One on One with RA Potter Advisors' Bob Potter

This is the worst market we've faced in our lifetimes, says Bob Potter, managing principal of RA Potter Advisors, a sales strategy advisory practice that helps consulting professionals acquire and retain clients and accelerate business relationships. In the last downturn, consulting services became hyper competitive as providers chased fewer and fewer projects, he says. Many firms went out of business while others cut staff by half. Few service providers survived unscathed. But this time around, Potter says firms smart firms will turn this crisis into an opportunity. He will present "Five Keys to Surviving—and Thriving—in the Downturn" at the Consulting Summit in Chicago on Wednesday, May 6. For more information on the summit or Potter's presentation, click here. [Link]

Consulting: What lessons can consulting firms learn from previous economic downturns to sharpen our survival strategies for this hostile market?

Potter: Based upon the last downturn, we can make a few predictions as to which service providers are most likely to be road pizza in a hyper competitive market. The biggest losers will be service providers who don't have extremely loyal clients, don't dominate their market niche, don't have a clear differentiated and provable value proposition, don't know how to win in competition, and don't know how to or are unwilling to return to proactive selling.