Are you wondering whether you can make it on your own as a Consultant? The answer is, “Yes”. The start-up road is rocky, and you may have to complement your business knowledge by reading or re-reading Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends And Influence People a couple of times, but most consulting business do well after an initial start-up period. Often, your growth will lead to the point where you have as many clients as you can properly take care of by yourself and will have to expand by hiring additional help. It is at this point you may discover you need a formal client retention program.

THE HUMAN FACTOR
The challenge in consulting is not in doing the work that was actually contracted, it is building the personal interface between you, your employees, and the management and employees of the firm you are consulting. Just performing the job isn’t enough. There is that unspoken “feeling” that determines whether you get an extension or another job with the firm, and a bad “feeling” can affect referrals to potential clients.

Quantifying this human factor is difficult. For example, a review of your services at the close of a job can verify you performed the task as requested, but you find yourself out of the loop for the next job. What should (or could) you have done differently? Don’t just walk away from a job well done thinking you have a good “feel” for the factors of client satisfaction. If you were right, your clients would stay with you. If they don’t, you need to develop a method of properly asking your clients instead of relying on your perceptions.

A NEW APPROACH
Begin with a new approach. Don't ask departing clients why they left, ask your long-term clients why they stay. Items you consider very important may be unimportant to your clients. The information you gather from this basic research should be recorded in a “client satisfaction profile” and used to recruit and develop new clients. You need innovative approaches to obtaining and retaining clients, and old methods just won’t work. Here are four factors to guide your study.

UNCOVER TRUE NEEDS
Begin by performing basic research on the client's business or industry … even if it is not part of the job. Do an in-depth study to determine your client's real needs, and check the results with the client before suggesting a formal action plan. A needs study can not only pinpoint a current problem, but sets the stage for follow-up consulting in other areas.

TEAM APPROACH
Assign two or more consultants to each new client. Have this team meet regularly with the client even though only one consultant may work directly on the project. Your client will appreciate the multi-talented input. A word of caution: your client expects you to know exactly what is going on at all times, so schedule regular meetings for this purpose.

DO THE OBVIOUS WITH FLAIR
Nothing makes a client feel like you are doing a great job better than rapid response to everything from immediately returning phone calls to showing up on-time to being available for emergencies, and especially by being prompt in meeting deadlines. Interview current and past clients to discover additional factors they consider important, then adopt them as part of your base.

COMMUNICATE
Your client wants to know what else you are doing. No names, just tasks. An overview is fine. The purpose is for assurance that you are valued by others. Regular monthly newsletters are valuable tools for this, especially if hand-annotated by you. Your personal note on any business-related topic is always appropriate. Regular weekly update meetings or phone calls will keep your clients informed and happy.

Birthday and anniversary cards tell him or her you recognize them as individuals, not just part of a corporation. Cut out any and all references to your clients from newspaper or magazine articles to let him or her know you care. These articles should be sent even if you know your client bought a stack of newspapers for their own use. Your thoughtfulness will be noted and appreciated. Remember, it’s not just the work you do for your clients, it’s also how you go about doing it that counts.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.)
Paul Tulenko is a Small Business Success Consultant based in New Mexico. Additional tips and suggestions are available at www.tulenko.com or call (toll-free) 1-866-TULENKO.