Collaborate to better serve corporate clients

All but sad cynics know the potential of "casting your bread upon the water." And anyone not familiar with the parable of the "Good Samaritan" has missed a lot of additional insights that make all the difference in life.

Collaboration is pitching in to interact, listen, compare notes, initiate and cooperate to help wherever and however it can make the difference to all concerned.

Everyone in the business of serving the needs of corporate customers has a base of corporate clients upon which their business depends. It is in their/your/our self interest to do whatever possible to further the health and well being and level of success of clients. Whenever "our clients" can be improved by becoming a well served client of another non-competing company, we are better off and so are they. Call that win-win-win. "You," "us," and "they" all benefit from smart collaboration.

Improvement, progress, the process of making things better, flows according to effort, energy, enthusiasm, effectiveness of results, etc.

While it can be delayed by mistakes that end up being time consuming to recover from, it is far more often delayed by procrastination stemming from fears associated with either pessimism or the impatient demand for perfection.

Is there anything that cannot be improved? Collaborate and find out.
There might even be a new business model emerge from such an undertaking.

Don't be shy, just start with some kind of feasibility testing:

1. Confirm interest of critical mass of initial participants and areas of interest/assignment.

It's wise to begin with the demand side:

2. Collectively compile list of first contacts to all known potentially accessible sources of client bases (lists of customers) – someone known well personally who can move things forward.

3. Confirm best contact person (not necessarily first contact) for each client base for initial client-by-client assessment of potential needs (top 3-10).

4. Identify client access hurdles to overcome.
5. How best to overcome them, case by case.
6. Who will do what to clarify and verify clients’ needs.
7. Make initial estimate of aggregate client demand for specific advisory and transaction services.

With some handle on demand, turn to the supply side:

8. Collectively compile list of first contacts to all known potentially usable service providers.
9. Clarify and verify distinctive competence of each service provider, including how to improve their competence.
10. Confirm initial capacity to meet demand.

Nothing is real until action produces results through operations:

11. Clarify database utilities needed, availability, administration.

Initial and ongoing business planning can make all the difference:

12. Confirm principal participation in profit center.
13. Name profit center and more succinctly describe it for maximum marketing value.
14. Clarify new profit center pricing, retainers, performance fees, etc.
15. Estimate volume, revenue, costs, expenses, cash flow and potential value of profit center.
16. Update implementation plan/timeline.

"Closing sales" makes all the rest possible:

17. Overcome hurdles and engage clients to clarify and verify needs

Superior "fulfillment" is the key to closing more sales:

18. Clarify and execute operations for growth and improvement.