Aligning with clients: Changing business focus

At AIIP 2019, Eddie Ajaeb, Nighthawk Strategies and Connie Crosby, Crosby Consulting Group shared their experiences on how they identified and responded to changing client needs and market disruptions to unlock new business potential.

Jan Sykes, Principal at Information Management Services reports on the tips shared by the panel speakers on how to evolve as an independent information professional to meet your clients’ changing needs.

Eddie Ajaeb and Connie Crosby have both worked in the legal sector, which is an industry facing great change.

Eddie Ajaeb started his career in the legal field, working in the Justice Department and later at a political consulting firm. He always enjoyed the research and investigative aspects of his work which led to him becoming a licensed private investigator and entrepreneur.

Connie Crosby worked in law firm libraries for a number of years. She started teaching courses on social media at the iSchool of the University of Toronto mid-career. Connie continues teaching and also now consults on projects under the broad umbrella of information management, including knowledge management, records management, taxonomy and general practice improvement. This has led Connie to be exploring ideas around innovation and what this means for information professionals.

Continual learning

This was a lively conversation, moderated by Ulla de Stricker, with both panelists emphasizing how continual learning is essential to their careers. Eddie embarked on a series of informational interviews with a range of people, talking about their problems and pain points and paying close attention to the language they used.

Eddie is sensitive to using language he hears in these conversations to engage with persons in various roles across industries as he defines what a private investigator can do for them in terms of research and investigation.

In line with his client’s needs, Eddie updated his website for Nighthawk Strategies with vocabulary and examples that will be readily understood by potential clients.

Connie is a continual learner.  She reads widely, attends webinars, participates in meet-up groups, has coffee with clients and friends—often without a specific agenda. She also watches for trends that are bubbling up in the articles she reads. Connie takes courses frequently and notes that she often gets a project and takes a related course concurrently.

Visibility and credibility

To raise visibility and credibility with clients, both panelists blog, write for publication, and seek speaking opportunities. These are also avenues to reaching potential clients they “do not even know are out there”.

Eddie often writes in his blog about search techniques and specialized resources that showcase what a professional can find outside of typical Google searches—important as we are living in a DIY world. He notes that Google doesn’t answer questions; it gives you search results!  

Connie posts casually about what she is doing on Facebook (general sketches only to protect confidentiality) and blogs about what she is learning so readers will understand she has a wide tool set that is constantly evolving. She prefers to communicate about practical, day-to-day solutions over theory.

Connie and Eddie both urged the audience to stay positive, deliver peace of mind to clients and look for success indicators.

In response to a question about blogging platforms to investigate, WordPress, Lexblog, Squarespace, LinkedIn and Medium were named.

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Thank you to Scott Attenborough from Content Capital for sponsoring the panel session.