INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
New England Chapter

News and Views

In this issue:

Member Spotlights

CMC Corner

Welcome New Members

Share Your
Success Story

Member Feature Articles
Easily Making Time to Market 100%
by Chris Vasiliadis

Upcoming Events Calendar

Book and Article Reviews

News From Committees

Looking For Articles

The Newsletter Committee is looking for articles. Please contact Mike Kayat at if you have an article you'd like to submit.

Newsletter Sponsor

Deltek
Your business revolves around projects.
So should your software.

From the Editor's Desk

Welcome to this month’s IMCNE newsletter!

I hope you are all having a successful consulting year as we fast approach the mid-point of 2006.

In this issue, we have an article by IMCME member Chris Vasiliadis who provides guidance in effectively using our limited time to develop a consistent marketing presence. We are interested to hear about any instances of where you have received project leads from other IMCNE consultants, or opportunities to provide articles or make presentations. Have you teamed up with other IMCNE consultants on projects?

Please send your news, articles, book reviews and commentary for the July 2006 issue to:

Good consulting!
Michael Kayat

Member Spotlights

Tom Kennedy (The Kennedy Group) gave his annual lecture on media skills to physicians at the Harvard School of Public Health on April 29 and was a keynote speaker on presentation skills “Death by PowerPoint” at the annual Project Managers International conference in Long Branch, NJ on May 1.

Ken Lizotte CMC (emerson consulting group) spoke recently at the Harvard Extension School on the topic: “Thoughtleading for Jobseekers: Separating Your Resume from the Competitive Pack”.

Share Your Success Story
Did you get a speaking or writing engagement? New client or prospect? Or team up on a project or new business venture based on relationships formed through IMCNE? If so, then we want to hear your success story next month! Email Mike Kayat at , Subject: IMCNE Spotlight.

CMC Corner

For all of you who have been contemplating becoming CMCs but haven't known where to start, IMCNE will soon begin a 6-month mentoring program aimed at helping you not only get started but also get finished! With the help of an established CMC as your guide, you will complete all CMC requirements and finally get your goal of CMC status off the back burner. For details on this program, contact Bill von Achen, CMC at 978-440-8022 or .

Welcome New Members

Linda Kaye
WSI, Internet Consulting & Education

Allen Falcon
Horizon Information Group, Inc.

Nance Goldstein
Working Wisely Group

Jack Musgrove CMC

Diane Darling
Effective Networking Inc.

Timothy Wilson
T.A. Wilson & Associates

Brian Meacham
Arup

Trent Robbins
Clark University

Gary Lochhead
Maconomy, Inc.

Member Feature Article

Easily Making Time to Market 100%
By Chris Vasiliadis

At the March IMCNE meeting, the panelists advocated marketing yourself 100% of the time. However, many consultants frequently feel strapped for time to promote themselves and their business. If you're committed to staying in business for the long term, you can't afford not to make time for marketing. Below, I share some tips on how to add essential marketing habits to your routine.

When is it time to market? Always! Not when business is slow, or when you don't have any new prospects: then you're operating from a point of desperation. Take control and be more systematic. The 10 tips below demonstrate that there's always something you can do, small and large, no cost and at a cost of fair value, to promote you and your consulting practice.

1. Perform at least one follow-up per day. Whether it's a phone call, email, note or letter, reach out to another human being at least once a day. Possible examples include (a) a current client: just touching base to see how things are going, (b) a prospective client who's expressed interest in your service, (c) a current or new colleague who also works with your target market and might be a good referral source or strategic alliance for your business, (d) someone with whom who just met for whom you just completed work, to thank them for their time and/or business.

2. Seek input from your customers. When your customers hire or re-hire you, ask them why they chose your services. Use this information in your marketing materials and strategy. When someone says something great about your services, ask them if they know someone else (briefly describing your target market) who might want the same results they got from working with you. Ask what other services would help them, and consider either adding those services to your business or build relationships with other professionals who provide such offerings.

3. Make your outgoing voicemail a commercial or tip-line. When was the last time you listened to your outgoing voicemail message? Do you sound happy and upbeat (or - yikes - boring and monotone)? Do you briefly state the kind of people you work with or the results they get from working with you? How about changing your voicemail weekly, with a new tip that would help your target market?

4. What's new recently? Have you received an award or certification, or new training that helps you improve your clients' results? Do you have a new partnership that allows you to provide more/better services to your clients? Put this information in your marketing materials and/or issue a press release.

5. Do something different. Attend a presentation by a speaker new to you, visit an organization you've been meaning to check out, try a new marketing tactic that's worked for someone else. If you're not happy with the results you're getting from always doing the same things, switch it up!

6. Brainstorm with others. Do you have an advisory board or Board of Directors? How about a Mastermind Group of other business owners? If not, create your own, and commit to meeting regularly (for Mastermind Groups, I recommend meeting at least monthly). These types of groups are invaluable in providing objective feedback and ideas on growing and developing your business.

7. When are you at your marketing best? Are you a morning or evening person? Schedule your project activities when you're most "on," administrative activities when things are more slow, and marketing/sales activities at all the in-between times. Set a specific time-period as 'office hours,' when you return phone calls and emails. Not sure how you spend your time? Keep track for a week, in 15 minute increments. While painful, it's eye opening in terms of energy level, time wasted and opportunities to improve. For example, I schedule all my 'cerebral' activities in the morning before 11 am and afternoon/early evening from 4-8 pm, as I've found that I have the highest levels of concentration and energy in those time periods.

8. Block out marketing time. Whether it's one coffee meeting a week, an hour a week, or a 1/2 to full day or more per week, make the time to market. Take a class to improve your marketing, copywriting or communication skills, hire a marketing consultant to help you identify the key words, activities, a structure and/or written plan to keep you on track. Look at your current offerings and figure out what you can add, reuse or repackage in another form to further develop your business. If your business is seasonal, with a predictable busy time and slow time, implement promotional programs and activities far in advance of the slow period.

9. Have an "off-site." Back in my 'corporate life' days, when the Chief Officers of my former employers wanted to take a step back and reassess where the company has been and determine future direction, they held an off-site. They devoted an afternoon, to a full day, to a weekend or week away, out of the office, in a strategic meeting to refocus their efforts. I conduct my own annual "off-site" around mid-year, spending a couple nights by myself in a hotel or B&B, and I always come back with fresh and new ideas for promoting my business.

10. Treat every day as if it's your Grand Opening. What kind of energy and attitude are your bringing to your daily business? How differently would you treat incoming calls and emails, who would you contact, and how would you show appreciation to those who give or send you business, if you treated every day like your Grand Opening?

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Upcoming Events Calendar

CMC Summit
Thursday, June 15, 2006
6:00 PM
Hilton Garden Inn, Waltham , MA
Please join us for this important meeting of all New England-area CMCs. We have not seen many CMCs at IMCNE lately. That means that we have not been meeting your needs. Please come and share your thoughts on how to improve our value proposition for CMCs. Some of the topics on the agenda thus far include:

• Branding the CMC in New England
• Increasing the visibility of our CMCs
• Supporting the CMC practice

Strategic Partner Events — Check out our Calendar of Strategic Partner and Other Events on our web site for more information on events of interest. Click www.imcne.org/spcalendar.html, then click on the appropriate link for detailed information that could save you money.

Book and Article Reviews

Please send book reviews to Mike Kayat at
If you come across any interesting articles, please send those in.