Shaun Nestor

Consultants, think about it. What you do is a lot like a visit to the doctor.

When you go to the doctor, do you expect the doctor to just guess what is wrong with you?

A doctors consultation involves the doctor asking you a series of questions. This questioning is to help determine what the problem is, and how it can best be solved. At the end of the process, the feeling is probably one of relief and assurance i.e. that the doctor has your best interests at heart, and will cure what ails you.

It’s the same in business.

Any client you encounter has a problem. Like a specialist doctor, it is your job to ask a series of questions to help nail down the problem and find a solution. The very act of questioning – known as consultative selling – helps build trust and rapport with the client in the same way you may experience with a doctor. This works especially well in the field of consulting, which is based on information sharing.

The emphasis is on clients needs, as opposed to getting a signature on the dotted line. You first establish a client’s needs, then you provide a solution, if you have one. You’re building a relationship, based on trust, by asking a series of questions.

Not so hard, really.

Adapted by SEOBook.com

1. Get in over your head. –Robert Donat, GPS Insight No. 281

2. Before you build the product, write the ad. –David Friend, Carbonite No. 9

3. Focus on simple things like profitability and execution. You don’t need to come up with the next Facebook to create a successful business. –Jesse Lipson, ShareFile No. 104

4. Keep the main thing the main thing. –Brad Oberwager, Sundia No. 130

5. You will be remembered for how you deal with the ups and downs. –Andy Monin, Vendormate No. 25

6. Failing gracefully is much more important than succeeding. –A.J. Lawrence, The JAR Group No. 475

7. Surround yourself with great partners and share the rewards. –Curtis Hite, Improving Enterprises No. 210

8. Hire slow; fire fast. –Justin Talerico, ion interactive No. 202

9. It’s a lot harder to repair a train while it is rolling down the tracks, so get everything set up before you build momentum. –Gabriel Krajicek, BancVue No. 117

10. Systems run the company; people run the systems. –Curt Richardson, OtterBox No. 395

11. It will take four times as much work as you expect but be 10 times more rewarding than you can imagine. –Eric Albee, Aromatic Fusion No. 205

12. There is always a solution. –Gregory Lilien, IguanaMed No. 264

13. You cannot do everything yourself. –Elia Wallen, Travelers Haven No. 90

14. Without knowing where you are at all times financially, you are destined to fail. –Dean Austin, Wyngate International No. 163

15. Never confuse a consultant with a partner. –Bing Howenstein, BackJoy Orthotics No. 51

16. At its founding, a business is victim to what you don’t know; at adolescence, it’s victim to what you think you know; and as it matures, it’s victim to how willing you are to hand the reins to those more qualified. –Kevin Burke, Centuria No. 79

17. You don’t lose until you give up. –David Wachs, Cellit No. 262

By Inc.com

Its back. My everyday annoyance of “experts” touting their social media knowledge to companies and brands who don’t know any better. Simply put: An everyday user of Facebook teaching ‘social media’ is a kin to auto mechanics taught by an everyday driver.

Other examples:

• You use Google, you are not a search engine optimization expert
• You fly on airplanes, you are not a pilot
• You make telephone calls, you are not a communication expert
• You can pound nails, you are not a carpenter
• You drink coffee, you are not a barista
• You read a book, you are not an author

Maintain your expertise. Master your field. Do not attempt to be everything to everyone. You will dilute yourself beyond recognition. In the end, your customers will appreciate you more for doing fewer things better.

Some companies cannot figure out originality. Worse, yet, they are stuck on a ploy marketed so heavily it has caused consumers to become callused. Yes, worse than sameness is noise.

Noise is what you get when you pump out the same rhetoric as the next guy, doing nothing to separate yourself, your brand, or your product. Customers stop seeing your message.

Take, for example, the theme running rampent within the insurance industry right now: discounts.

I’m not making this up, they will give you discounts for anything under the sun. From owning more than one car, to good driving, to stopping at stop signs, employment history, and almost based on the color of your eyes. I am not discounting (pun) the fact that some drivers are better and more responsible than others, but when your only marketing tactic is to dangle discounts – seeming that anyone could qualify for – where is the substance of your product?

Insurers are not alone. Home furniture stores are guilty, too. Every weekend, without fail, every furniture warehouse in my city is offering a variation of “closeout pricing”, “semi-annual sale”, “blow out pricing”, “no sales tax”, “fill-in-the-holiday special”, etc. I know that, to get the “best deal”, I’ll wait until the holiday weekend to purchase furniture. What a deal, right?

Wrong.

What about the days (albeit few) that don’t have a special discount incentive tied to them? Are the prices just higher for consumers not observant enough to see the dancing cow/sheep/chicken/youth waving sale signs?

Retailers are doing themselves a disservice by offering such discounts. Discounts used to be exclusive, not now. Now they are available to anyone with a pulse. Constant “discounts” train consumers to think, “our prices are high every day …we can afford to give you discounts.”

Why to own up and publish your rates? Tote them as what they are: “the best rates for the most people”.

Retailers, save the grief, step out of the noise and focus on something else that is unique. Set your business apart by foregoing mixed messages.

I’ve spoken on coupons before – and my utter dislike for them. They are discounts. They reward consumers for nothing and cost you, the retailer, money. And, as my friend Ryan, “let’s not kid ourselves and say ‘its not about the money’. It is. That’s why businesses exist.”

So true.

Coupons – discounts – attract the lower demographics of spending. It does not target spenders it targets savers. Savers will not support your business. Spenders will.

In summary, if you are going to give a discount, make it exclusive and a reward for spending and to encourage spending that that customer would not have made otherwise. This, in conjunction with a unique sales position, will give folks a reason to flock to your business for all the right reasons.

Inbox Zero is that elusive but peaceful state of having trimmed your overflowing e-mail inbox down to a manageable level. To help you reach that state, Digg founder Kevin Rose has 5 tips on cutting through the clutter (via GigaOM). For starters, keep it short–like haiku short. When you add “Sent from iPhone” to your e-mail signature people are more forgiving of your brevity. Don’t forget to create a VIP filter for friends, family, investors, and business partners. Check out our guide for more advice about keeping your inbox slim, as well as 25 tips for perfecting your e-mail etiquette

Inc