The Years have taught me…

I’ve been a consultant since 1985.? The world of consulting has changed over the years, and I’ve had to adapt.? It’s been an interesting journey, and I’d like to share a few things that I’ve learned.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, consulting was fun, well, for consultants.? Consultants could sneeze and charge someone for it and they’d gladly pay.? My first gig was with an insurance company – all but one person in the department were contractors or consultants.? I knew more consultants than regular employees at that company.? Work came to me via phone calls and marketing was an occasional mailing of newsletters – I sent 30 over 10 years.? It was a great gig, and I kept busy without working hard to market myself.?

Year 2000 came around.? Companies had paid consultants vast amounts of money to fix their systems, etc., for Y2K – the biggest non-event in history.? Millions of dollars were spent to fix problems afraid of the impending doom that never came.? Shortly after this significant non-event, everything changed.? Companies were tired of paying enormous amounts for consultants.? After September 11, 2001, it changed again as companies dropped travel expenses as well.? Security increased a great deal with vendor “vetting” becoming increasingly complex making it difficult for small consulting firms to get into larger companies.

So, what has this taught me?? Well, first, it taught me that I can’t wait for calls to get work.? I no longer mail out newsletters – l use email and LinkedIn.? That has brought issues with it, such as being able to email out without becoming spam.? Secondly, with the growth of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, there is an explosion of information.? We get bombarded daily with emails, posts, and messages so how does one stand out?? In the 1990’s, I could name my competitors – today, there are many and growing daily.? In the 1990’s, I could send out five or six newsletters a year and be on top of everyone’s mind.? Today, I must write newsletters monthly, post on social media multiple times a week, and contact my connections frequently.? I wrote 30 newsletters between 1994 and 2004 –I’ve written over 100 newsletters since 2006 and 100’s of articles for LinkedIn.?

I also find that calling works okay – not great – as many people don’t answer their phone.? People tend to use their smart phone for everything but telephoning.? Sending text messages works sometimes, email as well.? Sending notes through LinkedIn has gotten me more traction than anything.? People tend to check their LinkedIn message, on the weekends, so don’t look for immediate responses.? Reviewing my connections on LinkedIn for notes has also given me another benefit – I find out what they are up to now.? I’ve had some connections for years and didn’t find out about job changes until I check out their profile.? Keeping in touch with previous clients is important and LinkedIn has helped me do that – people generally don’t tell all the vendors they’ve worked with when they change jobs.?

So, it boils down to this, today, you must:

• Write like crazy – even short articles need to be posted almost weekly.? The articles must represent you – be authentic, not just marketing.
• Keep up with your contacts – wherever you contact them to know if they have life or job changes.?
• Write individual notes to your contacts, periodically, to stay in touch.
• Use a service, like Constant Contact, to send out newsletters, articles, etc., to stay top of mind with your contacts – and make sure all mailings get posted to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

It’s a new world and changing every day.? Keeping up with it requires diligence, hard work, and being willing to change.? It’s not always easy, seldom is, but necessary.? The alternative ain’t much fun.

How has your work changed?

How has marketing changed for you?