MANAGEMENT OF THE CLIENT

RELATIONSHIP
Management of Client/Consultant
Relations

Consultant must maintain two key relationships:

1) Between the consultant and the
problem solving process.
2) Between the consultant and the client.
Management of Client/Consultant
Relations
 The client
 is the organization that engages the services of
the consultant.
For example, a client maybe a:
a) Private business enterprise
b) Governmental agency
c) Hospital
d) Hotel or university
Management of Client/Consultant
Relations
However, the term client refers to the individual(s)
with whom the consultant has the initial and/or
ongoing contracts.

Generally, the client maybe one or more of the

higher-level managers or administrators.
Management of Client/Consultant
Relations
Relationship that must be established by the
consultant:
a) Administrators and employees who have
information and facts concerning the problem
situation
b) Managers and employees who are likely to be
affected by the implementation of solution to the
problem situation
Management of Client/Consultant
Relations
c) Managers and employees who are assigned to
perform tasks under the consultant’s guidance.

d) Managers and employees who are assigned to

serve as liaison on a daily basis between the
consultant and higher-level managers or other
organizational units with the support system.
How to Develop and Maintain Harmonious
Relationships
 At the start, aim to develop a sense of trust and
openness
Harmonious relationships maybe achieved
through both written and oral means.
a) written announcements prepared jointly by
the client and the consultant, should be issued as
soon as the terms of the engagement are settled
b) oral presentations should be made at
meetings
How to Develop and Maintain Harmonious
Relationships
 Hold presentations and meetings with the
consultant responding politely and earnestly to
questions.
 Hold round get-acquainted interviews and meet
with managers who are affected by the problem.
 Maintain an open-door policy.
Managing Client Expectations

When communication what the consulting project

can do for the business, the following should be
observed:
 Be clear as to what can be offered
 Be positive about what can be offered, but be
realistic
 Be honest about the limitations of the project
 When talking about limitations put them between
positive statements
Managing Client Expectations

Credibility relates to the recipient’s perception of the

sender’s ability to satisfy the expectations being
generated. In particular this will center on the
following:
 Is what is being offered viable?
 Does the proposer have the expertise/ability to
make the offer?
 Are the necessary resources in place?
Managing Client Expectations

 How satisfactory have previous experiences

been?
 What is the proposer’s reputation?
Confidence occurs if the level of credibility
suggests that expectations will be achieved to a
degree that satisfies concerns about those
outcome not being achieved
Credibility comes from satisfying realistic
expectations
Maintaining Client Interest

As the project progresses, the manager’s

priorities will change. The opportunity to develop
new business opportunities will loom. The
importance of the consulting project to the manager
will diminish.
If the manager’s is to be maintained, the
consulting team must keep the manager informed
and motivated about the project.
Creating Opportunities for Client Build-up

A number of consultants could trace most of

their current business to the following sources:
1) Business contact gains throughout the
business community
2) Speeches in professional and business
organizations
3) Books written from experience
4) Referrals from speeches, books and articles
5) Word-of-mouth referrals
Creating Opportunities for Client Build-up

Some suggestions on how business contacts can be

established and made to grow are:
1) Join at least three organizations that offer
regular meetings and the opportunity to
interact with peers in the industry
2) Create a reference library that includes
marketing resources and other publications
that will assist the consultant in marketing,
implementation, and even travel
Creating Opportunities for Client Build-up

3) Establish a circle of informal advisors and

make it a point contact the once a month
4) Establish collaborations with other consultant
5) Mail to clients items of interest
6) Mail to prospective client items of interest
7) Publish articles in relevant periodical
8)Offer pro bono work for community,
government and nonprofit organizations
Creating Opportunities for Client Build-up

9) Accept speaking engagements at trade

associations and conferences
10) Create a website
11) Business listing in phonebook/yellow pages
Selling of Consulting Services/Marketing
Professional Services
New business opportunities for most professional
service organizations are created activities in four
major areas. These are
1) Present client activities
2) Non-client relationships
3) Public relations or promotional activities
4) Potential client activities
Present Client Activities
The core of most new business for all firms
normally emanates from the present clients. As far
as present clients are concerned, the business
development activities are usually directed towards
client
 Retention
 Expansion of services
 Generation of referrals for new business
Nonclient Relationships – Third-Party Referral
Source Activities
These referral services oftentimes are fellow
professionals who serve mutual clients. Accountants,
lawyers. Investment bankers, insurance brokers,
bankers and financial planners are frequently cited as
significant third-party referral sources.
Promotional and Public Relations Activities
It includes a wide range of traditional as well as
innovative strategies. Because professional services
are highly personal, most authorities agree that
promotional activities should be viewed primarily as
vehicles for creating and enhancing awareness of the
firm.
Abandoning Clients Gracefully

There are alternatives to simply dumping the

client and there are ways to attend to clients
who, while they may not represent the
consultant’s failure were certainly instrumental in
building his/her practice
Abandoning Clients Gracefully

Some suggestions are:

Explain to client that certain assignments cannot
be cost-effectively handled anymore.
 Establish alliances with younger consultants who
ay want to align themselves with more established
practitioners in order to learn, obtain business
and network.
Abandoning Clients Gracefully

 Provide the client with advance notice that

the consultant will be accepting lesser
assignments and doing lesser workshops and
appearances
 Offer to transfer the skills to the client, if
appropriate. Suggest some internal
alternatives and work with the client to replace
the consultant’s expertise
Abandoning Clients Gracefully

Some business conditions that could justify the

abandonment of some clients:
1) Beneath the growing fee structure
2) Unchallenging
3) Providing a reputation that does not fit the
consultant’s strategy
4) Overly specialized
Abandoning Clients Gracefully
5) Unable to attract the kind of talent the
consultant wants in his firm
6) Unable to attract the kind of references the
consultant needs
7) In areas and industries that themselves are not
growing
8) Unpleasant and/or has rude and offensive people
9) Unethical in its actions and/or borderline illegal
10) Harsh in its demands for travel, support, and
other logistics