By David M. Brudney, ISHC
October 2004

Along with most Americans, I�ve been watching the candidates debate on TV this fall.

I find the debates very interesting but not necessarily that useful for my voting tastes.  There always seems to be a follow up question that isn�t asked, an answer in need of clarification, or a claim that goes unchallenged.

Frankly, I think the candidates get off far too easily.  All too often, voters are asked to make �leaps of faith� on what the candidates are promising, when the candidates state �facts�, or when each attempts to correct the other.

Does anyone make significant purchases via the Internet without first learning more about the product or service in question?  Why should voting for a candidate be any different?  Wouldn�t you have loved to have seen a factual message crawl across the bottom of the screen during the debates - - like an airline�s �on time� record - - when Vice President Dick Cheney attacked Senator John Edwards on his poor voting and attendance record in the Senate?

Wouldn�t it be nice, wouldn�t it make more sense, if President George Bush and Senator John Kerry had to go through the same process with the voters that consultants, hotel sales associates and other suppliers - - those of us who do this for a living - - do in order to get the �vote� of our prospective clients?

I�m a self-employed consultant for the hospitality industry and just like hundreds of my colleagues and competitors, I don�t have the luxury of campaigning for one job for the next four years.  I have to do that once a week - - sometimes once a day.  And if I lose more than a couple of those, I�m either out of business or I hunker down for some very lean times.

Here�s what I�m expected to answer in writing   when I �campaign� or �bid� on a new consulting assignment:

• Specific qualifications for why I should be considered for a particular engagement

• Relevant assignments I have successfully completed (wouldn�t you like to see Kerry have to address that in a PowerPoint?)

• A specific outline for how I would go about fixing a problem, increase revenues, help create a better R.O.I. (wouldn�t you love to see Bush produce a PowerPoint on how the next four years will differ from the past four years?)

• Current and past clients who will be contacted and asked specifically whether or not my services were of any value and would I be retained again for future work

• Fees to be charged (hello, new taxes?), justification of my hourly rate, details on all expenses to be incurred

• Timeline and availability - - I have to guarantee that I will make myself available and ready to perform my services within a specific period of time (with no extensions!)

• A guarantee that all tasks and work product will be done by me personally

• Deliverables - - specific content and length of my final written report

• And, finally, Bush and Kerry can rest assured that the winner will be known on November 2nd (2000 delay not likely this time around).  Consultants aren�t so lucky.  We risk not only losing the assignment to a competitor - - with no polling �exit� interviews telling us why - - but many times the decision is delayed or worse, sometimes the prospective clients decide not to do the project at all. 

© Copyright 2004 

David M. Brudney, ISHC, is a veteran sales and marketing professional concluding his fourth decade of service to the hospitality industry.  He is the principal of David Brudney & Associates of Carlsbad, CA, a marketing consulting firm specializing in the hospitality industry since 1979 and a charter member of International Society of Hospitality Consultants.  Previously, Brudney held sales and marketing positions with Hyatt, Westin and Marriott.