Mentor's Corner
Toolkit for Consultants: Going for the Big Fish

By C. Thomas Tyler, Chief Technology Officer of The Go To Group, Inc.

This article is about some things to keep in mind when you go for the big fish. By that I mean targeting large enterprises as clients - I really don't know much about how to use a rod & reel.

Why Go for the Big Fish?

Large enterprises are the target of many a consultant, and for good reasons:

• Contract negotiations are more consistent
• Contract awards tend to be larger
• There is a greater collateral marketing benefit, such as marketing and credibility
• Due to larger budgets, it is easier to sell a range of follow-on services once a relationship has been established, such as selling annual Support Agreements after a relatively small initial project.

To be sure, there are lots of complexities dealing with larger corporate environments - more bureaucracy to deal with, higher pressure, and slow sales cycles. But on balance, it's good idea to have more large clients in your portfolio.

Getting on the Approved Vendor List

One very typical hoop that many large companies make consultants jump through is getting on their Approved Vendor List. If someone at a big corporation wishes to hire you as a consultant, this list can be a speed bump in the sales cycle. It is important to view it as a speed bump, not a concrete barrier.

Don't be discouraged into thinking that it is impossible to get on that list - often large companies will encourage you to go through the process, provided you indicate your willingness and eagerness to go through whatever hoops are necessary. It also helps if you convey some understanding of what's involved - depending on how long your contact is at the company, they may not know what all is involved.

The fact that getting onto an Approved Vendor List is such a chore initially is actually a benefit to you. It's also a chore (and possible a learning process) for whoever is bringing you into the client, and not a task they want to repeat. Once you go through the hoops, you'll find it easier to do ongoing business with that client in the future. Recurring revenue streams are a wonderful thing!

What are the hoops? They vary from company to company. Following are a list of things you may encounter:

• They will require your firm to be formally incorporated as a C-Corp, S-Corp, or LLC.
• They may require that you have been in business for some length of time, e.g. 2 years.
• They may require references.
• They may require you to negotiate an initial SOW with one of their business units.
• They will require that you maintain active General Liability insurance coverage, typically $1M or $2M, verifiable with an insurance certificate.
• They may also require that you maintain active E&O insurance. This is less common, but more expensive.
• You may be subject to certain rate caps for certain types of work (typical in government subcontracting) or based on the level of education of the staff. The rate categories typically have some flexibility if you can get yourself classified as a subject matter expert, with published articles or other things in your credibility profile.
• They will likely require that you use their contract template as a starting point for negotiation, rather than your own. This is usually OK, since boiler-plate contracts from large corporations tend to have "been around the block," and aren't too one-sided.

If you are told there is only one company through which all vendors must subcontract, challenge that (politely). Indicate your willingness and ability to go through whatever hoops are necessary to get directly on the Approved Vendor List.

Marketing Advantages

Large companies recognize that, to consulting organizations, the ability to use their logo on marketing valuable. Typically large corporate marketing and legal departments prevent you from publicly listing them as a client, but if you ask, you may be able to negotiate a clause something like the following:

Publicity. Neither party hereto may issue any press releases or use the other party's trademarks for any advertising, marketing or promotional purposes, or in any form on the Internet, without the express prior written consent of such other party, or as otherwise provided in this paragraph. VENDOR may orally state that BIGFAMOUSCO is a client. The BIGFAMOUS name may be used by VENDOR in private presentations to other companies/customers, such as in a PowerPoint or email. Use of the BIGFAMOUSCO name in mass release emails is not allowed. Except as set forth in this paragraph, VENDOR shall not, under any circumstances, use, display, publish or distribute BIGFAMOUSCO's name or trademarks, without the express written permission of BIGFAMOUSCO.

Master Services Agreement

Rather than sending a contract, send a Master Services Agreement (MSA). What's the difference? Not much - mainly just the title, and a few tidbits: a) be sure to include a clause that lets you decide which qualified resources are doing the work, and b) include a section with a spreadsheet-like list of resources. Even if you are the only resource initially, you're putting things in a format that implies others may be added later. Such a clause is included in the ICCA contract template. This keeps the option open to replace yourself without someone else that you hire or subcontract to, once you have established the relationship. It might take a while before that's possible, but it's good to prepare for it up front.

Follow Up

If you don't hear back from a client for a few weeks, follow up! Don't bother to spend even a single unproductive second speculating on why they haven't gotten back to you - spend the time to compose a follow-up email, or just pick up the phone! Of course this applies to any client, not just large ones. But in my experience, it's usually the large ones that occasionally fall off the radar screen, and are happy to get a friendly nod to push things forward.

Semper Gumby

The motto of the U.S. Marine Corps is Semper fidelis, abbreviated Semper Fi on many a bumper sticker. It means, "Always faithful." When dealing with Big Fish clients, your motto should be Semper Gumby, "Always Flexible." Be willing to allow for a variety of ways to engage your clients. For example, you might offer the option to do purely advisory consulting, or to do a mix of advising, implementing, project management, and product evangelism work. When the Big Fish asks how do we engage you, be prepared to quickly walk them through your contract negotiation process!

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By C. Thomas Tyler is the Chief Technology Officer of The Go To Group, Inc. and the Former President of the ICCA Greater Boston Chapter. He can be reached at Tom.Tyler@Go2Group.com or you may view his website at www.Go2Group.com