[This is part 1 of a 2 part series. For part 2 Click the link to the right:  Consulting Advice & Pulp Fiction Part 2]

Seriously one can find Entrepreneurship principles in Pulp Fiction…no way.  Well in a conversation with a fellow staff member about consulting he said that my observations on consulting sounded just like a character from Pulp Fiction named the wolf.

Who is the Wolf?  Enter Winston Wolf:  “I solve problems”

- A quick warning – the clip is from Pulp Fiction a film by Quentin Tarantino.  Thus, the language and content are that of an R-rated film

Consulting Examples from the Clip:

• Exceeding Expectations:  “30 Minutes away; I’ll be there in 10”  (he actually arrives in 9 mins 37 secs)
• Compelling and Provocative: Upon entrance the wolf says “My name is Winston Wolf I Solve Problems”  (This also sets the client’s expectations)
• Credibility – Vincent and Jules know the Wolf’s reputation immediately; in fact it calms Jules’ nerves when he finds out the Wolf is coming; Why?  The Wolf’s credibility was established tested and true.   He’ll solve their mess.
• Customer being satisfied – He made Jimmy happy.  He managed the client as well as his “project.”
• What we all want from consultants:  Wolf says  “Time is a Factor – I think Fast, I talk fast now I need you to act fast.”

So I teach MBAs day in and day out.  The number of very bright and intelligent people that come through our MBA programs constantly amazes me.  These folks are truly “go-getters.”  Many of them have had some great corporate experience.  Perhaps no surprise to the readers of this blog is the fact that many of these students also want to go on and be consultants to small business owners.

Here’s the problem:  Just because you are bright, smart, and a possible perceived expert in a subject doesn’t mean you can consult well.  The question is: “Does intelligence equal value?  Remember that if an entrepreneur has gotten a business to a place that can take advantage of a consultant that means he/she has created value through taking an idea to a business.   The entrepreneur has created value:  Dollars are coming in the door, he is employing people, widgets and/or services are being provided and at the end of the day he/she is putting money in his back pocket.  So how does your intelligence and/or subject matter expertise communicate to this entrepreneur that you will add value to his business.

You must solve that entrepreneur’s problems.  (Enter the Wolf:  “I SOLVE PROBLEMS”)

To often consultants will provide recommendations that end up costing a lot of money but not provide a great deal of value:  Common recommendations are expressing the need for a new inventory system or accounting system.  These cost a great deal of money.  The entrepreneur won’t find this valuable because the greater question that relates to solving the problem is:  Are they really the best use of resources.?

The value to the entrepreneur from the consultant is to alleviate the pain caused by a major problem.  Many consultants get this confused.   To the entrepreneur it is not about how smart you are or the credentials you have.  These are important to establish your credibility but, taking it to the bottom line, your entire offering is the ability to solve problem.

Also, remember credibility comes in different forms and losing it is exponentially easier than gaining it.  Take for example when I went to do a business valuation for a very unique high-end T-shirt company.  This company made T-shirts that were considered the latest and greatest and often were worn by the who’s who of Hollywood.  It was a cool company.  I spent tons of time doing the valuation, building the report and making the presentation.  Hours and hours were spent on analysis, writing and proofreading.  Not to mention the hours I spent marketing myself to this client.  Well, at the presentation on the very first slide I misspelled the owner’s name.  The owner couldn’t get past this.  My credibility was shot.  It didn’t matter how much time I put in on project or that my work was flawless.  His thoughts were if I misspelled his name how much more would I mishandle the valuation.

Going back to the Pulp Fiction example the Wolf’s reputation (or credibility) preceded him.  Jules knew that if the Wolf was coming then the problem would largely be taken care of.  When Wolf got there he quickly maintained his reputation (or credibility).

For part 2 Click the link to the right:  Consulting Advice & Pulp Fiction Part 2

[This is Part 2 of a 2 part series on Consulting Advice.  For part one click the link to the right:  Consulting Advice & Pulp Fiction Part 1]

- A quick warning – the clip is from Pulp Fiction a film by Quentin Tarantino. Thus, the language and content are that of an R-rated film

Consulting Examples from the Clip:

• Exceeding Expectations: “30 Minutes away; I’ll be there in 10” (he actually arrives in 9 mins 37 secs)
• Compelling and Provocative: Upon entrance the wolf says “My name is Winston Wolf I Solve Problems” (This also sets the client’s expectations)
• Credibility – Vincent and Jules know the Wolf’s reputation immediately; in fact it calms Jules’ nerves when he finds out the Wolf is coming; Why? The Wolf’s credibility was established tested and true. He’ll solve their mess.
• Customer being satisfied – He made Jimmy happy. He managed the client as well as his “project.”
• What we all want from consultants: Wolf says “Time is a Factor – I think Fast, I talk fast now I need you to act fast.”

Again for part 1 click the link to the right:  Consulting Advice & Pulp Fiction Part 1

A quick review: First as consultant you must solve a problem for the business owner. This will establish value. More thank likely your credibility is established through your degrees and experience. So you’ll constantly need to maintain this credibility through the project life cycle.

Next you need to align your success metrics with one thing: Is the customer satisfied with your work? Many people who consult will consider success as project delivered on time and on budget. While this is an important part of measuring success the paramount importance is customer experience. Is the customer satisfied? Yes – then success. We’ve heard consultants say things like: “The client didn’t get my expertise or great spreadsheet…etc” Well, as a consultant the client is king so you have switch your paradigm to what can you do to make it so the spreadsheet is understood (and valuable).

A successful engagement fully manages customer’s experience. Set the expectations of the customer so you can manage your success: How often are you going to call, meet, and/or provide information? Put yourself in their shoes. This is their business and the money for your services are coming out of their back pocket. How to do get them to the point where they pay you more because you exceeded their expectations in solving their problem?

Here is an example of poorly managing my customer’s expectation: I scheduled a series of meetings without allocating enough time between the meetings. I was a few minutes late to a meeting with a client where I was delivering the valuation for his company. This client placed a high value on time and punctuality. So by being five minutes late I severally damaged his customer experience. His expectations were not met. Regardless of the fact that the project was delivered on time and on budget I was late. Project was a failure.

Simply said: The customer’s perception of the product and experience should be first. Not the quality of the product. Don’t sacrifice the quality just put the customers perception first.

Looking at the Pulp Fiction clip: Watch how the Wolf manages the husband (that is his real client); he is very aware and accommodating to the husband. Wolf’s success is makng sure Jimmy is happy (and Jimmy’s wife) as well as dealing with the issue.

Another quick point: be careful with the hourly charging. Remember as a customer I want the problem the solved for an agreed upon amount. Hours to the customer don’t matter. This is a annoyance of many business owners. Why should they be charged for breaks, calls, or a lunch meeting where only half the lunch was used for business. This falls in line with managing the customer’s experience. Don’t ever make the customer feel like the clock is ticking.

Lastly, I end with a word of caution to executives leaving corporate America to help small business owners. Remember that your experience is different not better. There seems to be an attitude that small business owners need the help of large business executives. Small business and large business are 2 very different worlds. I wouldn’t hire football execs to help out a baseball franchise. To me the attitude should be switched, as entrepreneurs are responsible for a far greater percentage of jobs in the US.

So consultants follow this from Wolf: “Time is a Factor – I think Fast, I talk fast now I need you to act fast.”

[This is Part 2 of a 2 part series on Consulting Advice.  For part one click the link to the right:  Consulting Advice & Pulp Fiction Part 1]