Defining your product

"Think of yourself as a problem solver"

Interim managers often define their product as their past title e.g. I am an Interim Finance Director, or as the skills, knowledge, qualities and experience they have e.g. I am a business-oriented, results-focused project manager. Whilst such an approach can be valuable, particularly in developing CVs for interim service providers, it is not usually what grabs the attention of potential clients in the first place. The vast majority of clients are looking for solutions to their problems and what grabs their attention are interim managers who specialise in solving problems similar to theirs. For example an interim manager may specialise in helping organisations relocate manufacturing to low cost countries or they may specialise in helping organisations outsource or insource the IT function. Mostly people like to buy from a specialist rather than a Jack of all Trades.

Simon Berry of Interim Assignment who helps Interim Managers market themselves effectively puts it like this: “Imagine you had severe back pain and were in a supermarket confronted by a bewildering array of painkillers. All of a sudden, you see one with the slogan “Targets back pain fast”. Which would you buy?”

Many interims resist specialising as they feel they are cutting themselves out of a vast market by doing so and therefore will win fewer assignments. In reality this is not so. Whilst specialising will narrow down your target market, you will significantly increase your chances of winning an assignment in that market.

Of course you may have more than one specialisation and that is fine, but market them separately to avoid the 'Jack of all Trades’ label.

To help you identify your product think about:

  • What problems (NB not all problems are negative - a problem might be how to grow business, how to launch a new product, how to break into a new market) have you solved before? What was the situation before and after your intervention? What were the critical actions you took to achieve the results you achieved?
  • Who faces similar problems? What types of organisation? Are there many of them? Would they see solving the problem as urgent or important?
  • What types of problem do you enjoy solving as well as being good at solving?