When targeting prospective clients and seeking new contracts, other consulting firms may focus on the size of an organization’s annual operating budget or on how their particular offerings can be repackaged and served up to fit a prospective client’s need.

At La Piana Associates, we approach our prospective clients as partners.

Our earliest motivation to serve an organization usually stems from the nonprofit’s compelling mission. We get inspired by our clients’ causes. Whether it is protecting human rights, saving the planet, or healing victims of abuse, it’s the mission that animates our work.

Next, we are moved by the possibilities for personal connection and collaboration with the people at the client organization. Our best work comes from partnering with clients who are open to learning with us, open to change, open, ultimately, to seeing us as partners.

For example, the consulting project may not be well-articulated by the client at the outset, which is natural because they are seeking help, in part, to frame their understanding of the issues. Through our joint scoping process, we partner with the client to help define the project goals and reinforce why it is important.

If a prospective client views our firm in a more utilitarian light, what Peter block calls “an extra pair of hands,” the client is overlooking one of our greatest assets – our eagerness to forge a long-term relationship. As partners, the relationship with our clients does not end at the close of the project. We keep in touch, clients feel comfortable coming back to ask us questions, or we might forward an occasional article they may find interesting…

Unlike other firms who may focus solely on project outcomes and deliverables, La Piana Associates invests in relationships.

Tags: nonprofit

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 8:37 am and is filed under Consulting for Nonprofits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.