How much would you give away to get a client? What steps would you take to enable a prospect to convince themselves you’re a good fit and could solve
their issues?
Would you spend hours in “sales meetings”, going back and forth? Then write proposals and hope for the best?
Or would you collaborate with your prospect to ensure everyone’s on the same page and only create a “statement of work” once there’s agreement on what the real issues are, how you’ll solve them and the deal.
Here’s how a partner in a large consultancy firm gets buy in.
They offer a free “mini strategy” workshop to the prospect’s leadership team. Run over 2 to 3 hours, the goal is to elicit the issues they’re facing.
Most of the time is spent digging deep. Not stopping at the surface answers.
i.e. Keep asking “why”. Why is this important? What does it impact? Keep peeling the onion layers until you get to the core issues.
Only once everyone agrees where they are, what issues need to be solved and the importance of achieving the desired outcomes, can you move forward.
Your goal is to have your prospects convince themselves there’s a real problem worth solving. Remember, the status quo is your enemy.
Now paint the bright future where they’ve got the outcomes they really want.
Phrase it in terms of time, money, status or happiness – how to feel better.
How much time they’ll save. How much money they’ll save or make and how much less effort all this will take. For instance they may save X hours which means more time for them to do other stuff that could be more fulfilling. And always consider personal status. How will this help the individual gain or lose status. (Many a deal has been kyboshed due to a perceived loss of face or status)
Now talk about the obstacles preventing this future and how you can help them overcome them.
Done right and your prospects will sell themselves. Which ultimately is the way we all buy.
So if you want to improve your “strategy” skills and ironically sell without selling, our Sales Accelerator ™ program is designed to help professional consultants who sell high value services close more business, naturally and smoothly.
Give me a hoy at RevealedResources.com to get started.
