How do clients know you're any good?
People are judging things (you) all the time. You’ve probably heard people say that they don’t trust men with beards, or that you won’t get a reliable product from someone who doesn’t polish their shoes. It's strange I know. These 'complex equivalences'
Selling as a team sport ... it's not what you think
We think of team selling as a bunch of consultants working together to win a client, usually lead by a senior partner. This directive isn't about that. What if you got close enough to your prospects that they felt you'd become a co-conspirator, working to achieve
Schedule business development time
Whatever is written in your diary today is going to pretty much reflect how you'll invest your time this week. Dental appointments, client meetings, car servicing, a friend's party. They're all scheduled. They'll all get your attention. They'll get done.
Mirror, mirror on the wall ...
Do you take time to reflect on your performance? If you don't, now is a good time to start. Just slow down, back up, and take stock using this simple exercise, based on Gary Rolfe's three questions, What? So what? and Now what? 1. Look back
Practice as a powerful tool for sales success
Pick a single new sales behaviour you want to practice and commit yourself to do something every day, for the next quarter, to develop it. What you choose can be big, or small. The most important thing is to practice it every day. Here are 7 new sales behaviours you
What's the difference between understanding and empathy?
"When I raise the notion of empathy, she dismisses it as being “a very ‘today’ word” (she prefers understanding)." ~ Vogue interview with Theresa May I get this, because I like to understand how things work too. My first few years in IT meant putting in well over 10,
Build Your Dream Network by J. Kelly Hoey
Great book about having a purposeful networking mindset. Make sure people know the right things about you. Know how you can help others. Make it easy for others to help you. Follow up. ISBN: 0143111485 Date read: 2017-01-19 How strongly I recommend it: 8/10 My conclusions — the directives 1.
Which are the best books on selling consultancy?
"Which are the best books on selling consultancy?" she asked. "There are lots out there." I replied. "I know. I looked." "What do you want a book for?" "I want more clients." "You can learn that from books?"
The relationship frame and business development hokum
There’s a lot of business development hokum out there, especially when it comes to ideas on how best to win consultancy projects. It's so easy to waste a lot of time if you apply the wrong marketing and sales approaches. Consultancy is a high-touch game, and unless
How to alienate prospects
I have an exclusive, priority email address. I only give it to people I know, like and trust. This week I received an email to that address from a stranger. The subject line read "Let Us Take On the Risk Clive". Exactly like that, with no space between