Tag Archives | client buying trends

Who Decides?

By on July 18, 2011 in Client Relationships, Selling

michael w mclaughlinWe 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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Experience Required

By on May 11, 2010 in The Guerrilla Consultant

Remember the last time you had a really good experience with someone you did business with? Chances are, you told someone else about it and that you would do business with that person or company again.

Many businesses have figured out how to enrich the customer’s experience. And consultants, who are always searching for new ways to differentiate themselves, should wake up to another way to do that: the client experience.

And that’s the subject of this month’s issue of The Guerrilla Consultant newsletter.

Enjoy the article, and let me know what you think.

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The Client’s Buying Experience Beats Sales Techniques

By on February 23, 2010 in Client Relationships, Selling

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.

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Are You Listening?…Really?

By on July 19, 2005 in Selling

Researchers at RainToday.com recently published “How Clients Buy,” a benchmark report on professional services marketing and selling from the client perspective. One of the most widely reported complaints clients have about their professional service
providers, according to the study, is that they don’t listen.

Often, consultants are so enamored with their own solutions that they miss the client’s subtle cues on what they’re really looking for.
The result: the consultant doesn’t understand what the client needs and can’t craft a compelling solution.

Clients recognize when consultants are waiting to talk, instead of listening. That difference shows up in the quality of the consultant’s questions and observations. Before your next client meeting, remind yourself to really listen. And remember, many clients already suspect that you won’t.

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