How Can the Singer Pitbull Help Your Consulting Business?

As I spend my summer driving around my kids to this practice or that practice or this or that mall to “hang out” with their friends, my radio is always commandeered and I seem to hear the same songs over and over.

Last year I wrote about Carly Rae Jepson’s song of the summer “Call Me Maybe” and I drew a parallel with the importance of including your corporate help desk in large scale roll out of new solutions.

This year, one of the songs of the summer is by Pitbull “Feel This Moment” with Christina Aguilera. It takes about two beats of the song and one of my children crank up the volume. I’ve heard the first two lines many many times, and I had an a-ha moment! All professional consultants could take advice from Pitbull! We know that providing advice is the first rule for any good consultant. The second, third and fourth rules, are always business development!

Many consultants find that no matter how efficient they are at business development, in the end, it is about advice they provide and that the vast majority of their business is derived from connections and reputation.

In Pitbull’s song “Feel This Moment”, the first two lines are very prophetic. I’ll paraphrase them a bit to make my point,

Ask for money, and get advice
Give advice, get money twice

As I sit, reporting from my comfortable home in Winnipeg, I see the parallels of those lines to our business. Many times, we participate in meet and greet events where we frequently stand around stating “nice to meet you”, but at times many of us may think that time is money and we need to get on with more profitable activities. But really, you should stop time and enjoy the moments meeting with your colleagues.

Think about those first two lines again. We've all seen the consultants out there “working the crowd”. They are out there asking for work (ask for money). They work the crowd going from group to group to find the one or two prospects that might have an opportunity. Over the course of the night, they collect 10-20 new business cards. But as they move around, you end up seeing them flame out and only getting advice from these encounters (get advice). Usually that advice is to talk to someone else or another company, and that indirectly gets them away from the person providing the advice! -> “Ask for money, and get advice”

There seems to be a blurred line between the first and second line of the song that many consultants have yet to realize.

You then see another group of consultants that are more mature, not in age, but in understanding of our business. They are the ones that enjoy the social interactions at these meet and greets and speak more of non-work activities and opportunities. They are the ones that are truly interested in your summer vacation plans or your daughter’s soccer triumphs or son’s basketball championship. They are the consultants who frequently provide free advice to customers and non-customers (give advice).  But it’s those social interactions that remain in our potential customer’s mind. When you are at top of mind, business opportunities will come. -> “Give advice, get money twice.

My company (PCGI Consulting Services) has a large annual customer appreciation event. Our informal rule for staff is to avoid work conversations, we are there to thank our clients and enjoy the moment. We find that after this event, our phone is frequently ringing off the hook. Our client’s remember our appreciation of their past business and are more willing to provide us future business.

Operating in this customer centric manner is not something that is done in the moment, we call it is a life long business mantra. To paraphrase even more lines from the song;

One day when your opportunity is glowing (when you are busy and in customer demand)
You too can be sitting in your castle golden (you can enjoy the fruits of a successful practice)
But until those gates open (but until your practice takes off)
Just feel the moment, feel the moment, feel the moment (continue developing those personal relationships)

And in the end you will move from the first line to of the song, to the second; 

Ask for money, and get advice

Give advice, get money twice