I recently ran a poll on the LinkedIn group for CAB.org.  Many Customer Advisory Board (CAB) Program Managers belong to this group, so I thought they would be a great source for posing the question, "What is your most challenging obstacle in planning your CAB programs for 2012?"

From the three options provided, here are how the votes came in:
   14% - Executive team buy-in 
   50% - Recruiting the right members
   35% - Drafting an engaging agenda
I was not surprised by the results. After working with customer programs for over 7 years, this continues to be an area where we provide a great deal of assistance to our clients in building Recruiting Plans to help them successfully recruit their top customer executives.

If you're having difficulty recruiting the right members for your Customer Advisory Board, ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I developed the right profile for a CAB member?  Be sure you're aligned with your executive sponsor and stakeholders on the criteria for the ideal CAB member. Develop a profile outlining the characteristics they have identified as "must haves" and circulate among the team.

2. Do I have a defined process for recruiting? A consistent message and approach are important when reaching out to customer executives. Be sure your recruiters have the necessary tools to be successful (talking points, a clear Charter to help communicate the benefits of membership, etc.)

3. Are the right people recruiting?  Who in your organization owns the highest level relationship? This is who should be recruiting. If your target member is a senior executive, the owner of that relationship should extend the invitation; if no one owns that relationship, then a senior executive should extend the invitation.

4. Have I allowed enough time to recruit the right members? If you're trying to get C-level executives to join, their time is limited, and chances are they're already serving on several boards/councils. All the more reason to start the recruiting process early - at least 6 months prior to the meeting. If you get turned down, you'll have time to move on to the next candidate.

Watch for my next blog on Drafting an engaging agenda - the #2 challenge for CAB Program Managers.

Have you given your Advisory Council member roster a good, long look recently?  I am not talking about just looking at the number of members, but really analyzing the level of engagement from each member.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with realizing there are members on your Advisory Council who may have passed their prime or just no longer fit your Council's profile.  As such, it is important to review membership engagement on an annual basis.  These are just a few areas I recommend you consider when reviewing the level of engagement from each Advisory Council member:

1. Attendance and level of participation in Advisory Council functions, such as regular Council meetings and interim conference calls.
2. Willingness to be an advocate for your company or provide a referral.
3. The member continues to provide a perspective relevant to the strategic direction of your company.

In order to drive sustainable, predictable, and profitable growth, you must gain the level of insight only fully engaged customer decision makers can offer. Ensure your Advisory Council is providing that direction by evaluating each member's level of engagement.

During a recent meeting with a prospective client, conversation turned to the need for a professional facilitator for an upcoming advisory board meeting.  He was considering having a member of his leadership team play that role and wanted to know what we thought. In some ways, having an internal facilitator is a good idea. He/she may be a subject matter expert and may already have some level of relationship with advisory board members. But it’s risky. There is much more to gain from bringing in a professional facilitator from outside the company.

Sure, anyone can run a meeting. But running a meeting well and in such a way that uncovers key insights is a whole other issue! Remember, advisory board members are your top clients. Every meeting with them should be executed flawlessly.  Every interaction should be well-structured to deliver rich insight and focused dialogue. Every moment should be well spent. This is not a time or place for an amateur!

We would all like to think that advisory board members will come to meetings well prepared, eager to participate, and ready to function like a team. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Your members are busy executives who still have major responsibilities back home. And as much as we provide them with information on how to participate most effectively (see Tips for Advisory Board Members below), they may still come into the meeting ill prepared. They may be hesitant to voice their opinions or need to step out for a conference call. They may arrive late and leave early. They may stray from the topic, be disruptive, negative or overly emotional. When dysfunctions like these happen, as they surely will, you will want an unbiased, skilled facilitator who can prevent and/or diffuse what could be an uncomfortable situation. After all, professional facilitators have the necessary skills and are prepared to manage dysfunction.   

So if you’re considering having a team member facilitate your upcoming advisory board meeting, think again. Is it really worth the risk?



Tips for Advisory Board Members

• Read ALL materials prior to the event.  Write questions in the margins.  Highlight key ideas, areas you don’t agree with, and points that concern you.  Review and scan to stay fresh.
• Make an effort to meet everyone prior to the meeting session, especially if there is an opening reception.  Meeting your peers prior to the meeting helps the meeting itself move along more quickly.
• Be brief and concise with your comments so conversation keeps moving and everyone can have an opportunity to contribute.
• Ask questions that bring out depth behind the comments.
• When possible, try to remain for and participate in optional social activities.  Getting to know fellow members helps for in-session success.
• Constructive criticism is welcome.  Even greater value is gained when a solution is offered for host consideration.
• The host organization asked you to be on the Advisory Board because you impressed someone with your talent and insight.  Leveraging your customer status will diminish your credibility and frustrates your fellow Advisory Board Members.
• Stay engaged throughout the meeting.  You would be surprised what information you can learn, relationships you can forge, and influence you can extend during refreshment breaks.
• On occasion, some have found their emotions taking over.  In those instances, take a mental break.  You can always reach out to the facilitator at a break.  He/she may be able to help guide the conversation more appropriately to avoid an uncomfortable situation.

I recently attended a breakfast briefing, Street Smart Secrets for Change Management, where Jeff Cole, co-author of Driving Operational Excellence, shared nine tips for changing behavior throughout an organization. I found it intriguing. In less than 90-minutes, Jeff managed to get me thinking differently about how customer advisory boards impact an organization.

I’ve seen first-hand how customer advisory boards provide strategic insight, focus marketing direction, and promote leadership team alignment.  My clients have leveraged their customer advisory boards to acclerate sales, improve customer retention, and advance product innovation. Customer Advisory Boards are proven to drive sustainable, predictable and profitable growth (SPPG), as outlined in Sean Geehan’s book, The B2B Executive Playbook. So I know how customer advisory boards can truly impact an organization. I did not consciously realize, however, that an organization’s inherent resistance to change can make transformational impact extremely difficult, or kill it altogether.

Launching a Customer Advisory Board often implies that change needs to happen in your organization.  After all, that’s why you are investing in it!  Savvy leaders see the need for change (a new direction, increased sales, improved relationships, etc.) and realize customers can provide the guidance to make it happen.  In fact, organizations that utilize advisory boards to their fullest potential have made them synonymous with continuous improvement and drivers of transformation.  But, you have got to get everyone on the same page.

To achieve truly impactful results, consider the following when developing your customer advisory board.

• Stakeholders inherently resist change, so communicate progress, both big and small, early and often.
• Culture impacts an organization’s ability to change, so build a tolerance for ongoing change into your corporate strategy. 
• Change doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes time and requires a certain set of skills, so designate a change agent/architect to manage the process.    

As you can see, I had a few “Aha” moments during Jeff’s presentation. So much so, in fact, that I immediately ran out and bought his book.  I recommend it to all who aspire to be the agent of change and transformation in their organization.

 Are you on the “right stack” of mail?   

When you are doing something new, you fall into the classic “you don’t know, what you don’t know”.

 When you are planning your inaugural Customer Advisory Council you need to ask yourself….are we on the right “stack of mail”?  To set a Customer Advisory Council up for success long term you need to be focused on three main things:

1. Business Alignment – Alignment surrounding the priorities, content, members and outcomes gets the team focused around driving the results you desire.
2. Sponsorship – Who is your overall program sponsor?  If you don’t have one, you need to find one or you will not be able to keep the council headed in the right direction over the long-term.
3. Insight Execution – Gaining the right insight and executing on this insight is vital to success.  Insight execution is a lot like strategic planning.  You have to decide and communicate what you will and won’t do back to your members as well as internally within the company.  

I have observed several organizations spend valuable time, money and resources focused treating this like a trade show event.  They are more interested in the “glitz and glamour” then on making sure they have the foundation build for long term success.  Three of the most common pitfalls when setting up an inaugural Advisory Council are:

1. Finest Resort– Selecting a fabulous location is great to get your members to the first meeting, but it won’t keep them coming back.  You have to set the right environment in the inaugural meeting and execute on what you heard to keep them coming back.  There is no need to spend $450/night for a hotel room.
2. A/V and Travel companies- A successful Advisory Council meeting does take a lot of work, however, hiring an A/V company and/or a travel company to manage 14-16 people is not necessary.   If you plan for enough in advance, you will have the resources to handle the logistics for the meeting.  Your most strategic customers don’t want a production.  They want an intimate environment with you.
3. Expensive Gifts– Buying your customers expensive gifts is not necessary.  Companies waste so much time here.  Your most strategic customers aren’t coming for the gift or a fancy glass name plate.  They are coming to spend time with your executives to learn and share insight.

When you stay on the right “stack of mail” and focus on building internal alignment, sponsorship and insight execution you will set your council long term for success.