I was recently on the East Coast with a consulting client. We were meeting with a big marketing firm that wanted to sell him on a big contract for his small firm. The offices were gorgeous, plush and highly staffed with young pretty people. The conference table was long and the walls of the room were all whiteboards. This firm has a solid pedigree. They do great work, and I’m sure the results would be outstanding, but the pricetag and over the top efforts didn’t match my client’s needs, they matched the firm’s goals.
We left the meeting and I suggested that perhaps they were going after a squirrel with a Howitzer – it made him laugh, and he got my point. We spent the next 24 hours taking a deep dive into his company’s real goals, current real market position and came away with a much more affordable, and more importantly, actionable, plan for his company.
Many times in life and business it is tempting to buy the most expensive, flashiest product, service or company proposal. The desire to outsource our success is normal, but not necessarily as gratifying in the long run as plain old hard work can be.
I know for me, when I work hard on a proposal, have put in the time and effort to craft a plan that will meet the client’s goals and needs, it’s very satisfying when they say, “Let’s do it!” The joy of creating a plan with a client and then seeing it put into action is really surpassed only when they call to say, “It worked! I got the contract!”
My client and I developed a re-branding plan, some new marketing materials and an outreach program over the course of 24 hours, that will be implemented over the next 90 days. Out of pocket he may spend $5,000 to take his company to the next level. In 6 months we may spend another $5,000 to add in new materials. In total he’ll spend about a quarter of what the big firm wanted, and he’ll have the same type of marketing materials, maybe more.
Part of being empowered is knowing when to spend, and when to be frugal. We love to buy the sizzle, but we need the steak to survive.
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