Selling

Why Clients Call You Back

March 29, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin 1 Comment

Few things are as frustrating as an unresponsive client. You’ve probably experienced this at some point: You shared a great idea with a client, suggested next steps, and then…nothing.

The client doesn’t return your calls, emails go unanswered, and you’re left wondering what’s wrong. Assuming you’re confident that it’s not about you, maybe you chalk it up to the time demands of a busy client and keep trying to make contact. Sometimes that works. But it’s also possible there’s more going on.

If a client isn’t responding, put yourself in the client’s shoes for a moment and ask yourself a simple question: What would make you call you back?

Most people return sellers’ calls when three conditions are present. First, the subject of the call is a high priority. It can be interesting to discuss a thought-provoking topic with a seller. But, if it isn’t on the priority list, don’t expect a rapid response to any follow up.

Second, the issue is front and center on the radar screen. Clients’ to-do lists are overflowing with high-priority issues, but only a small number are critical at any moment. If your great idea isn’t getting attention, it’s probably because your client isn’t thinking about it now. If your idea really is a good one, the client is likely to get around to it eventually.

Finally, the idea must be from a credible source in the client’s eyes. Your idea may be relevant and timely, but the client doesn’t think that you are the one to pull it off. If that’s the case, expect the client to look elsewhere for help.

Lots of us believe that we know what our clients need. But we may not know when they need it, or when they’re receptive to hearing what we have to say. Without that knowledge, it’s easy to miss the mark on the three prerequisites for a client call back. Your idea may be relevant, but not timely. Or it could be credible, but not relevant.

What’s most important is to understand the client’s perspective on timeliness, relevance, and credibility, and not rely on your own view. Once you get that right, your clients will call you back.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Selling Tagged With: client issues, Client Relationships, credibility, Selling

Set Your Ideas Free

March 25, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin 3 Comments

Anyone in a professional services business understands the marketing and selling power of even one good idea. Clients seek out the advisers they believe have the best ideas. And projects are often won or lost on the strength of ideas, which are like currency for the service provider. They can help you gain access, influence, and work.

With all that at stake, it’s no wonder so many service providers are protective of their ideas. As a result, they may hesitate to offer their best ideas until clients sign on the dotted line. This reluctance is most often rooted in two fears.

The first fear is that someone will steal your ideas and use them without giving you due credit. Second, you may worry that prospective clients will take your idea and try to run with it on their own, leaving you out in the cold.

Your ideas aren’t meant to be bottled up. Still, lots of people are swayed by that little voice in their head that warns them, “You’re giving away too much. If you provide free consulting, they won’t need you.”

If you fear that people will use your ideas without giving you credit, no need to fret. If your ideas are any good, someone will definitely pilfer them. Sometimes you’ll get credit and other times, you won’t. You can be sure, though, that anyone who needs to steal your ideas probably won’t be able to do much without you.

As to clients snatching your ideas and attempting to do the work without you, I’ve seen that happen, and you may have too. But this tactic rarely pans out well for clients.

The beauty of a good idea is that it’s your creation. Someone may pinch your general idea, but they’ll have a tough time trying to generate the results you’d create. An idea isn’t really a good one until someone makes it a reality. If you’re not there, it’s a lot less likely that your idea will succeed in the way you intended it to.

Sure, it’s frustrating when you suspect that someone is trying to pick your brain without any intention of hiring you. Sadly, it happens more than any of us would like. Obviously, you have to keep your antennae up to prevent that situation, and walk away when you think someone is taking advantage.

But resist the urge to be stingy with your ideas. Have confidence in your own brain power. As a colleague once remarked, “Let them take my ideas. I have plenty more.”

Filed Under: Marketing, Selling Tagged With: creativity, ideas, Marketing Professional Services, Selling

Uncovering Hidden Value

March 24, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin Leave a Comment

We all have times when we wish we could be a fly on the wall–during clients’ internal deliberations about us, for example. The fate of a project or sale is most often decided behind closed doors and out of your hearing. And it can be disconcerting not to know for sure what others are saying about you.

When people make decisions, there are reasons and then there are reasons. Each person’s total perception of value and the risk associated with achieving that value are what influence a decision. Usually, the reasons you hear for a decision are only part of the story.

When you win a project, it’s easy to take a client’s explanation for the decision at face value. After all, that rationale is likely to reinforce your own views of why you should have won. If you choose to remain unaware of the complete set of reasons for the win, though, you’ll jeopardize your ability to deliver the value your clients expect.

Maybe a client tells you that project success means finishing the work on-time, within budget, and with the expected outcome. But it’s likely that client is also concerned about other ramifications, like career advancement, peer approval, and avoiding risk, to name a few. And it’s probable that your client chose you, in part, because of your ability to meet those other objectives.

You’ll deliver a better outcome and strengthen your client relationships if you uncover and understand your client’s total perception of value. The simplest way to do that? Be curious. Ask questions. The more you learn about your clients as individuals, the more likely you are to understand their unspoken definition of success.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day demands of client work. But it always pays dividends to take a step back, connect with your client, and be sure you focus on all of the client’s expectations of value.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Managing Projects, Selling Tagged With: client issues, Client Relationships, Client Value, managing projects, Selling

The Myth of the Dumb Question

March 9, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin 1 Comment

You’ve probably heard the saying that there’s no such thing as a dumb question—except the one you have but don’t ask. Based on that, you might assume that prospective clients understand your need to learn about their issues and so give you license to pose dumb questions.

You can get away with that to some extent in client meetings. But clients expect you to learn fast, and will evaluate your capabilities accordingly. If the depth of your questions doesn’t improve with each one, look out.

Before you ask your client a question, think about these three points:

Will your question really improve your understanding of the client’s issue?
Will it encourage the client to think more deeply about the matter?
Will your question lead the client to ask you questions about your ideas?

An ideal client question furthers your understanding of the situation, adds some value for the client, and shows that you know your stuff. Of course, not everything you ask needs to cause your clients to stroke their chins and ruminate on a response; you design some questions solely to gather basic information.

There are dumb questions, and you get to ask a limited number of them in any client meeting. Make sure that you ask them early on if you want to be around to win the sale.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Selling Tagged With: Client Relationships, consulting process, questions, sales strategies

Make One Small Change in Your Sales Presentation

February 24, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin 2 Comments

By some accounts, more than 40 million presentations are given every day. Many start off something like this:

“Good Morning, I’m Eric Snooze from Global Interactive Services and I just wanted to start off by saying say how happy we are to be here today and to assist you with this critical effort. In case you don’t know about us, we have fifteen offices in strategic centers around the world. We’ve been in business since 1985, and our people undergo hundreds of hours of training in seven areas of specialization…”

By this point, you’ve likely lost the attention of half your audience. But Eric’s presentation would likely go into even more detail about his company before moving on to the real reason he was there—the client’s issue. Thousands of sales presentations start just like Eric’s, even though that is arguably the worst way to launch an effective one. Unfortunately, old-school sellers cling to this type of introduction.

Even if the standard seller-centric opening is short (which it often isn’t) many of your attendees aren’t really tuned in. Besides, if you’re making a sales presentation, the odds are good that your audience has some clue what your company does. Remember, they don’t really want to hear about you, even though they may say they do. They want to hear about themselves. So, they’ll listen to a self-serving opening, but they may not really hear it.

Here’s another way you might introduce yourself:

“Hi, I’m Eric Nodoze from Global Interactive Services, and I thank you for your time today. We’ll cover three topics this afternoon, beginning with what we know about your issues. We’ll discuss that topic and refine our understanding. Then, we’ll review options for how you might address this issue, with an emphasis on how we can work together. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a short review of Global Integrated Services and why we think we’re well-suited to assist you.”

With a simple shift in emphasis, this opening lets your listeners know that their concerns will be up first, and that they won’t have to endure your spiel until you’ve satisfied them that you know what they are up against. Once you’ve done that, don’t be surprised if your audience members want to hear more about your company.

Here’s a rule of thumb for your presentations: Focus on buyers’ issues at least 75 percent of the time, including right from the start. With conscious effort on your part, a presentation that is mostly about them can still answer all their questions about you, without the usual dull recitation.

If your audience doesn’t already know the basics about you, that is, your name and company, then supply that information and get on with it. Or, better yet, have someone else, preferably a client team member, introduce you very briefly.

If you want an easy, effective way to make your sales presentations stand out from those of your competitors, ignore the wisdom of the crowd. Always lead off with an emphasis on your client, not you. Your audience will be pleasantly surprised.

Filed Under: Selling Tagged With: presentations, Sales Meetings, Selling

The Client’s Buying Experience Beats Sales Techniques

February 23, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin 3 Comments

Think about the last time you made a major purchase, like a car, home improvement project, or an appliance. Chances are good that your experience with the seller reinforced (or contradicted) your preconceived notions about the product or service. At some point, most of us have decided against a purchase because something about the seller or our experience with that seller just wasn’t right.

In that sense, the sale of a service is no different. Your client’s experience with you and your sales process can be the deciding factor in winning the work. In Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management, Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson makes this observation about human nature: “You remember 1/3 of what you read, 1/2 of what people tell you, but 100 percent of what you feel.” What clients are most likely to remember about you is their emotional reaction to working with you.

Your job: create a buying experience that works for your client, not a selling process that works for you. Instead of focusing on how to sell to the client, work to identify and create the conditions under which the client wants to buy. You and the client co-design a buying process together, which allows the client to learn, analyze, and decide how and when to buy.

How do you design a good client buying experience? Ask questions. For instance, don’t assume that a client wants to see a presentation, call references, and then read a proposal. Offer alternatives for the client to learn about you. Maybe your client wants a series of small group briefings, an interview with the service delivery team, and a call of support from your boss.

The possibilities are endless, but you won’t know how clients want to buy unless you ask. And you’ll get kudos for bringing up the subject. The power of the client buying experience lies in the competitive advantage it offers when you get it right. It’s the one thing that your competitors cannot copy.

No matter how your client wants to buy, you’ll still undertake traditional sales activities like identifying decision makers, positioning your services in a favorable way, and communicating why you are the best choice. The difference is that you’ll pursue these activities in a way that is defined with your client, not by your standard sales approach.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Selling Tagged With: client buying trends, Client Value, selling professional services

11 Reasons to Walk Away from a Sale

February 22, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin 1 Comment

Among the most overlooked sales skills for services sellers is knowing when to walk away from a sale. In some cases, the decision is a no-brainer because there’s not a fit between what you do and what your prospective client needs. As your sales effort progresses with a client, though, it gets more difficult to pass on an opportunity.

The main drawback to pursuing a sale that you should abandon stems from your lost opportunity costs. As soon as you get sucked into a bad deal, invariably, something better comes along.

Ill-advised sales have other common characteristics: Often, it takes longer than you expect to close the sale and, by then, your profit margin is already slipping into oblivion. It also takes longer to complete the work than you’d planned. Bad sales chew up more of your resources than they should, and the client is often unhappy with the end result.

The tough decision to walk away isn’t usually cut and dried, so it’s essential to listen to all the clues clients provide. If a client expresses variations on any of these themes, you should seriously consider leaving the sale to someone else:

We expect budget approval next month, but we want your proposal now.
You will need to deliver your service a lot faster than that.
We tried to do this once before but the people we hired dropped the ball.
We will name our manager as soon as we decide which provider gets the contact.
Your competitor wrote the specifications for our Request for Proposals (RFP).
We have 12 proposals under review as of now.
We can discuss the availability of our team for the project once we decide who wins the work.
A task force will make the final decision, but they’ll rubber stamp my recommendation.
The division president isn’t aware of this initiative, but we’re sure it’s on his list of priorities.
Your competitor has done a similar project for us in another division.
We are insisting on a fixed-fee, fixed-schedule proposal.

How do you decide when to walk away?

Filed Under: Selling Tagged With: managing your business, selling professional services

10 Reasons to Choose a Client

February 18, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin Leave a Comment

If you’ve worked in the services business long enough, you’ve probably sold one (or more) projects that you wish you’d left for the competition. Given the pressure to make our numbers, mostly everyone has a few stinkers on the books. Often, you get an inkling during the sales process that something about the opportunity just isn’t right.

The trick to avoiding a lousy sale is to make a conscious and informed decision about whether or not to work with a client and to be ready, when warranted, to walk away with no regrets. Be as selective about the clients you work with as they are about choosing you.

So, how do you decide which sales opportunities are right for you? Find at least three reasons why you might choose to work with a client, and one of them cannot be, “I don’t have anything else to do, so why not?”

Here are ten possible reasons why you may decide to pursue a specific opportunity:

Achieve a desired level of profit
Work with this client on other assignments that are in the works
Build a long-term relationship with a strategic client
Obtain valuable referrals and references
Improve your client base, enabling you to recruit and retain top talent
Develop a new service for the market
Increase industry visibility for your business
Undertake challenging work that will aid in your professional development
Add to your store of intellectual capital for use in marketing or on other initiatives
Gain valuable expertise for growing your business in new areas.

You can probably come up with plenty of other reasons that motivate you to take on a sales opportunity. What matters is that you be willing–without hesitation–to walk away and leave the sale for someone else when your criteria for selecting a client aren’t met.

Your business–and professional well-being–is a reflection of your clients. And the perceived quality of your client list affects your ability to attract new business. Taking pains to avoid the albatrosses and choose the best clients for your practice fuels your growth and defines your future.

How do you decide whether or not a client is right for you?

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Selling Tagged With: choosing clients, managing your business

Creating Client Turning Points

February 10, 2010 By Michael W. McLaughlin Leave a Comment

In your interactions with clients, there are often pivotal moments when decisive change happens. Any services sales, for example, can have multiple turning points, such as the entry of a new competitor or turnover in the client’s executive ranks. Whatever the new wrinkle, you must adjust your thinking and adapt to it.

The most important turning point occurs when the client decides to become your client—which usually happens long before you try to “close” the sale. That pivotal moment results from a subtle shift in mindset: the client no longer sees you as a competing service provider, but as someone who could really help.

It’s possible to create that crucial turning point without even knowing it. Sometimes, you make a single observation or provide an insight, at just the right moment, that resonates with the client and creates an “aha” moment. Most likely, though, the turning point you want occurs because of your deliberate, consistent, and continuous delivery of client value throughout the sales process.

What this means is that you must design your sales process with two factors in mind. First, you have to uncover the real sources of value for each client, and those change from client to client. Your sales methodology won’t help you here. Instead, your analytical skills are your strongest asset.

Second, you need to learn how your client prefers to buy services. If a client wants personal briefings on your services and you trot out the usual dog and pony show, don’t expect to change the client’s view of you. If you can design a tailored buying experience and carefully align that with how your client wants to learn, you’re on your way to creating a turning point.

It’s impossible to predict for certain when (or if) a client will experience the turning point that tips a sale in your favor. But you can create a sales process that sows the seeds for that moment. And if you do that right, expect a higher rate of sales success at a lower cost.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Selling Tagged With: client turning points, selling professional services