Written by: Vickie Sullivan | October 05, 2021
One Thing That Will Make or Break a Project
There’s one thing at the start of every B2B project that will make or break your efforts: how the hiring manager introduces you to staff who will help you.
A recent example: A company hired a business colleague of mine to work on a marketing technology project. My colleague would be working with the IT and marketing departments. Normally that would be fine, but the executives who hired my colleague didn’t introduce him to the teams.
So, when my friend asked the teams for information to assess the project, the staff balked. They didn’t say no outright. They either ignored the request or gave him incomplete information. This behavior delayed the project, extending over a month and causing my friend to work extra hours for free.
Now imagine the above scenario if the chief technology officer sent an email to the teams that said something like, “Please welcome Billy Bob. I’ve hired him to do (insert project here). He’ll be asking you for information, and I expect those requests to be a top priority. We’re on a tight timeline, so Billy will report back to me on any bottlenecks. Thanks for helping Billy Bob.”
My guess is the staff would’ve been much more willing to cooperate.
Listen: Two Reasons Why Staff Don’t Want to Help You
Introductions set up expectations. You can influence those expectations by 1) coaching the client on how to introduce you and 2) build updates into your process so problems can be addressed quickly.
When staff know you have the C-suite’s ear, they are much more inclined to cooperate with you.
Now Read This:
- When Curveball Situations Arise, Clear Communication Is Key
- Competitive Branding for B2B Professional Service Firms