Words
Have the courage to say no.
When the work isn’t a good fit, or the client relationship seems awkward, or they won’t agree to do an impact assessment, or they’re more interested in price than value. These are all warning signs. You’ll regret it if you say yes. Taking on the wrong
4 ways to quickly add value
This article by Mark Lindwall over at Forrester Research highlights how 80% of meetings with sellers fail to meet executive buyer’s expectations and add value. Only 20% succeed in getting a 2nd meeting. In particular sellers score low in 1) demonstrating an understanding of executive issues and where they
3 common mistakes in first meetings
Which of these have you been guilty of? 1. Pitching services. This is the biggest complaint I hear from corporate executives. The consultants came and told us all about their company, what they do, their process, and who they’ve worked with. Boring! 2. Not adding value. Yes your client
Let's meet and catch up
It’s obvious, isn’t it. The purpose of the important meeting. We’re meeting to … to what precisely? In our meeting there will be conversation. You’ll talk. I’ll listen. I’ll talk. You’ll listen. We’ll be polite. We have rapport. I know it’ll be
10 decisions clients make before buying consultancy
Here's a list of different sales conversations you'll want to master, so you can guide client decision making: 1. ‘Know, like, trust’ decision - the marketing conversation (even when you’re not there in person). 2. 'Shall I meet them’ decision - the outreach conversation
Mentoring or Coaching
Mentoring Mentors apply their expertise to real-time situations their clients face. They talk things through with clients and interventions are usually of the expert “tell me what to do” variety. Development comes when clients take the mentors ideas, go away, and take action. Coaching Coaching is different, especially if it&
10 tips for tenacious follow up on emails
(Part 3 of 3) This is the final article in the editing consultant’s prospecting emails series. Part 1 introduced Rapid Context Setting. Part 2 covered Matter of Interest and very briefly Compelling Offer and Clear Next Step (call to action). For those of you familiar with AIDA you’ll
Sorry I dozed off reading your email
(Part 2 of 3) This is the second article in the editing consultant’s prospecting emails series. The first article introduced Rapid Context Setting as a way of gaining the prospects attention. Someone asked me if I had examples of emails where consultants got this wrong. Disclosing specifics isn'
Lessons from editing prospecting emails
(Part 1 of 3) I get to see, critique, and edit a lot of outreach emails written by consultants. I always start by putting myself in their prospect's shoes. Then I look at the email on an iPhone (with a 5 line preview*) and sense what I’d
Confidence tricks
If you sell consultancy you’ll appreciate how your confidence levels shift, depending on your current success. That’s a good reason to consider embedding simple positive psychology into your daily routines. For example, reflecting on your goals, achievements, and gratitude. This week you might want to spend some time