And, more often than not, fail to be anything to anyone?

“We have always been guilty of trying to be all things to all clients and, with hindsight, I suspect that this has not helped us to maximise our efficiency and our visibility in specific markets.”

One client found this a hard but valuable lesson to learn yet it can be quite simple once you get your head round it :

Tip time: Be a different specialist for each situation, contact, prospect, client if necessary

That’s not as weird as it might sound once you think about it, after all, you’re already:

• Somebody’s brother/ sister
• Somebody else’s father/ mother
• Somebody else’s uncle/ aunt
• Somebody else’s grandson/ granddaughter
• Somebody else’s friend
• Somebody else’s etc., etc.

You’re still you, so there’s nothing wrong or underhand, yet you adjust your behaviour to the suit the role. Guess what? You’re already doing it – just extend it to business and benefit from it!