Being a consultant, especially in China, is not always easy. On this Saturday, I’ve got to get it off my chest.
Many companies think we should be happy to dump all our expertise on them free of charge and still say thanks for their patience to listen to us.
I have seen many of those passing by to bug me on the Olympics, on doing business in China, requesting contact details of Chinese companies or entities.
A couple of days ago one more of those “well-known companies” tried to bug me. They wanted a list of key people they could invite for an event to promote their products for the Olympics. I explained it required several steps to achieve a real result:
– we need to understand which products exactly they want to promote and to what type of end-users;
– we verify that the people they themselves propose actually have input in the decision-making process;
– we suggest other people that they missed out and have an impact in the process;
– we call each person to explain the background for the event and try to convince them to attend;
– we make sure the interested parties get the invitation and double-check again they will really attend.
Organizing dinners, seminars or any event without the right preparation often results in no-shows, half empty tables and guests who actually have no real connection with the whole story. I have been to many seminars where the foreign company was mostly making presentations to their own staff with very few of the actual customers being present (an listening).
Many foreign companies target the wrong people to attend as they don’t understand the decision-making process in the Chinese bureaucracy. For the Olympics, most foreigners insist to invite BOCOG delegates. As a matter of fact, BOCOG has little to do with the overall infrastructure projects and the sports venues – except when it has a relation with the Games. Many companies fail to identify the real end-users and decision-makers.
Especially for Olympic-related projects the Chinese side receives many invitations. Reaching out to key people requires a personal good contact so they can be convinced to attend. If you just send an invitation through the mail or even the driver it risks to be used for recycling only (Green Olympics, remember?)
As consultants we invest an awful amount of time trying to understand the complexity of the Chinese bureaucracy, to monitor the press, to attend seminars, to spend time with our contacts, to help them out when they need assistance. In my case it also involves helping the Chinese government as an advisor – free of charge. It all creates the goodwill, trust and “guanxi”. So, when we ask them something they will at least check it out seriously.
We receive numerous requests from companies to “understand” what opportunities exist in this market, how to proceed, to whom to talk to, and so on. They expect us to give seminars and spend hours with their delegates. We are then supposed to give away our expertise gained during years of hard work. We are expected to be happy that their great leaders want to meet with us and we should be honored to be taken out for a lunch or to receive one of their crappy company gifts. Thank you, I have enough pens and I don’t like to spend a lunch talking and trying to eat at the same time. I prefer to stay home and have a nice sandwich, surely better for my digestion.
Companies are offended when we ask a fee for the meetings, seminars or helping them to sort out the right attendants to their party. How dare we! How outrageously expensive we are! Well, if they think it is all so easy – “My goodness! You just need to make some phone calls!”, go ahead, read China Daily and call yourself.
Well, I tell them: if you consult your lawyer, your doctor: you don’t pay either?
So, the well-known company of course was not willing to pay the fee. Bye bye and good riddance (I already knew they were a real cheapskate type of company).
Worse in a sense but rather typical: it was (again) a Belgian company. For sure explains why I am mostly reluctant to even lose 15 minutes of my time with them. They are all so friendly till you talk euro language.
Same for visiting trade delegations or EMBA groups. Many of those trips are organized by overseas consultants who ask pretty nice fees to show China. “Discover China through our fact-finding tour, listen to local specialists”. Yep, there we come. Those consultants want us to give a seminar for the delegation, get from us all the insights, put it in their book on China and give seminars about it when back home. Of course they pocket the money all along the way. We here in China, paying thousands of euro of rent per month and all the rest, well, we should be honored to be a speaker. Nice try folks. No fee, no seminar. Anyway, I have to go to the gym to train for my next marathon. (Damn! Who is going to pay the membership fee?)
Of course we do make exceptions. We do actually meet some nice people here.