IN THIS ISSUE:
Exclusive Audio Conference: December 14,
2004, 2-3 pm PT/5-6 pm ET "How to Remove Ego from Your Company
Culture" Audio Conference with Best-Selling Author of businessThink,
Steve Smith.
If you miss this event, contact
us for your Audio CD. Only $17 plus $4.97 shipping,
handling and 7.75% sales tax for CA residents. Please put
STEVE SMITH AUDIO CD in the Subject line, or call us with
your credit card number at 541-593-8787 .
The first three people who order the audio CD will receive
a FREE autographed copy of Steve's best-selling book, businessThink:
Rules
for Getting It Right Now and No Matter What!
Nirell 2005 Workshops
Imagine it's 2005 and you're celebrating
a banner year of profits, outstanding customer success,
and industry-wide recognition for your innovation and sales
growth.
How Will You Turn This Dream Into Reality?
If you're facing any of these frustrations, you probably
have some major obstacles to achieving this dream:
- You're tired of constantly explaining
– in great detail –what your company offers
- You've achieved it all, yet you're
still not satisfied
- It takes your new hires months to understand
your company goals and objectives
- You seem to miss new opportunities
to capitalize on industry and customer trends – and your
competition knows it
- You're losing your passion and energy
to pursue your business dreams
Based on over 50 CEO interviews and
23 years' experience, I've designed a series of hands-on executive
workshops to help you:
- Take your business and profitability
to the next level
- Strengthen the support structures for
your business execution model
- Celebrate your company achievements
with others and attract great employees
- Make mid-course company corrections
and minimize collateral damage
- Increase qualified sales leads by 30%
As a NirellNews subscriber, you qualify
for a special offer. If you book a Nirell workshop prior to
April 1, 2005, you will receive a 'Five Strategies for Creating
Profitable Growth multimedia program AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
For a complete overview of our program, visit: Five
Strategies
This is a $357 value and includes over 8 — hours of exclusive
interview coverage with profit-producing leaders such as Stephen
Covey, Barry Shamus, 'Ruthless Execution Best Selling Author,
Amir Hartman, and The Chasm Group's Mike Tanner.
Here is how your peers have gained from our programs:
'Lisa's direct style, combined with solid CEO research, sends
a strong and vital message on the attributes that clearly
separate those thriving services businesses from the rest.
Nirell's programs are a must for those leaders who want to
create a discipline to maintain their top performer position.
-- Feyzi Fatehi, Executive VP, Medsphere
Systems Corporation
'Lisa's insight into effective services marketing strategies
has proved invaluable and has become one of the pillars of
our quarterly planning sessions. I would highly recommend
Lisa's workshops and multimedia programs to any services leader
who wants to achieve profitable growth in 2005. -- Robert
Scherer, President, The
Accounting Group
Just contact us for more details on our 2005 workshops, or
visit Speaking
Engagements for an overview of our programs.
Remember, this offer expires February 1, 2005 and the workshop
must be scheduled prior to April 1, 2005. Don't miss out‰
Three Services Resolutions for 2005
With client expectations higher than
ever before, and the slow, gradual industry recovery ahead,
consulting firms will need to focus more than ever on carefully
identifying and serving the right clients. Based on a recent
interview with Brad Smith, VP of Research at Kennedy
Information Inc., industry growth data prove that this
is a great time to 'niche thyself and capitalize on targeted
industry opportunities.
Consulting industry growth has been declining for three
years, and more consolidation is ahead. According to Smith,
'Systems integration and consulting industry growth is expected
to grow only 1% in 2004, 3% in 2005, and 4% in 2006.
For now, the double-digit growth of the late 1990's is a
distant memory. Thankfully, three industry sectors are looking
quite attractive for IT leaders and consultants to pursue.
Healthcare is projected to grow between 8%-9% between 2005-2006.
Public Sector is estimated to grow between 4%-5%, and Financial
Services between 3%-4%.
Another strategic trend to seriously consider is that the
services behemoths are getting bigger--and are willing to
take on more risk. The new CEO of Accenture, William Green,
is boldly going where few have gone before-value-based pricing.
According to a recent interview with Green in BusinessWeek,
'Accenture will build services so exceptional that they
will be required to compete in any industry, from financial
services to manufacturing. Green expects their new 'high
performance business model and business expertise will
help clients become top performers in their industries.
For any firm that chooses to deliver on value-based pricing,
the pressure to deliver measurable value will be stronger
than ever. Alan Weiss, the godfather of value-based pricing,
provides several guidelines in his book, 'Million Dollar
Consulting: The Professionals Guide to Growing a Practice. Click
to Order
Client environments and priorities are changing, and this
will also affect the level of consulting relationships clients
expect. During my ten months of research of IT services
CEOs, I often heard respondents mention offshore outsourcing
and cost containment as a method for creating a stronger
profit picture. Now, those strategies have reached a plateau;
they have done all of the cost cutting they possibly can.
Consultants who are committed to capitalizing on these trends
should seriously consider these strategies:
1. Be highly selective of your clients by following a vigilant
client qualification process. How aligned is their leadership
team with the idea? What is their track record of maintaining
high-integrity relationships with outside consultants? How
willing are they to track and monitor their progress-and
thank you when you have contributed to those results? As
my coach says: 'Say Œno' to the good, and Œyes' to the great.
2. Identify your target market, and focus most of your efforts
in that market. Who is your perfect client? How do they
behave? How much do you enjoy their industry/culture? What
are their most common frustrations? Do they truly recognize
they have a problem? Are they willing to spend money now
to fix it? If your target market is IT services, software,
or hardware, do not assume a high willingness to spend money
today. These industries are notorious for developing solutions
in-house, or delaying decisions until the last moment when
they hit a crisis.
3. Ask trusted colleagues to assess your credentials and
behaviors. Ask for brutally honest feedback that is supportive,
not critical or judgmental. If they were considering you
to help them solve a problem, would they hire you? What
makes you stand apart from the market behemoths?
Establishing credentials is more important than ever. Adaptive,
focused consulting leaders have the most to gain in the
next two years and will garner the most market traction.
The rest should accelerate their exit or restructuring plan.
Holiday Thanks
from Lisa
I reflect on 2004 with both sadness and
gratitude. My Momone of my dearest friends and confidantspassed
suddenly last August, while my Dad fought his way through
months of rigorous lung cancer treatment. Thankfully, Dad
won the battle.
Those of you who contacted me in my darkest hours and sent
me your good wishes helped me through the tough months.
I am very grateful for all of my subscribers and clients.
I also know that 2005 will be much brighter and positive.
Thank you for your feedback and your support. Make this
the merriest of holidays!
--Lisa Nirell
http://www.energizegrowth.com/
