13 provocations for consultants who sell
I'm always capturing ideas my mentoring clients can benefit from. This list is just 'snippets' from my notebook. They've come from things I've read and listened to, and conversations. You'll get value by reflecting on each statement and question. Consider
Impact prospects with thinking sessions
You work hard to get a slot in a prospects schedule. What you do in that initial meeting is vitally important. You must ask yourself, "what do prospects value?" A good pitch perhaps. Prospects like to be entertained, right? And every executive wants to hear about your services,
10 questions to encourage clients to speak
Listen so that others speak. Speak so others listen. That seems so simple doesn't it? But in reality we tend to get a bit carried away with our know-how. We end up speaking - too much. And explaining, not engaging. As an antidote, here's a structure
The myth of average
... many consultancy brands come across as average, not exceptional. Does yours?
What works. A lesson from business legend David Ogilvy
You'll find lots on "attracting clients" written for consultants. And you can easily waste a lot of time on activities that support this type of bullshit. After all, it all seems very reasonable and desirable. I'm not saying that "attraction marketing" isn&
How to improve the odds of reaching prospects by email
The owner of a technology firm asked me how to improve the odds of reaching prospects by email. He’d tried in the past without much luck. We talked about the issue and came up with four simple rules for future outreach. Rule 1. Do your homework. It sounds obvious,
The single page quarterly sales focus
Each quarter my clients meet with me for a sales review and planning meeting. One of the challenges consultants have with sales is remaining focused on business development, whilst also delivering work. Our discussions at the quarterly meeting meander around what’s been happening since we last met: positive achievements;
The simple exercise that dramatically improves sales
Sometimes it's the simplest of activities that get the best results. This is one of those activities. Write down what you want. That’s it. Every day. The trick is to write as though it's the end of the day, looking back at your acheivements. Invest
The devil in the detail
Some consultants have a talent for seeing the devil in the detail. They’re masters at analysis, finding patterns and describing trends. They make the complex simpler to understand. That’s the highly desirable capability their clients pay them for. Yet, when they come to selling consultancy, these same consultants
The power of nothing
A recent group facilitation reminded me how hard it can be to reach decisions collectively. Watching the group struggle I wanted to intervene, to help. I managed to stop myself (just) because I realised that doing nothing might be more useful. It’s hard, doing nothing. Watching a group struggle