Tarplin Consulting Founder, Amanda Tarplin, spoke with Erin Halper, founder of the Upside, to discuss how she and Tarplin Consulting are responding to clients and navigating consulting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
....Consultants who have become a partner that their clients can lean on.
Amanda Tarplin Kirilov, a consultant providing outsourced investor relations for private equity firms, echoes that this is an unprecedented time, even compared to the global financial crisis in 2008.
“Some clients, unfortunately, have lost staff for a variety of reasons and just need ad-hoc additional support, which is where I’ve been able to step in and step up.
“But for most of my clients, they are focusing on and prioritizing the need to be communicative with investors in the right way. That means helping them create a plan for enhanced reporting on their underlying portfolio companies, a plan for personal outreach to their investors and, most importantly, helping them document their response during this time.
“For most businesses, documented response during this crisis will be imperative for businesses to look back on. Think about what this means in the context of your clients and your services and see if it is something you can help with.
“Also, think about how to offer support to your clients and prospects in whatever way you can, especially if you have a good pre-existing relationship.
“Put yourself in their mindset and what they are grappling with (it’s likely a lot) and step up as a resource and a partner to them--someone they can count on and lean on.
“And don’t try to sell them too hard during this time! This may mean loosening our controls on how much ‘free’ advice we give and time spent on the phone as consultants. Bottom line: unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.”
Amanda’s takeaways:
Don’t try to sell too hard during this time
Loosen up and be more open than usual about how much free advice you give out
Put yourself in their mindset and what they are grappling with (it’s likely a lot) and step up as a resource and a partner to them--someone they can count on and lean on
The Upside supports best-in-class independent consultants across all industry verticals where we leverage the power of community, collaboration and connections to help one another thrive and grow.
The business was launched by Erin Halper who built a successful 7-year career as an independent consultant in the private investment space. She started the company in 2017 to launch and grow successful independent consultancies through community, coaching, collaboration and connections.