Pillars of Success

by Stewart Belsham

The other day, I was asked by a customer how we measure success, and I gave him my standard mantra "Repeat business or a letter of referral". He countered with "What about return on investment ? "

He has a point, but it seems to me that the happiest engagements I have been in as a consultant are those with all three of these pillars.

Does the client like us at the end of a project?

To most customers, doing what we say, by when we say it in a quality conscious manner, is enough to make us heroes. I'm looking for the rest though. Was it pleasant to do business with us. Do we solve problems and escalate only when needed, or do we seem dominated by rules ? Do we bring our "A" game to their projects ? This is the difference between winning repeat business and earning it. I heard a compliment about one of our project managers that "every day they make a difference". Wow.

Repeat Business?

Someone wise told me that the quietest sound in business is a client closing their account. No-one likes giving or receiving, a negative report, but it is a sign of great respect for someone to invest time in giving frank feedback. Think about it from their perspective. They can say "...everything was fine...well done....sorry no budget...please turn in your badge ..." which is painless and easy, or they can risk unhappiness by investing in the relationship. I'm not saying that budgets don't run out, but from my experience happy projects result in more work. More work provides a clue to the comfort level of the client.

Financial Feasibility?

Both from the customer's perspective and our own. If we are too expensive, giving our competition place to undercut us, we lose. No work that we have done in the 5 years will ensure our financial future. Last month's figures are done. Its the next project that will give us a future. The problem is that poor project financials tend to make for unhappy teams, in turn inspiring a more legalistic approach to the work. Is the client happy ? Probably not. We speak about Symbiotic relationships, and nowhere is it more evident than here.

As we start to look more closely at the profile of our engagements, from a customer happiness, forward looking, and financial feasibility perspectives we need to realize that each of these areas can compensate for the other. This can be good ("They cost a bit more, but are a pleasure to deal with" ) ,or bad ("I'm getting a great deal, and its worth the headache"), but I believe that each of these is necessary for us to thrive.

Thanks and Regards,