The Weekly Brief
Memos written for consultants Aug 2014 - June 2024.
The sound of silence
You know how it is. You’ve figured out how to do the job and written a great proposal. Under time pressure you’ve worked late into the night because the client wanted something urgently. You delivered the proposal … then nothing. Welcome to the sound of silence. We’ve all
Are your executive conversations compelling or commonplace?
Walking into a C-Level executive’s office to sell consultancy takes two things, competence and confidence. Nearly all the consultants I meet have both these things in abundance when it comes to their subject area. So, what goes wrong when they get into the boardroom and try to sell? In
Hello persuasion ... meet resistance
As a group facilitator there’s plenty of opportunity to watch people trying to persuade others. You quickly notice patterns and how well intentioned persuasive arguments lead to resistance ... often resistance that wasn't there at the start. What’s happening that allows your persuasion to cause resistance? My
The perils of consultant speak and how it kills sales
Consultant speak. We all do it. Some more than others. Defining projects as nominalisations … business transformation … blue sky thinking or results as platitudes … strategy into action … creative collaboration and tired claims about our practice … dynamic … focused … agile. Sometimes the purpose behind these words and phrases is to impress, or to
How do you create desire for your consultancy?
Did you know that just before signing the Cuba trade embargo President John F. Kennedy pocketed 1200 H.Upmann cigars? Smart move because overnight they became highly sought after. Now think about the illusion of new iPhone scarcity Apple use to increase demand, why concert tickets for your favourite artists
How consultants blow initial prospect meetings
You know those interesting conversations with prospects that end up going nowhere? Did you ever wonder what that's about? This is how it works. We've invested heavily in marketing activities of various kinds. We've finally got that meeting with a very important prospect. So,
Will these 9 unusual questions to help you qualify and close?
In my post about fact addiction I mentioned that to sell consultancy effectively you must go beyond facts and get clients to think, feel and act. I ended that post by saying stay tuned for more on this. Well ... I've now drawn together some 'soft' questions
How to get amazing email responses - lessons for consultants
This week a client told me about their tremendous 80% take up rate. This was for an email they'd designed to get meetings with top executives. What's the secret behind this success? My clients did four simple things extremely well: Irresistible offer Knowing exactly what’s
Consultants: Are you working in a proposal factory?
It's easy to become a proposal factory when you sell consultancy. And Invitation to Tenders (ITT) and Requests for Proposals (RFP) take you down this route. You'll know you’re on the production line when you write through the night, send out for pizza, and submit
Permission to fail
There’s a thing about failure in the air. Jerry Colonna just released a Podcast “Fail with Honour”. Seth Godin recommends buying Pema Chodren’s new book “Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better” on the basis that your failure narrative keeps you from succeeding. I find these perspectives inspiring and so