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Project Management 411

Achieving the “Wow Factor” in a Consulting Firm

by Bob Turek on February 25th, 2008

WowOne firm that specializes in providing consulting services related to energy planning does something that is very impressive. They tell their customers that they can call anyone in the firm, from the CEO on down, if they have a concern or question about their project. This policy impressed customers but seemed to introduce chaos into customer relations.

In my projects, I always insist on a primary contact point inside the customer along with providing one from our end. This maintains some control on the project especially during the initial start up phase. Later on people form relationships and both sides become more comfortable with loosening up the communications.

The energy firm’s view is that all customers should be able to access who they want to access quickly from day one. This requires very clear and frequent communication inside the consulting firm as to roles and knowledge about projects. The VP who told me about the policy said it helped their firm become more in tune with their customers while achieving a “wow” that helped win business.

What do you think of the “contact anyone” policy? Would it work in your consulting firm? How about internally between departments? i.e., ignoring hierarchy and contacting others across departmental boundaries? What problems do you have with such a policy?

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POSTED IN: Best of the Best Practices

4 opinions for Achieving the “Wow Factor” in a Consulting Firm

  • Finding the Wow Factor in Business
    Feb 26, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    […] 13.  Bob Turek wonders if a consulting firm’s “call anyone” client policy is a plus or a minus: Achieving the Wow Factor in a Consulting Firm. […]

  • Wowzers! 13+ Ways to Find Your WOW Factor
    Feb 26, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    […] Contributors include such b5 Business Channel bloggers as Mary Emma Allen (Why Do Certain Bloggers and Blogs Stand Out from the Crowd?), Laura Spencer (Does your Blog Have the Wow Factor that it Needs?)  Anne Wayman (Keeping the Wow in your Writing) Ren Garcia (Finding and Keeping the Wow Factor)  Jim Norton ( Keeping the Wow Factor in your Business.) Sean Kelly (yours truly) (It’s Fun Being Me: Marketing Secrets of Denny Crane)  Miranda Marquit (When is the Wow factor a bad idea to base a decision on?), Darlene McDaniels (The WOW Factor in your next job interview), Jennifer Hofmann (Organizing Relationship with Customers and Four Structures that Create Wow in your Business), Miki Saxon (The Greatest Leadership Wow Ever Told), Rachel Clarke, (Keeping the Wow Factor), Phil Gerbyshak (Three Ways to Hire for the Wow Factor), Jean Murray (Getting your Customers to Say Wow!) Eric Eggertson (Strategic Thinking and Persuasion Learned from Horses in the Desert)  (Yes, that’s right:  Strategic Thinking and Persuasion Learned from Horses in the Desert) , and Bob Turek (Achieving the Wow Factor in a Consulting Firm). […]

  • Unleashing the Wow Factor in Your Business
    Feb 27, 2008 at 8:37 am

    […] Wow writing, Wow marketing, Wow customer relationships, Wow leadership, Wowing your customers, Wow consulting, keeping the Wow factor and Wow thinking and persuasion. My article about Hiring Wow was also part […]

  • Business Channel Theme Day - WOW Factor
    Mar 2, 2008 at 12:37 am

    […] 13. Bob Turek wonders if a consulting firm’s “call anyone” client policy is a plus or a minus: Achieving the Wow Factor in a Consulting Firm. […]

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