Category Archives: Sales

Selling your product or service

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When the Sale Slips Away

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Whether we like it or not,  Freelance consultants are salespeople.  Before we are able to ply our given trade,  we must first sell prospective clients on the idea of hiring us to do what we do,  whether it’s web design or floral design.  Steve W. Martin,  professor of Sales Strategy at University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business,  says that those who sell should be cognizant of the lowest common denominator of decision-making: stress.

Martin observes that stress is the death of rational decision-making.  Stress shortens the attention span,  escalates mental exhaustion and typically results in analysis-paralysis.  Despite the  “buying signals”  that your prospective client may display,  more than likely s/he is experiencing fear and doubt when speaking with you about your product or services.

The stress this creates serves as the key factor in determining whether or not the deal gets done.  The most successful salespeople anticipate,  seek to identify and learn to counteract that stress and enable the sale.  Giving prospective clients information and diplomatically phrased and presented tactical advice that will help them fight against internal organization politics is a useful part of your sales strategy as well.  Here are a couple of more reasons that your sale dies on the vine.

Stalled sales cycle

Customers are more cautious than ever and moving them through the sales process can become an almost Sisyphean task.  Steve W. Martin correctly labels this common phenomenon as an internal problem that occurs when project sponsors do not know how to sell their concept to the senior executives who are able to give the  green light.   Further, certain sales cycles are prone to be lengthy in the best of circumstances.  It is too easy for your contact person/project sponsor to get distracted and turn attention toward developing issues and in the process push your sale to the back burner,  where it drifts into oblivion.  Then there is sometimes reluctance to take responsibility.  As a result,  project sponsors involve more of their co-workers in the decision process and you know what happens when there are too many cooks.

Product information and vendor selection

As we enthusiastically pitch our services,  prospective clients often wonder if we are telling the whole truth.  Compounding that is the reality  (or perception)  that differences between many products and services are almost insignificant.  Buyers are often skeptical because they may have been lied to by previous sales people.  The client may feel that 1). it is necessary to separate fact from fiction when talking with someone who is trying to sell something and 2). it’s pretty much all the same thing anyway.  Selling on service and operational efficiencies and the resulting benefits is the best antidote.  Avoid selling on price if at all possible, because it reduces you to a commodity.

When preparing for your next prospective client meeting,  keep in mind the inevitable presence of stress in your would-be client’s work environment.  They don’t quite know who or what to believe.  They’ve got co-workers,  subordinates and bosses judging them.  They are torn between acting in the best interest of the company and in the best interest of themselves.  There is also the now-prevalent belief that not spending money is best for the organization’s bottom line and no one’s reputation suffers for declining to spend money.  Making no decision just gets easier and easier.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

 

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Why You Don’t Get the Sale

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Two or three years ago,  I read that a Freelancer’s main competition is not another Freelance consultant who does what you do.  Our real competitor is the client.  As the less than stellar economy grinds on,  enriching primarily the top 1%  of the population plus a few lucky folks in the  (shrinking)  middle class,  that statement gains more credence every day.  Prospective clients have got a boat load of excuses to slide away from a contract,  or cutting down what was originally promised.  Do you ever wonder what could possibly be on the minds of clients and prospects who promise you the moon and then either disappear or offer up a very paltry version of the original proposal?

According to Steve W. Martin,  professor of Sales Strategy at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and author of  “Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics: 101 Advanced Sales Call Strategies for Senior Salespeople” (2011),  stress caused by peer pressure and insecurity is the culprit and its impact on decision-making is detrimental  (no surprise there).  Freelancers and sales people must do everything possible to communicate our value-added but in the end,  the decision to give the green light is an internal matter and those outside have only so much influence.  Here are examples of what worries our prospective clients:

Budget availability

There are two main criteria for deciding whether or not to give someone the contract or sale:  1). What is the ROI that will accrue from the sale? and 2). How does that ROI compare to what might be derived from other projects being considered?  Projects that are considered strategic by the senior execs have priority,  so if your project has that status,  it’s only a question of how many hours you can get.  Whatever your project,  product or service,   you must first receive the initial approval.  You may believe that because you have confirmed that you are talking to a decision-maker and s/he says the go-ahead is imminent,  that is not the whole story.  There is the all-important step two and that happens when  the team of heavy-hitters examines and ranks all pending projects and major sales and decides which items receive funding and at what amount.  In other words,  that decision-maker that you’ve been speaking with will confer with other decision-makers to compare which projects will go forward,  because projects are continually re-prioritized in response to shifting conditions.

Strategic imperatives

Your project must align with the organization’s goals as perceived by the higher-ups.  If you notice,  projects that are championed by lower-ranking employees often do not get funded because higher-ranking execs do understand or appreciate the value-added,  do not view the proposal as strategically significant.  Moreover,  your project must demonstrate that the sponsoring higher-up understands and is actively advancing strategically relevant projects,  products and services.

Ego and image

This is related to the above.  Your project must make its chief sponsor look good to the person s/he answers to,  as well as look good to colleagues and subordinates. When an outside consultant is hired or a major purchase is authorized,  the project champion absolutely must look like a genius for doing the deal.  Under no circumstances must s/he be perceived as having made the wrong move.  Peer pressure is real and the project champion worries about making the right decision,  especially if this is something that has not been done before.  This is why the Freelance consultant must at all times deliver exceptional service,  must exceed expectations,  because the reputation and career advancement of your project sponsor is riding on it.

I’ll talk more about your nervous prospect next week.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Unexpected RFP

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Have you ever received an RFP out of the blue? I’ve received two and I was gullible enough to respond to both and both times I received exactly what I deserved—nada!  Really,  I should have known better.   An RFP that slips into your mail box is a Trojan horse.  In fact,  I received a phone call this morning from an unknown person who claimed that she was looking for corporate trainers  (or some such)  and wants to include me in the search,  so I am about to receive unexpected RFP #3.

In reality,  what this dame and other stealth RFP senders often want is to round out a list of candidates in accordance with their company directives,  to make it easier for them to hire who they’ve already planned to hire.  Or,  the game is to either get the job done at the lowest price,  or free consulting advice through a fake RFP.

I was caught in what I suspect was the latter game a couple of years ago by a Harvard University-run charity,  no less.  They were looking for ways to juice their fundraising strategy and invited me in to talk for an hour.  I suspect that either no one was hired,  or the person hired was pre-determined and may have been given my ideas  (and maybe also the ideas of other suckers)  to implement,  along with my pricing info as a benchmark.

Whatever the motive,  beware the out-of-the-blue RFP.  The targeted Freelance consultants gain nothing but false hope and the  “opportunity”  to sally forth on a fool’s errand.   However,  I’ve decided that if  this latest RFP is sent  ( I provided my email address),  I will respond—my way.   I will telephone the contact person and ask a few questions…..

The first question I’ll ask is,  who referred me?  The second question I’ll ask is,  who is performing that job now?  The third question,  what is motivating the change if someone is already doing that job,  whether in-house or a Freelancer? Is that person doing an unsatisfactory job and in what ways?  I shall listen very carefully to the replies.

If the answers do not add up,   I will decline the RFP and politely state that I don’t get why I’ve been invited to apply,  that I typically respond to RFPs from clients with whom I have a relationship,  after we’ve discussed project objectives.

On the other hand,  if the answers to my first three questions pass muster,  I will ask three more:

1).   Who is the project decision-maker and the stakeholders and may I meet with them?

2).   What information will the perfect RFP for this project contain?

3).    How will success for this project be measured and who holds the yardstick?

Nevertheless,  while meeting is helpful,  it is not a fail-safe.   My fake RFPs both included a face-to-face.  If you are invited to come in and speak about the project,  do so without submitting a proposal.  Give them nothing beyond an hour of your time.

If the company insists on wheedling information out of you  “What would you do in this situation…?”,  tell them you’ll be happy to discuss that going forward if it looks like you should work together.  Put nothing into writing.  If recipes to solve a problem are required beforehand,  know that it’s an RFP shake-down.

RFPs are awarded by clients with whom we have a relationship and even then,  you might not win.  Three years ago,  I brought a program concept to a decision-maker at a not-for-profit.  During a $40.00  lunch that I paid for,  I was invited to write a proposal.

Bingo! I said,  but it was not to be.   After more consideration,  it was determined that the staffing needed to support my proposed program was not available and there was no budget to hire.  I believe that the intent was not to screw me,  but I was devastated and it still stings.

So what should you do if an unsolicited RFP comes your way? Proceed with caution,  ask questions to help reveal the sender’s motives,  listen carefully to the answers and whatever you decide,  do not get your hopes up.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Pick Up the Phone and Sell

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Reaching decision-makers becomes more difficult every month.  No one answers the phone,  unless they already know me.  Once I’m on an assignment,  98%  of communication happens on email and that’s OK for all concerned.  But what if I’d like to follow-up with a prospect I’ve met somewhere and he/she suddenly gets elusive?  Or what if some influential person says,  “Call so-and-so and tell him/her that I told you to call”  and then that person never picks up?

Playing telephone tag with someone you want to connect with is a real drag and a time-waster.  If there is a way to get the Very Important Prospect to either pick up the phone or holler back,  you need to know it.  Sales guru Geoffrey James,  author of  “How to Say It: Business to Business Selling ” (2011)  says that if an assistant takes the call and offers to transfer you to the VIP’s voice mail,  ask if VIP actually listens to voice messages.   Evidently,  a significant minority of people do not listen to voice mail and consequently,  do not return calls.

As book publicist Yen Cheong observed in an April 1, 2009 New York Times article,  “Once upon a time,  voice mail was useful.”   Ms. Cheong communicates primarily by text and occasionally by email.  “If you left a message,  I have to dial in,  dial in my code.  Then once I hear the message,   I need the phone number.  I try to write it down and then I have to rewind the message to hear it again.”

Sometimes,  a land line voice message will include  a cell phone number to call.  Dial the cell phone.  If VIP answers,  thank him/her for taking the call,  cut to the chase and state your reason for calling,  referencing either the person who recommended that you make  contact or follow-up from a previous conversation.  If you were invited to call and make an appointment,  then ask if that is possible now.  VIP may be able to schedule an appointment right there on the smart phone.   If not,  you will be given a better time to call the office land line.

To set the stage for an appointment,  offer to send some relevant piece of information that keeps the ball in play and initiates an action that  is easy for your VIP to digest without feeling pressured,  making it more likely that future calls will be accepted.  Confirm the email address and  send ASAP.  Resist the temptation to launch a sales pitch,  unless VIP opens the door by asking questions.  Even then,  be very concise and respectful of time.  People on cell phones are often in transit or otherwise distracted.

The pearl of this story is text messaging,  a tactic which I’m willing to bet most of you haven’t tried when pursuing a prospect.  So why not?  According to a 2008 study for Sprint by Opinion Research Corporation,  91%  of people under age 30 respond to text messages within an hour.   Adults aged 30 and older are four times more likely to respond to text messages than voice messages.  So if the VIP’s voice message includes a cell number,  pounce!

Web developer Charlie Park says text messages are more respectful of the recipient’s time.   Text information or your intent to send same,  or ask for an appointment. Texting is an efficient tool to keep the sale moving forward and much more effective than telephone tag voice messages,  which only cause your prospect to give up on you,  because the two of you can’t connect.

The next time you call a VIP and the assistant answers,  ask if voice messages are listened to and also ask if texting is possible.  If you can’t confirm that info,  try sending a text anyway.   You might be pleasantly surprised by a prompt reply and a successful telephone sales call.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Face-to-Face Client Meeting Primer

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When you run a good meeting,  you show prospective clients that you can be trusted.  The project will be in good hands because you are a pro.   In your meeting you will show that you are prepared: you understand the clients’ needs and the needs of the clients’ customers.  You demonstrate your value-added and ability to meet or exceed expectations.  You know how to land the plane and they will  look like a genius for hiring you.

Here is the continuation of the meeting primer developed by Geoffrey James,  author of  “How to Say it: Business to Business Selling” (2011).   James  suggests that you follow these rules to make sure that you make a good impression in your next meeting and I totally agree.  I’ve edited and condensed his list.

8.   Don’t start the meeting with a SALES PITCH.  If you are meeting with a prospective client who would like to get to know you better,  respect that wish and be grateful for the chance to build a business relationship.  Do not be crass and push a selfish agenda.   Rather, encourage the prospect to talk about him/herself and the business and what’s gone on in the past, what the preferred future will look like and the role you can play in bringing the business to that point.

9.   RESEARCH the client’s organization,  so that you’ll have a good understanding of what business priorities and concerns are likely to be before you walk into the meeting.   Have ideas of how your services can benefit the organization.  Visit the company website and read the mission statement,   familiarize yourself with the organization’s primary products and services and get to know its clients.  In other words,  do your homework.

10.   Remember the NAMES of everyone at the meeting.   After the introductions,  make a note of the names of all participants.  Offer your business card to all and try your best to likewise get a card from everyone present,  so that you can confirm titles and have contact info.

11.   Take NOTES,  so that you’ll have a record of what everyone has agreed to,  especially you.  Remember to bring a nice note pad or your notebook computer.  It can be very useful to send a confirmation email to everyone,  as a way to confirm any agreements and time tables.

12.   Keep the meeting on FOCUS,  so that you don’t lose control of the agenda and fail to get your questions answered.  It will be up to you to bring the meeting back to the main topic if the client  tends to meander into sidebars.  Make sure the meeting is productive and not a waste of time.

13.   End the meeting on TIME.  Respect the client’s schedule and do what you can to follow the agenda.  The only exception would be if the client is anxious to push forward ASAP and creates space in his/her calendar to spend more time discussing the project.

14.   FOLLOW UP on whatever you agree to do,  within the expected time frame.

15.   Write a THANK YOU LETTER.  If you were invited to meet with a prospective client or reconnect with a previous one,  demonstrate your appreciation in writing.  Get some nice stationery  (time to get your own personalized business stationery printed up fast if you haven’t done so already)  and write a three or four sentence letter.   Drop it in the mail maximum 48- 72 hours after the meeting.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Face-to-Face Sales Meeting Primer

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Lucky you,  at last you scored a meeting with the dream client you’ve been pursuing for months.   Or did you get back in the door of a former client and sign on for repeat business?  A meeting to discuss specifics has been called and you can taste the contract.  To make sure that you don’t inadvertently put your foot in it and screw up your good fortune,   herewith is a sales meeting primer that will help your face-to-face meetings produce the outcome you want.  These pointers were developed by Geoffrey James,  author of  “How to Say It: Business to Business Selling”  (2011).  I’ve condensed and edited.

1.    Have a specific GOAL, or list of OBJECTIVES,  that will define the purpose of the meeting.  When the meeting is called to discuss a specific project,  then your goal is to get the information you need to determine how you will meet the client’s expectations and the project  time-table.  You must also determine whether you can do the job on your own,  or if will you need to subcontract some part of it.  A few days before the meeting,  start jotting down questions that will bring out the necessary info.

2.   Create a meeting AGENDA,  which can be that list of questions you’ve come up with.   

3.    Arrive EARLY to the meeting,  15 minutes ahead of time.   Go to the restroom and check your appearance.

4.    Turn off your PHONE.  

5.    Do not TALK TOO MUCH.  Remember that the meeting’s purpose is for you to gather information and for the client to communicate project needs and timetable,  confirm that you are qualified to do the job and get a sense of how it will be to work with you.  By all means,  greet your client with some friendly banter that reveals your authentic self.  A minute or two of social lubricant is necessary to relax everyone.  Just don’t let the chit-chat go on and on.  You are the one who must gracefully segue  into the business conversation.

6.    Don’t be PASSIVE.  Remember that you’ve been invited into the meeting to make a contribution,  to add your expert insights and opinions.  Speak up when necessary.  Ask questions,  provide answers.

7.    Don’t ARGUE with the client.  If your client has a business practice or opinion that seems unusual to say the least,  diplomatically ask what has brought him/her to that conclusion.  There may be a compelling reason that you haven’t thought of.  Be careful not to make the client feel as though he/she is out in left field,  or behind the times  (especially if that is exactly the case!).  

Social media gets all the hype and we all love the convenience of email.  Still,  there’s no way to underestimate the value  of human interaction.  For many conversations,  the telephone is better than email and a face-to-face meeting is the best of all.  Learn how to make the most of your meetings.  I’ll be back next week with more on how to run good meetings.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It

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When your objective is to bring someone around to your way of thinking,  tell that person a story.   Effective storytelling allows us to communicate with listeners in both an emotional and intellectual way.   As a result,  barriers between people break down as they are brought together in a shared experience that strengthens relationships.  A well-crafted and delivered story allows speaker and listener to understand and therefore trust one another.

Stories are used to build confidence in a person or agenda,  motivate listeners to think a certain way and perhaps do certain things.  Storytelling is the original call to action.  Those of us in business are advised to create good stories,  narratives that can be used to persuade others of our integrity and expertise.

When putting together your story,  think first of its ending.  You can choose where in the arc of your professional development  to begin your story,  but the ending is the most important component.  You must present a strong and memorable take-away anecdote,  lesson,  or triumph that listeners will remember,  believe and act upon.

It is advisable to create a  “portfolio”  of business-themed stories.  Your most basic story is your elevator pitch,  the story that describes what you do,  the goal you help clients achieve and the types of clients you work with.  Another,  more detailed,  story will tell listeners about you and the development of your business.   Other stories in your portfolio illustrate your expertise and professionalism.

The story of how you built your company will tend toward the inspirational.  That story might describe what motivated you to go into business and give a brief behind-the-scenes look at an obstacle you had to overcome on your way to becoming successful.  Don’t be afraid to reveal mistakes made along the way.  Let your listener experience your humanity and authenticity.

To demonstrate your expertise,   tell stories that show how you helped a client make money,  save money,  avoid disaster,  or discover a niche market.  Both types of stories build your credibility and are useful relationship builders and sales tools.

When developing and presenting a story,  be clear about its purpose in your communication strategy.   Know what you would like listeners to believe,  understand or do after you’ve told the tale.  For example,  if you want to convince a prospective client that you offer superior service,   perhaps write a story about how you worked through a holiday weekend,  so that a critical deadline would be met.

When you tell that story,  describe first why the goal of excellent service had to be met,  its importance to the client.  Then spell out the obstacles you overcame to achieve it.   Add a little drama to your story to encourage listeners to identify with the client and picture themselves in his/her shoes.   Remember to keep your story uncomplicated and easy to follow.

When writing your stories,  be mindful that there will be a beginning,  middle and end.  A well-designed story also has a person who must do or confront something;  a place,  where the action will occur; a time frame,  so that listeners can distinguish between “then” and “now”; and a hint of its direction,  to allow listeners to anticipate the outcome.

Be sure to identify and describe the turning point in your story,  the decision you made that made it possible  to achieve the goal.  Take special care not to confuse the turning point with the end of the story,  however.  The turning point triggers the successful outcome that makes the happy ending possible.  The end of the story,  the culmination,  describes how that goal was achieved.  Describing how the goal was achieved paints the picture of the take-away you want to leave listeners with,  namely that you provide superior service every time,  especially when the client needs it most.

Storytelling is a powerful business tool,  one that enriches business conversations and presentations as we communicate with listeners in both an emotional and intellectual fashion.  Stories help us to explain new ideas and concepts,  win support for projects and convince prospects to become clients.  Learn the art of building and relating stories and make clients know why they want to do business with you.

Thanks for reading my story!

Kim

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C-Suite Presentations

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Your diarist will present the workshop  “Become Your Own Boss:  Effective Business Plan Writing”  on Wednesdays October 10, 17 & 24 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at Boston Center for Adult Education.  Perhaps you’d like to become a part-time entrepreneur,  maybe cater parties on the weekend while you keep your day job?  Find out how to launch your mini-business  http://bit.ly/RnyIBP .

The one thing you have to remember about the C-suite is that those who abide there are under pressure.  They must produce results,  hit a home run every time they come up to bat.  In order to produce results they must delegate responsibility,  delegate to those who have talent and can be trusted. They like people who meet deadlines.  People who don’t make major errors.

Therefore,  if you happen to meet a C-level executive,  you must appear both talented and trustworthy,  as he/she defines it.  In general,  you must demonstrate that you know your stuff.  Demonstrate that you are able to produce results.  To do anything less is to disappoint,  to waste the exec’s precious time.  One must make a very good impression.

If you’re lucky enough to be invited to make a sales presentation to a C-level executive,  whether he/she is alone or with a team,  take the time to do things right.  Arrive early.  If you are there to demonstrate a product,  do a few test runs at home and do one also at the office.  In advance of your appointment,  ask the  executive assistant if there is a room you can duck into to do one more dry run product demo.

If you will present your service and will use Power Point,  do several rehearsals.  Again,  ask the assistant for early access to the conference room in advance of the meeting, so that you can set up the equipment and make sure it works and make sure that you can run it smoothly.  You do not want any A/V glitches and arrive one hour early if A/V equipment will be used.

When you do start talking,  cut to the chase.  It is politic to ask the C-level what he/she would like to hear first.  Plan to go off-script,  so know your material very well.  Expect lots of questions.  Anticipate what those questions might be and role-play answers.

C-level execs have many plates in the air,  opportunities to identify and evaluate,  stubborn problems to resolve and fires to put out.  They are thinking about seeds to plant today that will bear fruit three years down the road.  Make your presentation about how your product or service can beat the competition,  how to hang on to current customers,  how to win new ones and how to increase net profit.  In your presentation,  do address the problems they will have achieving those objectives and how your product or service will help them reach the goal faster,  more easily,  less expensively.

Bruce Gabrielle,  teacher of Power Point and presentation techniques and author of  “Speaking PowerPoint: The New Language of Business”,  says you should focus on painting a vision of a better future.  Once your exec is nodding at the your description of the vision—and ONLY after—should you address product or service details.  Cost will be less of a concern at this point,  he claims.

Gabrielle also notes that while most execs like Big Data and like the idea of making data-driven decisions,  they trust their gut and experience more than they trust numbers.  They like customer success stories. They gain confidence in you if their colleagues have used your product or service.  Have two or three  success stories that make you  shine ready to roll.  Introduce the stories first and then follow it up with any quantitative data that you have.

Be advised that your C-level exec will judge you by the quality of your presentation.  Consider it a test.  He/she will see whether you are authoritative and know your business;  will know how you handle pressure by your response to tough and unexpected questions being thrown at you;  will gauge whether you are trustworthy and credible.  In short,  your C-level will quickly figure out whether you are someone to do business with,  whether you are worthy of his/her time and money.  if you pass the test,  you will win his/her confidence and will be able to count on the exec’s full support.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Customize Your Selling Style

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I will present my workshop  “Become Your Own Boss:Effective Business Plan Writing”  on Wednesday evenings October 10, 17 & 24  5:30 PM-7:30 PM at Boston Center for Adult Education.  If you’ve been percolating a business idea that you’d like to launch, or would like to position for success the business you’re already operating,  please register at http://bit.ly/RnyIBP .

It should come as no surprise that  professional services clients approach buying,  in this case hiring a Freelance consultant, with their own agenda.  They are no different than you and me when we shop for a product or service.  Sometimes we know exactly what we want and other times we need guidance.  Some of us shop for designer labels that give us prestige when we flash the logo  (Prada, Jaguar).  Others like to get to know the owner and counter help at our favorite coffee shop and that relationship keeps us going back.

Jeff Tanner,  professor of sales and marketing at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University in Waco, TX,  recommends that you tailor your selling style to dovetail with the buying style of your prospect.  “We all  have our preferred selling style…..(but)  I don’t  always see  entrepreneurs trying to understand the need from the buyer’s perspective”.

Here are three more ways to successfully win a sale by tuning in to what motivates your prospect:

IV.   Tout your A-list clients

As William Shakespeare noted in “Othello”,  reputation matters.  Your reputation with other clients can make or break some deals.  If and when you get the chance to work with a prestige client,  be sure to get a testimonial.  That will be your springboard to the next prestige client.

Many,  if not most,  large companies will not hire a Freelancer who has only worked with small organizations.  They fear that the person does not have the capacity to adequately fulfill the job requirements.   No client wants to have egg on their face for hiring the wrong consultant.  Do what you can to leapfrog up the ladder by starting with small prestige clients and use those names as entree to the bigger fish.

V.     When service matters

For some clients,  it’s all about the quality of service.  What happens after project completion may be a concern.  Depending on your specialty,  it could be good business to devise some post-sale service packages that give clients some support as they implement or utilize what has been developed  (like a new website).

Project deadlines can also be an issue and producing a fast turn-around time may be especially important in winning an assignment.   Speedy response to post-sale questions may be at top of mind for certain clients.  To reassure those clients,  the guarantee of completing a project within a specified time frame,  or the guarantee of a response time,  may be written into the project contract or retainer agreement.

VI.    Close the deal now

Pay attention to your prospect’s body language to gauge whether he/she wants fast action.  If the prospect seems anxious to move forward,  by all means get on with it and cut to the chase.   Wrap up final details by confirming your duties,  the client’s expectations and any deadlines and get a verbal commitment to proceed that includes the project fee or hourly rate and start date.   Ask your newest client to send the contract ASAP and you may even offer to sign one immediately,  as soon as the mutually agreed-upon particulars have been added.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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How They Want to Be Sold

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When we figure out what makes a client want to become a client,  we can then make that person a client.  Does that sound too obvious?  It is and it’s true.  Before the meeting,  we must first realize that each prospect is an unique individual and so a cookie-cutter sales spiel will not work and second,  when we do get a chance to sit down with him/her,   we must learn what his/her priorities are and then sell to those priorities.  What will give a prospective client the confidence to offer you a contract?

Learning that involves listening skills and that means it’s wise to let the prospective client do most of the talking during your meeting.  All we have to do is listen and respond in kind.  George W. Dudley,  Chairman of the Behavioral Sciences Research Press in Dallas, TX,  recommends that to seal the deal,  it’s imperative to structure your sales pitch to cater to the trigger that will give you the green light.  Here are three common agendas that clients will have in mind as they evaluate whether or not they’d like to do business with you:

I.      Just the facts

If your prospect is detail oriented,  then tightly focus on what your product or service will do for him/her.  Think features and benefits plus credible third party support.  This type does not enjoy small talk or being asked a series of questions,  unless they serve to refine the needs and objectives of the project.  He/she has a very good grasp of the project scope and the expertise required for successful execution.  He/she has a high regard for quantifiable data and has probably researched not only you,  but also your competitors.  This person doesn’t want to be your buddy,  he/she just wants to get the job done by whomever can demonstrate a solid track record of results.

II.    Be an adviser

At the opposite end of the spectrum,  there are those prospects who don’t quite know what they’re looking for.  In that case,  you have the opportunity to educate.  Ask lots of questions about the scope of the project and show the client how you can apply your expertise to ensure that objectives are achieved.  As you help this prospect to make a decision, you may be able to up-sell.

III.  Make it personal

Some clients prefer to establish a relationship with their Freelancers.  Here is where you lay the groundwork for repeat business,  which is a beautiful thing.  Solid interpersonal skills are required and it may take some time to build trust and get your foot in the door.  It will be necessary to demonstrate that you care about the organization and that you’re willing to spend time on customer service,  answering questions,  training staff,  etc.  You must be attentive and not just in it for a quick sale.

More next week and thanks for reading,

Kim