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How to Sell to a Geezer

By Michael W. McLaughlin on January 2, 2012 in Client Relationships, Selling

Let’s say you’re meeting with some prospective clients. And, as you look around the room, everyone seems years (maybe decades) older than you.

The word that might flash through your mind for the people in the group is geezers.

You know who I’m talking about. Some haven’t changed their hair styles since the Carter administration, and think anyone under 40 “looks like they’re 12.” You sense that they might discount your ideas–both because of your perceived lack of experience and that you’re not one of them.

But, unfortunately, being judgmental isn’t the exclusive domain of so-called geezers. You can be selling an idea, project, or a recommendation to a person from another generation or another planet, and your approach doesn’t really need to change.

The strength of your ideas can bridge gaps in age and neutralize wrong-headed, preconceived notions. For your ideas to be heard, though, you’ve got to get three things straight in your own mind.

For starters, you need to think of yourself as the peer of anyone you work with. The age, title, and accomplishments of others don’t define the value of ideas. Presumably, you’re in the room because you know something the clients don’t.

Next, keep in mind that you can’t know it all. The ideas or recommendations you pulled together yesterday or last week may need to change on the fly in the meeting.

As they say, “S**t happens,” and you won’t be privy to every detail that could impact your ideas. So keep an open mind and be willing to retool your ideas (in real-time) as new information comes your way.

Finally, remember the law of averages. In any group, there’s a strong possibility that someone isn’t going to like what you have to say. Don’t let that person make it your problem.

You don’t have to satisfy every naysayer for the entire group to understand your ideas. Let your supporters deal with nitpickers.

You’re going to run into geezers (and those who act the part), on a regular basis. It just goes with the territory. To deal with them most effectively, adjust your own mindset.

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Sharing

By Michael W. McLaughlin on December 18, 2011 in Client Relationships, Selling

The thought of sharing their intellectual property causes some hand-wringing among consultants. How much should you give to a new client? Should you hold something back until you make the sale?

Some consultants worry that clients will pilfer their ideas and use them without any help. Others are concerned that competitors could get their hands on proprietary information and figure out a way to profit from it. A few consultants believe that clients should pay before getting the “good stuff.”

Such concerns are not unreasonable. I’ve seen clients “borrow” ideas, and ethically-challenged consulting firms have been known to “adapt” other people’s work and call it their own. Fortunately, these are exceptions, not the rule.

Clients buy your expertise. Your best ideas are the foundation of the value you offer. If you hold them back, you put yourself at a disadvantage with clients. Plus, hopefully, no one can execute a project using your ideas as well as you can.

My advice is to share your best ideas freely. Clients will appreciate your commitment and you’ll have better luck closing sales. When asked if it wouldn’t be better to wait on providing ideas to clients, a colleague summed it up by saying, “They can take my ideas. I’ll come up with others.”

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Who Decides?

By Michael W. McLaughlin on July 18, 2011 in Client Relationships, Selling

We all know that clients buy perceived value when they hire a service provider.

Your efforts during the sales process contribute to your client’s perception of value, of course, but other sources of influence can be equally critical to your client’s buying decision. Before most people make a big purchase, they seek out advice from those they trust–a colleague, mentor, boss, or even a family member.

I’m not talking about people who have an “official” role in approving the sale, but those in your client’s network who are likely to get your client’s ear. It’s possible that you’re not aware of these people and how they could shape the sales process.

Not long ago, for instance, I worked with a prospective client on a project that never got off the ground. Why? I found out later that one of the client’s influential colleagues questioned the project’s value and that was the end of it.

It’s not always possible to know which individuals could sway a client, but you can ask questions to help identify them and their potential concerns.

For example, to understand the perspective of your client’s colleagues, ask how your proposed project fits with other ongoing or planned initiatives. Is your project complementary with others or competing? You can also ask directly how your client’s colleagues view the value of your proposed project.

To get a better understanding of how the client’s staff might influence the buying decision, you can ask what the most influential staff people think of the project–and the potential organizational change it would bring. Will they view the project as essential, somewhat important, or just another initiative?

You can come up with similar questions to figure out how your project may be viewed by others in your client’s network.

Use the answers to these questions to shape a value proposition that includes the impact of the project on the people who aren’t directly involved in the decision process but who are important to the sale.

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10 Things Not to Say at Your Next Sales Meeting

By Michael W. McLaughlin on June 8, 2011 in Client Relationships, Selling

source: IMLS DCC

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, the wrong words slip out in a client meeting. If you’re like me, you’ve had times when you wished you could take the words back just as soon as they passed your lips.

Here are 10 things you might want to avoid saying in your next sales meeting:

Someone should have been fired for that.
Yes, we’ve seen this before. It will be a breeze.
I never would have done that.
You actually hired those people?
If it wasn’t hard, you wouldn’t need me, right?
I’ll only need 90 minutes of your time to preview my qualifications.
I wouldn’t want to work here either.
The terms of this proposal expire in 3 hours.
What were they thinking?
We always lengthen the project time-line when a client wants to “help” us.

Any others you’d like to add? Let me know.

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Take a Comprehensive View of Value

By Michael W. McLaughlin on May 25, 2011 in Selling

Every service seller talks about value. It pops up in marketing communications, sales proposals, and during projects. Though the term may be over-used, if you have a firm grasp on client value, chances are you will set yourself apart from others.

Here’s what I mean. Most sellers have a generic expression of value in their service offers. Maybe it’s reduced employee turnover, improved process efficiency, or more market visibility. That general expression of value often serves as the catalyst for a client to make contact with you.

When you’re fielding that initial contact, whether it’s an in-person meeting or an email, what matters most isn’t the value you outline in your marketing communication. Prospective clients want to see how you create a situation-specific view of value. They want to see how you assess the opportunity and define the value you’ll deliver.

The most successful sellers assume there’s more value to every project than meets the eye. They look at the impact of the client’s issue and its resolution on the entire organization to uncover hidden sources of value.

A web site redesign project, for example, may improve site visitors’ experiences and reduce a client’s IT maintenance costs. But that’s not the full extent of potential value. It’s possible for a new web site platform to drive efficiencies in other system development projects, or to improve inventory management by offering customers more accurate information about what’s in stock.

By searching for the less obvious sources of value, you demonstrate your commitment to clients, show your analytical skills, and bring value to the sales process. Clients recognize and reward the extra effort.

To find new sources of value, think beyond the primary beneficiaries of a proposed project. Explore how the project might impact people and processes that aren’t directly part of it. And be sure to include the possible value to external groups–customers, suppliers, shareholders, business partners, recruits, and the community.

An interesting thing happens when you focus on finding all sources of value. You learn more about your client than your competitors. And that results in an offer that is more relevant, accurate, and valuable to your client.

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Sanity Check: How’s Your Client Collaboration?

By Michael W. McLaughlin on May 13, 2011 in Sanity Checks, Selling

Most project problems originate from ineffective collaboration between the consultant and client during the sales process.

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An Acid Test for Sales Proposals

By Michael W. McLaughlin on April 29, 2011 in Proposal Writing, Selling

By now, the idea has been sufficiently drummed into us that every sales proposal should focus on the buyer’s need, instead of offering up a recitation of the seller’s “unique” qualifications.

Here are two quick tests you can apply to any sales proposal to assess its level of client focus.

1. Are the seller’s qualifications featured in the opening paragraphs? If the answer is yes, the proposal is likely to be overly-focused on the service provider. Clients want to know that you understand their issues before they’ll pay attention to your credentials. Use the introductory paragraphs to demonstrate that understanding.

2. How often do the words, “we,” “us,” “I,” and “our” appear in the opening section? Lots of proposals start almost every sentence with one of these pronouns. “We are excited for this opportunity to…” “Our global client base is…” “We have depth of expertise in…” “Our track record of success makes us…” You get the idea. That language sends an unfortunate message to the reader: “Expect to see lots of generic sales language in this proposal.” You can’t avoid seller-centric pronouns completely, but try to beat them out of your proposals wherever possible.

With a focus on the client’s situation in the early part of your sales proposal, you’ll find little room to write about your business. That’s how it should be. Assume that it’s safe to tuck your qualifications in the back of your sales proposal. If clients want to know more about you, they’ll find that information.

Answer the two questions above before you send your proposal to a client. Most times, you’ll find easy ways to make everything you write more focused on what the client needs.

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Selling to the “C-Suite”

By Michael W. McLaughlin on April 28, 2011 in Marketing, Selling

It’s common to see articles, courses, webinars, boot camps, and other programs about accessing, communicating with, and selling to the so-called “C-Suite.” Being part of the “C-Suite,” of course, means that your job title begins with the letter C, as in CEO, CFO, CIO, and so on.

“C-Suite” executives, the reasoning goes, are an elite class of clients, and so people working with those executives need to possess enhanced skills. Granted, “C-Suite” people hold positions of seniority and usually have more responsibility than others. But the skills you need to succeed with them are the same ones you use no matter what “suite” you’re working in.

You may be a polished, “C-Suite-ready” communicator, but you’ll fall flat if you can’t grasp and synthesize a client’s issue and connect it to a range of workable solutions. It’s your expertise, diagnostic skills, ability to comprehend complex issues, and creativity that hold a client’s attention. And that’s true whether or not that person is one of the higher ups.

You can’t afford to stumble through any client presentation, but insight and expertise trumps a smooth talker any day. Your goal—no, your job—must be to continually explore every facet of your field in the search for ideas that can transform your relationships with clients.

The things you do when there isn’t a client meeting to prepare for, like brushing up on the latest industry research, or talking with other experts to expand your thinking, give you the essential foundation to make any client meeting go more smoothly.

That’s how you prepare to make an impact in the “C-Suite” and in every other client situation you encounter.

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Death to FUD Selling

By Michael W. McLaughlin on April 25, 2011 in Client Relationships, Selling

The FUD Seller's Favorite Tool

If you’ve heard a few sales pitches, and I’m sure you have, then you’ve probably encountered the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) approach to selling. The strategy is simple: scare people into taking action.

Usually, the seller offers a vivid description of a disastrous future in which the most profitable opportunities go to others because of your lack of action. Sometimes the FUD message is subtle, but it still underlies the seller’s strategy.

FUD selling should be kicked to the curb along with other bankrupt sales techniques like canned sales questions and forced closing gambits.

Trying to sell with FUD techniques shifts attention away from the problem that needs to be solved and focuses it on questions about the legitimacy of the threat. In the face of a possible threat, clients will wonder if it is real and worth worrying about. They will also ponder whether the seller is just blowing smoke to get the sale.

In either case, the seller becomes the center of attention, not the client’s need. That creates an unnecessary detour to arriving at a solution to the client’s problem.

Plus, the FUD seller takes a risk that the threat is truly credible. Last week, for example, I got a call from an FUD seller who so badly assessed the risks in my business that the sales pitch was laughable. The competitive threat he laid out was preposterous and irrelevant. It was a fast conversation.

Today’s sellers can thrive by building a client’s confidence that they understand the issues, emphasizing certainty that they can deliver on all promises, and, most importantly, creating trust that they have the client’s best interests in mind. Do those three things and FUD sellers will slowly—and forever– disappear.

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Book Review: Rainmaking Conversations

By Michael W. McLaughlin on April 19, 2011 in Books, Selling

Mike Schultz and John Doerr, co-founders of the RAIN Group, just published their second book, Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade, and Sell in Any Situation. The book joins the growing list of sales books on the market, but there’s something different about this one.

Focus on Conversations

The central idea of the book is that the decisions customers make about buying are driven by the quality of the conversations they have with sellers. Most sellers understand this idea, but Schultz and Doerr shine a new light on the subject by showing how everything we do prepares us (or doesn’t) for the all-important sales conversation. With the sales conversation as the book’s organizing principle, the reader can easily see how the strategies and tactics in the book help to win the sale.

Help with the Process and Psychology of Selling

You’ll find lots of practical advice in the book, like how to handle sales on the phone, how to prepare for a meeting, and how to diagnose customer problems. But, early in the book, the authors discuss the importance of the seller’s motivations, goals, and attitude to becoming a rainmaker. The main message: you are the key to your success as a seller. And they offer tools to help you think about and achieve that success.

Full of Hidden Gems

Rainmaking Conversations includes interesting sections on the role of influence in the sale, how to build that influence with customers, and techniques for co-creating solutions to customer problems. Schultz and Doerr also offer a framework that can help you develop your own style for dealing with the inevitable customer objection. There’s a real-world feel to the wisdom in this book. You realize these gems weren’t concocted out of thin air, but from the authors’ decades of combined experience.

Reader-Friendly

Schultz and Doerr really understand how people are reading these days, so the book is a good combination of valuable lists, tables, and longer explanatory text. This is a book that you can scan to find the subject you want, or you can read the book from front to back. Sometimes, all you need is a reminder before a meeting, and the book is set up so you can access what you need.

I’ve read this book twice, and I found new ideas in the second reading that I missed the first time through. I liked the book and I think you will too.

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