list and AI and Analytics Specialist, Genevieve Hayes, came back with this question re: charm pricing. “I had never heard the term “charm pricing” before, so had to Google it. That’s an interesting one.There is psychological evidence to suggest that charm pricing does work. However, if no one wants your product or service to begin with, it doesn’t matter how “charming” the price is, they’re still not going to buy it. I would love to know your thinking around why you see this as…
The client is always right. And wrong.
Friend-of-the-list and long time reader, as well as a great illustrator, Rad Co, wrote back on 6 misbeliefs.(Shared with permission, slightly edited for clarity) “I hate how “The client is always right. Which means you do what they tell you.” feels right but is 1,000x wrong and I agree completely.” Here’s the thing The client is always right. And always wrong. They’re right in what they want to achieve. They have a desired state in mind. They want not only a solution, but a way to thrive. In…
Walking away
Saying No to unfits. It’s always a hard one to swallow. How does one walk away? With will. The key here is to be willing to walk away. And you can only walk away when you understand that: It might not be the right time to work together (yet) You’re not losing deals (because they were never yours in the first place) You have (also) power in the relationship.
