Customer Influencer Roles
To market your consulting approach and proposal effectively it's useful to identify the roles people may be playing, recognize their typical needs, and be prepared to demonstrate that your proposed solutions have something for everyone. Here are some common characterizations of the influencing roles you may encounter with clients.
The Accountable Customer
This is the one person (or a clearly designated small group) with the principal accountability for achieving the targeted results, with the support of the consultant. Sometimes this person is designated, "The Client". This may have been the person who initially brought you in to the situation or someone assigned the problem to solve. They have an operating question, "How can we best define and deliver results?"
The Funding Source
This is the individual we most often think of as "The Decision Maker". It is the person who is personally responsible for securing and investing the funds necessary to fund your proposal. Typically, this is one person, although on occasion a committee may play this role. This person's primary focus tends to be long-term. A typical question they hope to see answered in your proposal is: "What return will I get on my investment?"
The person that plays this role will be driven primarily by risk. The higher the risk, the higher in the organization chart this person will be.
Applications Customers
The applications customers are those individuals who have a vested interest in what you are selling as they will be either managing the application of your solutions or directly affected by them in their day-to-day work. They're concerned about answering the question, "How will this affect my job?"
An application customer could be anyone from the chief executive officer who reads the reports from the new software or a secretary who enters data into the system. They can't say yes to your proposal, nor can they say no. However, their perceptions about what is workable can make a difference and could be expressed as needs or wants that would tip the balance for the Funding Source or Gatekeeper (see below).
Gatekeeper Customers
You've met them. These are the people who say, directly or indirectly, "I have my criteria. If you don't meet them, I will screen you out." There could be one or more individuals who play this role. They can't unilaterally say yes to a proposal (only the Funding Source can do that), but they can say no. They are frustrating sometimes in that they imply that you will present to them, when in reality, the funding is coming from the Funding Source. The Gatekeepers set up hurdles for all vendors. They may be making judgments about you, your capability, or your offering. However, their principal focus is likely to be on your specific product, service, or methodology.
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