Aug 08 - Improvising rocks!

read previous ezines grouped by themes

Japanese maple, Astor Tce, Chicago

A little fella from an Chinese art exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago

I have just returned from 5 weeks long-form improvisation training at iO Theatre in Chicago. It was an absolute privilege to be "playing" 6 hours a day, and watching 2 or 3 shows a night. One of the best times I've had in a long time.

Some of the Chicago photos are with this ezine, and you can check out more of them on google pix, as well as my New York photos and photos from a quick client gig in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam just before I left.

Chicago is indeed a beautiful city (a tad obsessed with architecture, but then they have some good architecture!). Summer was hot. I learnt a lot which will come out in my consulting and training.

Back now, and setting myself up for the rest of the year - it's New Year's Resolution time for me now!

Cindy

In this month's ezine we have:

• Improving your consultancy: Google's sales and marketing tools; making it easy to do business with you; relationship selling; image; brand
• Managing better: asking for help; brainstorming
• Fascinating: Names; the Silk Road
• Fun: Graceful Envelopes; One piece of paper

Your Consulting
business

Sleeping armadillo at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, USA

Appreciative kid at a Disney Parade, LA

Kid in way of Polar Bear, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago

Chicago Public Library - ceiling above the escalators!

Google's Sales and Marketing tools

Find out about how to use google's free tools to enhance yoru sales and marketing.

Make it easy to do business with you

If you are offering a more expensive service than a competitor, take this research on "time is money" into account - people tend to underestimate the cost of their own time in finding a service (or the cost of their time in administering it). Make sure your marketing points out what they will save.

In the same vein, how do you make it easiest for your client to do business with you? Consider this German bank who have designed a "shoebox" for clients; they pick up the shoebox filled with receipts and bills every month and deal with them for their client within three days. It's book keeping for the unruly. The beautiful thing is their clients feel looked after, it's so simple and everyone's happy. What's a parallel in your consulting world?

Selling with relationships

It's not always the case that the experts are good sales people. Check out this article about relationship selling and its application to executives, which suggests wheeling in the experts once a relationship is established. If you have more than one person in your consultancy, maybe you need to look at this kind of division of power?

Looking the part

I'm a big believer in the importance of image. Often the only thing clients can differentiate consultants on is their intangibles. So the design of your business card, the branding of your web site, and whether you are dressed professionally are just as important as which school you went to or who your clients have been. We are our own "shop window" since we often don't have one.

I regularly go to my own image consultant to update my "look", use her to make sure my publicity shots give the impression I want to give, and I believe it saves me a lot of money and time. I was pleased to see this cool site (the original is in German, unfortunately), where people can post images of themselves and ask questions (do I look approachable, do I look credible, do I look intelligent?).

What do you want your "shop window" to look like, and are you representing your own brand appropriately?

Update your brand

On the issue of brand, I went to a marketing workshop just before I went to the USA. Stepchange communications apply big business ideas to your smaller business. Ashton Bishop and Simon Rutherford are both highly professional - if you ask good questions, they will tell you all you need to know to make your marketing work. They have another seminar on Sept 20th 2008 in Sydney. Let them know you found out through me!

Upgrade your knowledge base

And a little heads up: I'm speaking in an Institute of Management Consultants sponsored event for Small Business September called Buying, Using and Being a Consultant. I'm the "being" part. It's on September 11, 2008 and starts at 8am in the City. Enrolment details at the website.

I'm also speaking at the 2008 Australasian Facilitators Network Conference in Bathurst, NSW in November. This one's about improvising and its use in business. And, early notice, I'm doing another gig on facilitation and improvising at the International Association of Facilitators Conference in Vancouver in April 2009. Busy, busy, busy.

Managing better

Art deco detail, Chicago

Getting help from colleagues and staff

Maybe you need one of your staff to stay later than usual. Perhaps you'd like a colleague to fill in for you at a meeting, or swap days off with someone. You'll have a higher possibility of winning if you ask individuals, not groups for help. For the same reason (so they don't know who you're asking) bcc if you're going to send an email asking for a favour to a group of people. The idea is they think someone else will do it if you ask more than one person. Better to target (or look like you're targetting). So says some research from Influence at work people. Unfortunately they have moved the link from April's newsletter, which I've been saving. You'll have to take my word for it!

Thinking

I liked this fastcompany powerpoint show on brainstorming principles. They includes Improvising in one of the points - so it's what I love!

Fascinating

Me and some of my impro buddies, Chicago (that's me in the middle)

How popular is your name?

Get your fill of "wow" by checking out 100 years of baby names on the NSW government site. Type in your name, and see how popular it has been. Cindy was popular in the 70s with 105 babies born every year. In 2007 only 24 Cindys were name in NSW. My husband, James, has a more popular name: it dropped to 524 babies in 2007, which is an all-time low since 1900. My friends just named their gorgeous little girl Molly. 127 girls got that name in 2007 (but fewer than 10 per year in the 70's). There were 25 Mollys every year in the 1920's). The site is addictive. Where does your name fit? Are you in vogue or not?

Travel the Silk Road from your PC

My husband flies to Tashkent in 2 days for a Silk Road adventure. He found these interactive Silk Road maps - plot the course of Alexander the Great's conquests and a hundred other historically interesting ideas.

And Fun, fun, fun

Kayak on the Chicago River

Glass brick wall, Chicago downtown

Graceful envelopes

If I have mentioned this before, please forgive me. Calligraphers have a "Graceful Envelope" competition every year. Marvel at the ingenuity and beauty by looking at some of the winners in 2005 - 2006 - 2007.

One piece of paper

And in a similar vein, marvel at these works of art from just one piece of paper.

Let me know if this ezine sparks your imagination!!

Cindy

Cindy Tonkin The Consultants’ Consultant
Certified Management Consultant

unsubscribe

This month's images are original works ©2008 Cindy Tonkin. See more here.

Read more ezines by month

Read previous ezines grouped by themes