INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
New England Chapter

News and Views

In this issue:

Member News

Member Views

Member Profiles
Gary Patterson

Upcoming Events

Strategic Partner
Events

Member News

Mary Adams CMC, Trek Consulting LLC www.trekconsulting.com will be speaking to the Association for Strategic Planning about "The Most Important Information You Don't Have" on Tuesday morning, July 1 in Burlington. Get more details and register http://www.strategyplus.org/chapters/Boston.php

Ken Lizotte CMC, emerson consulting group inc. http://www.thoughtleading.com has been accepted as a speaker at this fall’s IMC USA Confab in Reno, presenting a workshop based on his book “The Expert’s Edge: Become the Go-To Authority People Turn To Every Time” (McGraw-Hill).

Alan Weiss CMC, Summit Consulting Group http://summitconsulting.com Million Dollar Consulting® College, November 10 - 14 in Newport, RI. Information and registration
http://www.summitconsulting.com/consulting_college_nov_2008.html

John Wheeler, Wheeler Performance Group http://www.wheelergroupllc.com published on June 8 the third part of his series “Creating a Maintaining a Culture of Accountability” in Prosperity Forum™, WPG’s success strategies newsletter.  Prosperity Forum is published on a periodic basis; providing tools and tips for companies experiencing execution challenges. Please contact John at to be added to the distribution list (or to request a copy of the Series).

Member Views

Accidental Prospects

A waiter asks a young man: "How did you find your steak, sir?" The young man replies: "Quite accidentally, I assure you. I moved that piece of lettuce and there it was."

Does that sound like your business development effort... too much lettuce and not enough beef? Or maybe you thought it was OK to be a sales vegetarian?

The key to meaty business development is to perform higher probability actions with great discipline over time. Let’s see if we can move some of that lettuce out of the way...

• Personal Introductions: We all have a network of people who would love to help us, but there’s one problem... us!
  • We don’t, on a regular basis, make it known to our supporters that we would appreciate their help. This leaves them to assume we don’t need it!
  • Clearly establish how they can help us... make a call, send a letter or do an email introduction to people and companies we profile.
  • Don’t complicate what we do and confuse our supporters. Use “sound bites” such as: fix sales, identify growth markets, off-load HR or IT departments, etc.
• Business Referrals: We work intensively to satisfy clients during project engagements only to move on and lose touch.
  • Identify additional value you can provide before the project is over and always keep in touch.
  • Ask who they might know who could also benefit from your services.
  • Obtain testimonials while our victories are fresh.
• Business Development “Portfolio”: We do various business development activities without having any plan – a “portfolio of activities” that works for us.
  • Use networking to select people you want to know better. Don’t expect referrals after a few minutes of networking.
  • Select the best combination of activities based on what you’re good at: Speaking, conducting seminars, writing articles, newsletters or books, etc.
  • Cold calling, mailings and advertising are simply not high probability actions, but they can certainly play a key role in your business development portfolio.

Submitted by Ron Visocchi, Managing Partner and Sales Sage, The Benjamin Group

Slow Economy + Creativity = Opportunity

Whether or not you believe the economy is in recession, you likely see the effects of the general economic slowdown in your business. While some industries prove more resilient, in a slow economy, most businesses look to optimize available revenues, reduce costs, and manage cash flow. On the flip side, creative Information Services spending decisions can reduce near-term costs and/or save your business significant sums over the long-term.

• Here are a few ideas on combining the slow economy and a little creativity to create opportunity for your business.
  • Consolidate and Time Your Technology Purchases: Here's how ...
  • Map out all potential IS purchases for the next six to twelve months; buying early may save you thousands
  • If you buy direct, work with an account manager and not just the web site. Make sure your account manager is in the right "group" based on the size of your business and your potential budget
  • Quote purchases between six and four weeks before end of your vendor's fiscal quarter
  • Re-quote as the initial quote nears expiration; let your vendor know their competitor is looking to "buy" your business with lower prices
• Ask and Receive (maybe) your vendor to ...
  • ... take another 5-10% off the price
  • ... throw in a peripheral (network switch, printer, etc.) for free
  • ... give you free shipping
• Call Your Telecommunications Provider
  • Ask your telecommunications provider what they can do to lower your fixed and variable costs. In many cases, if you simply "extend" your agreement, they will move you to a new agreement with lower (current) prices.
  • If pragmatic, consolidate services under a single provider. Many providers will manage multi-provider installations, and consolidating services may move you to lower cost tariffs for the same services

Find out if an upgrade will save you money. Moving a wide area network from point-to-point circuits to an MPLS network, for example, usually takes advantage of lower cost Internet connections while providing more flexibility and lower costs for future growth.

Submitted by Allen Falcon, President, Horizon Information Group, Inc.

Member Profiles

The Traveling Accountant & Entrepreneur

Gary Patterson, FiscalDoctor™, is married to Kathy, his college sweetheart. They have traveled to a number of states and countries, as Gary pursued opportunities with high growth companies. They both still enjoy traveling and seeing historical sites (47 states and 16 countries). After a decade in Boston, he has developed a complete Bostonian accent to blend in seamlessly in discussions. He has been very active in both his alumni organizations and several professional groups.

His greatest success to date has been helping Luz II move from no revenue to a billion dollar sale in one year. His biggest surprise to date has been finding he writes well enough to be published and quoted by over a dozen prominent business publications.

Gary began his career in public accounting and then worked with a range of growth companies across the complete spectrum from low tech (construction, manufacturing, service and distribution) to leading edge high tech (software, telecom, medical device, ecommerce, instrumentation, and renewable energy).

Ten Things You Didn’t Know about Gary Patterson:

1. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, it would be vegetable soup.

2. If I weren't a business person, I would be a history enthusiast.

3. Something I would like to do, but haven't had the chance would be to travel to Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China.

4. The last concert I went to was at Woodstock. 

5. My favorite toy as a kid was my erector set. 

6. When I'm not working, you'll find me listening to relaxing CDs. 

7. My favorite TV show is Dr Who.

8. If I could be any animal, I would be an eagle soaring far above the clouds.

9. The last movie I saw was Indiana Jones.

10. If I could have dinner with a famous person, dead or alive, he or she would be Leonardo da Vinci.

Learn more about Gary and his business by visiting his firm’s website http://fiscaldoctor.com

The member profile was written by Lewis Green, the Founder and Managing Principal of L&G Business Solutions LLC http://www.l-gsolutions.com. Lewis is the editor of News & Views. Profile candidates are selected from our volunteers, new members and a random selection of attendees at IMCNE events.

Upcoming Events

Member-Only Event
Thursday, July 10, 2008
5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Hilton Garden Inn
Waltham, MA

Networking with a Purpose...

with Diane Darling

Turbo-charge the power of the IMCNE network, through a facilitated program of networking led by Diane Darling, and learn how to tap into your IMCNE network and learn the tricks of the networking trade.

During this session, we’ll be Networking With a Purpose... At this program you will:

• Build more contacts —Through a systematic collaborative approach to networking, you’ll begin to develop close relationships with other IMCNE members—not just a collection of business cards and vague acquaintances.
• Identify future partnering opportunities — Meet consultants that work in various industries who can refer or connect you to more clients. Learn the practice area specifics of other experts so that everyone can benefit from future connections, referrals, and partnering opportunities.
• Hear about common mistakes in networking - and tips on how to avoid them.
• Leave with a Contact/Resource tool — All attendees will receive a book with detailed profiles and photos of every attendee.
• This program will help you take better advantage of the tools that IMCNE has put into place to help our members get to know each other: IMCNE LinkedIn Group, an IMCNE Google Group for discussions and our on-line consultant search service. Better leverage the power of these tools by helping others put a face to your name and really understand your business.

This program will give you a whole new level of value from your membership in the powerful IMCNE network. If other members don’t know you and what you do, you won’t get known so how will you get business?

Our facilitator is Diane Darling, Author, Co-founder and CEO of Effective Networking. As principal consultant for Effective Networking, Inc., she founded the company on the premise that everyone can learn to network, they just need to find their own style.

Combining interactive training, strategic planning and an exploration of the natural fears of networking, Darling demystifies the process by providing techniques that can be immediately implemented.

She has received rave reviews for her seminars and speeches and is increasingly sought after as an expert resource on the subject of networking.

Agenda
5:30 - 6:00 pm - Registration
6:00 - 7:00 pm - Dinner
7:00 - 9:00 pm - Networking Program and Speaker

Investment
IMC Members Only $45, after July 3rd $55

Join IMC in time to participate in this member-only event!
If you join before the July 10th event, you can get a half-year membership in IMC. Contact Denise Clancey, VP Membership about how to get this pricing now. If you have been thinking about joining IMC, this is a great way to do it and to get an immediate return on your investment through this special networking event. You can reach Denise at 617-973-6667 or

Strategic Partner Events

Click here to view the Strategic Partner events.

Roundtables: Next Event Featuring You?

Have you read a good business book lately? Do you have a question that you would love to ask a group of consultants? Are you one of our New England members that are tired of all our meetings being held in Boston? Do you have a challenge that you are facing and would like to get feedback? Do you have a case study that would fuel a good discussion? THEN USE THIS RESOURCE.

It takes about three minutes to fill out a Roundtable Proposal. You give us a title and description; we’ll publicize it and handle registrations. This program helps our members Get Smart, Get Known, Get Business. What are you waiting for? Download the form today from our Programs page (http://www.imcne.org/programs.htm) or contact Ronna Cohen at 508-788-0466 or .