Why Your Consultant Lies To You

2019-07-19T12:06:06+10:00

 

The last time you went to the doctor, s/he didn’t say ‘Well, you’re 40 kgs overweight, might be something to work on, but gee…your skin looks terrific’

You would certainly have good reason to stop reading that doctor’s ‘Top Wheels’ June 1986 magazines any more.

In your corporate life however, it is all too common for consultants, trainers, facilitators to hold back on the truth or to couch it in terms that are more diplomatic. Here’s why?

1. They’re worried about Billable Hours

Many consultants are actually taught not to firmly critique, nor address the ‘elephant in the room’ issue lest it cause offence and you stop re-hiring them.

The focus is not on client results like growing revenue quickly because if you actually get the result you don’t need to hire them again in a hurry and that hurts their billable hours.

Their goal is often to be ‘likeable’ so their billable hours targets and ‘happy sheet’ feedback form numbers are met in the easiest possible way.

No firm critique = not fixing the issue = not getting the result.

But they get invited to BBQs!

Here’s a real life example of critique I’ve given in the first 2 hours of an Advanced Presentation Skills Program.

‘ Are you aware that the combination of dogmatic language, hands on your hips and complete focus on your company rather than the client’s makes you look arrogant?’

After the silence was sucked out of the room, he said ‘What do you f……mean?’ and the discussion began.

Now, he is one of the most accomplished presenters you’ll see, that guy who owns the room and eyes gravitate to him.

2. They actually don’t know the answer so they sit on the fence.

Ever heard someone say ‘It Depends’ as an answer? They are taught this in Consultant School when they don’t know how to address an issue like Negotiation Strategy or Highly Competitive Sales Strategy. It’s usually followed by ‘Let’s go back to Page 46 of the workbook or methodology sheet and see if it works’ Really?

If you haven’t owned the stage presenting in front of 500 people, sold multi million dollar solutions or been a leader of people with P/L responsibility you can’t really know how to genuinely address critical issues in equally critical time frames, so you default to the fence, get sphincter splinters and suggest a coffee break.

3. They don’t really care that much whether you succeed or not.

‘All care – no responsibility ‘ is the catch phrase.

So, after the consultant engagement, what happened? Did you win more business, get promoted to CEO, open up a brand new market in three months or not. It is a binary result.

You either did or didn’t.

Meanwhile, your shiny consultant has moved on to Hong Kong as part of his/her promotion from the success of the billable hours from your project. You’ll probably get a tweet or Facebook post from the Nnong Ping Cable Car saying ‘Hi…hope all’s well’

Care means fixed fees, fees at risk, guaranteed availability, de-briefs, no locked contracts, not charging again until the first result comes in and Sunday Con Calls. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve consulted on a major pitch whilst actually standing on a pitch coaching my junior soccer team.

By now, you may think some of this is self serving and that may be so.

But I know how many hours my clients put in away from their families and always under constant pressure, month after month, year after year and the very least they deserve is the truth.

You Can Handle The Truth.

Published in   Account Management/Retention, Blog, Executive Level Selling, Presentations, Sales Management