October 22, 1998

MARKETING OD:  ARE WE SELLING USED CARS?
Bruce Mabee and Nancy Davis

An enthusiastic audience gathered on 10/22 to hear Bruce Mabee and Nancy Davis present an enlightening discussion on marketing OD. The overall inquiry that was initially posed was "do OD professionals suffer from the same image problem that has plagued used car salesmen?" In an effort to describe the dilemma that many OD professionals face, Bruce shared a story from a ODN national conference from a few years ago. At that time Bruce ran into a seasoned OD professional who was amazed that during that particular ODN conference he observed that individuals were "going like gangbusters" in promoting OD but it was the same message that had been prominent years ago yet it was still "selling like hotcakes." Was the seasoned professional disappointed that nothing new was being touted instead of realizing that OD remained a popular topic no matter how "dated" the material seemed to him? There is a definite science to selling (no matter how "old" the message may seem) whether it’s selling OD or anything else.

In an effort to create a more in-depth understanding of what was involved in selling OD we broke into small groups of three individuals each with an "consultant" selling a concept to a "client" and an observer to the process. Bruce framed this exercise by asking the observers to be mindful of: 1) what was being sold, 2) what about it were the buyers liking, and 3) what discomforts were any parties finding? What became apparent in the debrief of the exercise was the intellectual relationship that exists between the client and consultant and the necessity of a genuine ability to hear what is being sold. One is often quite confident that they know just what the client wants, however, one can never be too sure. Buyers like being heard and it’s important to use their language versus OD jargon. A consultant must know who they are before they walk in the client’s door.

Through knowing who you are before you "walk in the door" you must also be aware of how you help someone which Bruce shared with the audience as four postures of influence. The four postures are classified not by what you say but how you say it and are as follows: 1) to them: when we impose what we (consultant) believe they (client) need for their own good or for the greater good; 2) for them: the traditional service model -- we deliver what the client asks us to do rapidly, accurately, and flawlessly; 3) with them: we join the client as a teammate and work together as partners; and 4) by them: we encourage the client to take action by themselves in a client-centered process -- this posture is seen by many as the only way to consult. At many points during the consulting experience, one will exercise each of the postures wherein lies the true art of consulting: how to move among all four during the course of the consulting relationship.

A bit of wisdom that Bruce had learned from Jerry Perlmutter in the past was "you can’t sell OD but you can market it" demonstrating the notion that someone has to want OD or need OD. It will likely come about as a result of the collaborative relationship you have developed with the client. Most often the buyer is in a "to" mode requesting that something be done "to" the workforce. Big Six firms tend to consult from the "for them" posture which is offensive to some executives as they are hoping that an effort will be made to work "with them".

Nancy then presented a scenario to the group to demonstrate how we sell OD as a product/service or a process. The scenario involved a request made to conduct a day-long retreat using a personality assessment allowing employees to get to know each other while being fun and motivating. The audience then broke into small groups to suggest what might be offered to the client. The initial diagnosis might have been to develop a team building intervention, however, various groups analyzed it in light of OD as process vs. a product/service (i.e., team building). In this particular scenario, each approach has merits some of which include: the product/service is concrete and visible (easy to understand, easy to standardize and efficient to deliver) and use of the OD process allows for integration and alignment of the business (assists the client in long-term efficiency of the organization and promotes team health). The pitfalls of the product/service response will rely heavily on the vendor’s expertise and include: expectations of a quick fix and the potential short-term thrill without lasting impact easily integrated into the organizational system. Use of the OD process may appear messy and challenging to the client as well as complex and harder to manage.

In closing the evening’s discussion, the audience was challenged to always determine what your motives are and to potentially make it a part of a wider process (will you uncover more problems in performing the needs analysis). Will what you propose add real value (e.g., transfer of skills and knowledge) vs. strictly business value (e.g., profit increases). If you give the client what they really want, could it be damaging in the long run or raise ethical issues? The final point to ponder as a result of this presentation is how does one go about selling what people don’t know that they need? The enlightened consumer will be aware of potential value to be derived from OD consulting whereas for many consultants the larger challenge will remain of demonstrating OD’s potential to add value to the organization.

-Susan Black