Management of client/consultant relations

The consultant in any consulting engagement must maintain two key relationships. (1) Between
the consultant and the problem-solving process. (2) Between the consultant and the client.

A requisite to the successful conduct of the problem-solving process is a harmonious

relationship with the client.

The client

 The organization that engages the services of the consultant. For example: a
client maybe a private business enterprise, a governmental agency, a hospital, a
hotel or a university.
 Refers to the individual(s) with whom the consultant has the initial and/or
ongoing contracts. This person (or persons) discusses the engagement and its
processes with the consultant and, at the completion of engagement, accepts
the final report from the consultant.
 Maybe one or more of the higher-level managers or administrators of the
enterprise. While in smaller-scale engagements the client may consist of middle
or lower-level managers

Relationship must also be established by the consultant with other personnel of the client’s
organization such as

a) Administrators and employees who have information and facts concerning the
problem situation
b) Managers and employees who are likely to be affected by the implementation of
solution to the problem situation
c) Managers and employees who are assigned to perform tasks under the
consultant’s guidance.
d) Managers and employees who are assigned to serve as liaison on a daily basis
between the consultant and higher-level managers or other organizational units
with the support system.

How to Develop and Maintain Harmonious Relationships?

To some employees of the client organization, the entry of a “consultant” could be threatening
and create a feeling of insecurity, animosity and hostility. However, it is important that the
client or entity understands that the consultant is hired in order to “create value” for the
organization
 a) The consultant from the very start of an engagement, should aim to develop a sense of
trust and openness
b) Harmonious relationships maybe achieved through both written and oral means.
 written announcements prepared jointly by the client and the consultant, should
be issued as soon as the terms of the engagement are settled
 oral presentations should be made at meetings.
c) Hold presentations and meetings with the consultant responding politely and earnestly
to questions.
d) Hold round get-acquainted interviews and meet with managers who are affected by
the problem.
 The consultant should obtain appointments to meet all the managers who are
affected by the problem situation
 During a typical interview, the consultant should chat about the responsibilities
and difficulties of the manager’s position
 The consultant’s main goal is to establish a friendly relationship
e) Maintain an open-door policy
 Welcoming the questions and communications of anyone at anytime

Managing Client Expectations

An important aspect of maintaining harmonious relationship is managing the expectations that
are being developed
When communicating what the consulting project can do for the business, the following should
be observed:
a) Be clear as to what can be offered
b) Be positive about what can be offered, but be realistic
c) Be honest about the limitations of the project
d) When talking about limitations put them between positive statements

Credibility relates to the recipient’s perception of the sender’s ability to satisfy the expectations
being generated. In particular this will center on the following:
a) Is what is being offered viable?
b) Does the proposer have the expertise/ability to make the offer?
c) Are the necessary resources in place?
d) How satisfactory have previous experiences been?
e) What is the proposer’s reputation?

Confidence occurs if the level of credibility suggests that expectations will be achieved to a
degree that satisfies concerns about those outcomes not being achieved. The ability to consider
and manage expectations, to develop credibility and engender confidence is crucial in getting
people to take actions that they believe to have some element of risk.

Credibility comes from satisfying realistic expectations. Expectations are managed through the
consulting proposal. If expectations are unrealistic at the start, credibility will be hard to
manage later.

Maintaining Client Interest

Managers are busy people. They will have many commitments. As the project progresses, the
manager’s priorities will change. The opportunity to develop new business opportunities will
loom. The importance of the consulting project to the manager will diminish. If the manager’s is
to be maintained, the consulting team must keep the manager informed and motivated about
the project.

Creating Opportunities for Client Build-up

No matter how one begins in the consultancy profession, one will need connections that reach
into areas of prospective business.

A number of consultants could trace most of their current business to the following sources:
1) Business contact gains throughout the business community
2) Speeches in professional and business organizations
3) Books written from experience
4) Referrals from speeches, books and articles
5) Word-of-mouth referrals

Some suggestions on how business contacts can be established and made to grow are:

1) Join at least three organizations that offer regular meetings and the opportunity to
interact with peers in the industry
2) Create a reference library that includes marketing resources and other publications that
will assist the consultant in marketing, implementation, and even travel
3) Establish a circle of informal advisors and make it a point contact the once a month
4) Establish collaborations with other consultant
5) Mail to clients items of interest
6) Mail to prospective client items of interest
7) Publish articles in relevant periodical
8) Offer pro bono work for community, government and nonprofit organizations
9) Accept speaking engagements at trade associations and conferences
10) Create a website
 11) Business listing in phonebook/yellow pages

Selling of Consulting Services/ Marketing Professional Services

New business opportunities for most professional service organizations are created activities in
four major areas. These are
1) Present client activities
2) Non-client relationships
3) Public relations or promotional activities
4) Potential client activities

Present client activities - The core of most new business for all firms normally emanates from
the present clients. As far as present clients are concerned, the business development
activities are usually directed towards client
 Retention
Some activities that can be undertaken to monitor client satisfaction are (1) gather
evaluation of personnel and performance through client satisfaction letters, surveys
or meetings (2) Ensure that regular contact with significant clients is maintained by
more than one key professional (3) Develop client service planning which includes
detailed plans for providing additional services to key clients
 Expansion of services
Another purpose of present client marketing is the so-called “cross marketing” of
services to current clients
 Generation of Referrals
Satisfied current clients are the best single source of referrals for additional clients
of professional service firms

Nonclient Relationships – Third-Party Referral Source Activities

These referral services oftentimes are fellow professionals who serve mutual clients.
Accountants, lawyers. Investment bankers, insurance brokers, bankers and financial planners
are frequently cited as significant third-party referral sources.

Promotional and Public Relations Activities

It includes a wide range of traditional as well as innovative strategies. Because
professional services are highly personal, most authorities agree that promotional activities
should be viewed primarily as vehicles for creating and enhancing awareness of the firm.
Abandoning Clients Gracefully
The vast majority of consultants fail to grow their businesses because they refuse to abandon
business. Growth depends on abandoning some lines and types of business in the pursuit and
acquisition of other, more productive lines of business. Growth is not just financial. It includes
broadening experiences, higher-level contacts, more sophisticated work and an enhanced
reputation.
Abandoning business should not be harshly done. There are alternatives to simply dumping the
client and there are ways to attend to clients who, while they may not represent the
consultant’s future were certainly instrumental in building his/her practice. Some suggestions
are:
 Explain to client that certain assignments cannot be cost-effectively handled
anymore.
 Establish alliances with younger consultants who ay want to align themselves with
more established practitioners in order to learn, obtain business and network.
 Provide the client with advance notice that the consultant will be accepting lesser
assignments and doing lesser workshops and appearances.
 Offer to transfer the skills to the client, if appropriate. Suggest some internal
alternatives and work with the client to replace the consultant’s expertise.

Business conditions that could justify the abandonment of some clients:

1) Beneath the growing fee structure
2) Unchallenging
3) Providing a reputation that does not fit the consultant’s strategy
4) Overly specialized
5) Unable to attract the kind of talent the consultant wants in his firm
6) Unable to attract the kind of references the consultant needs
7) In areas and industries that themselves are not growing
8) Unpleasant and/or has rude and offensive people
9) Unethical in its actions and/or borderline illegal
10) Harsh in its demands for travel, support, and other logistics