In what I hope will be an occasional series of interesting and slightly entertaining podcasts, Nik Butler aka @loudmouthman agreed to give me a two minute elevator pitch on what he does and why you should hire him. That 2 mins turned into 11 mins but heh – who’s counting?
As background, Nik is one of those people who, if you’ve never met them before, seems utterly nuts. His opening and closing Tweets are at once incomprehensible, hilarious and annoying. An example from today:
Like a cold grey start to a morning I am the bright warm sunshine hidden by the low level clouds of content. goodmorning.
So as the muppet of popularity meets the collector of inevitability so I leave speechless with you all heckling as I say. Goodnight.
It all sounds like something out of Mornington Crescent.
Anyhoo…one of the key things I want to discover is what makes one consultant different from another and whether they’re capable of answering the questions that matter. That’s why I titled this post ‘Victim.’ As it happens, I know from personal experience that Nik is VERY good at what he does but I’d never asked what he does so it seemed a good idea to get some answers. What sort of questions do you ask when trying to figure out whether one consultant is going to be better than another? Listen to the podcast and find out. Here are my questions:
- What do you do?
- So there are about 20 million others doing that…so why would anyone want to call up Nik Butler?
- Some people might think, why are you giving me the answer to that question when I asked you this question?
- Instead of scraping off the top of that particular wart and applying a sticking plaster you get the ol’ scalpel out and give it a good lancing?
- What surprises people when you give that kind of answer? (Nik had to think hard about this)
- How will I get value?
- And that’s a winning combination?
The podcast link is at the top of this post. Enjoy.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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A very entertaining 11mins. I agree with your approach Nik and if it’s getting you referrals then that’s the best kind of business you can have. Good point about getting clients to take ownership of the implemented solution.
Interesting – tough to answer these types of questions but essential if we are to make a cogent case for being hired. I liked Nik’s emphasis on providing answers not “solutions,” and the idea of answering the implicit questions as well as the obvious ones. Often a client can only see the immediate need and bases his/her budget on the assumption that the need can be “fixed” in isolation. I would emphasise that broader approach/understanding and the delivery therefore of true value for money, rather than a fudge or quick fix.
Good fun too – once you got into your stride it was clear you could have gone on for a lot longer, but in a 140 character world, brevity is probably better!
@fiona – I put Nik on the spot with the notion of a 2 min elevator pitch. It’s one of the toughest things to do and you need practice. But to be fair I think his explanations were interesting enough for someone to say – “Heh – I’ll have some of that.”
A very entertaining 11mins. I agree with your approach Nik and if it's getting you referrals then that's the best kind of business you can have. Good point about getting clients to take ownership of the implemented solution.
Interesting – tough to answer these types of questions but essential if we are to make a cogent case for being hired. I liked Nik's emphasis on providing answers not “solutions,” and the idea of answering the implicit questions as well as the obvious ones. Often a client can only see the immediate need and bases his/her budget on the assumption that the need can be “fixed” in isolation. I would emphasise that broader approach/understanding and the delivery therefore of true value for money, rather than a fudge or quick fix.
Good fun too – once you got into your stride it was clear you could have gone on for a lot longer, but in a 140 character world, brevity is probably better!
@fiona – I put Nik on the spot with the notion of a 2 min elevator pitch. It's one of the toughest things to do and you need practice. But to be fair I think his explanations were interesting enough for someone to say – “Heh – I'll have some of that.”
Nik is an enigma! Someone who you can challenge and debate with to ensure that he really does understand your business needs and will respond with the best possible scenerio. Nik will go out of his way to ensure that as a small company we only spend what we need to spend though he will also ensure that we have the more expensive options “just in case!” He always appears right at the forefront of the industry – always one step ahead with the suggestions that he comes up with whether this is to do with basic IT systems, social media or interactive media. What would we do without you Nik??
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