Imagine this scenario: you’re at a business event, and your goal is to meet prospective customers. But your strength is accounting, not sales! How do you build rapport quickly enough to find out which people might need your help?

What do Canada’s most successful businesses do differently than the less successful businesses? Why do even successful businesses run into financial difficulties that, if unresolved, can lead to failure?

I was recently discussing the present state of the consulting industry. The businessman that I was talking to offered this definition: “A consultant is someone who will steal your wallet and happily tell you how much money you had.” The businessman went on to tell of his experience with consultants. Lots of promises and they tell you what you mostly already know and then leave you with a plan you have to figure out how to implement on your own. Another businessman in the discussion stated that he had spent $20K to hear what he had heard before, but since he had spent the $20K, he decided to at least make a couple of changes.

The customers you choose to work with and the policies you use to retain them greatly affect your firm’s long-term success. As Ron Baker has said, “Bad customers drive out good customers.”