The Snowball System: How to Win More Business and Turn Clients into Raving Fans

by Mo Bunnell

Mo Bunnell's comprehensive system will help you win more clients, build stronger relationships, and bring in more business.

If you're good at doing something, and you need to connect with paying clients in order to keep doing it, this book is for you. There are more of us out there than you might think -- from professionals like lawyers and consultants to big company account managers and freelancers of all stripes. And this book will teach you how to sell yourself without selling your soul.

In The Snowball System , Mo Bunnell offers powerful and proven tools for business development. Whether you are gregarious or introverted, whether you are a part of a small startup or a massive multinational, Bunnell's science-based system is effective and efficient, and easily adapted into your day-to-day work. With The Snowball System , you will not only succeed at growing your business, you'll learn to enjoy doing the activities that drive that growth. You'll be happier, and so will your clients.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Entrepreneurship, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

Published September 11, 2018

Reviews

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for professional services people, not those making a mass market product to sell. It has a solid plan for building real connections that turn into real business with a lot of specific steps, worksheets to help you decide what your next step is, and even some good warnings on pitfalls to avoid. If you're looking to get better at building a sales engine, this is a good read.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mo is fun to read and the content is very engaging. There's a lot of great advice in the book, but most of it is just inspiration towards doing what I already know needs to be done. The book also comes with access to some great worksheets, but the two really work best together. I am glad I read the whole book, and definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to increase their throughput with clients, but it is not going to be a one-size-fits all. This book isn't going to do the work for you, you still have to put in a considerable amount of work.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-2.5 stars. I listened to the audiobook. The author doesn’t know the correct pronunciation of “nuclear” nor does he know that Wally Cleaver is the son and not the father. I’m nitpicking. Some of the ideas are good reminders of how to keep grinding. Be consistent. Others are sales approaches from the 1970’s. I used to work for public accounting firms and am very familiar with actuaries and their work and personalities. This aspect was irritating.

[Cam Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommendation from Prof. Chen. Pretty good. Definitely professional services focused, but certain aspects were still applicable to SAAS/products. I feel like the last 50 or so pages could’ve been taken out. Very helpful Whole Mind approach.

Notes:

Selling = being helpful.

Have a weekly list of Most Important Things (MITs) and take 30 mins per week to reflect on your progress. Keep a separate planner/journal for work than for personal life.

Build momentum with rituals and habits.

Business development = finding the right prospect and then designing the perfect buying experience for that prospect.

The Whole Brain Model = thinking about how everyone is biased to some of these quadrants and how these four quadrants from seller and buyer perspective in every interaction:

1. Analytical (logical, quantitative, critical, technical, factual). Focus on high value.

2. Practical (conservative sequential, controlled, detailed, organized). Focus on proven success, the safe choice.

3. Relational (emotional, musical, humanistic, expressive, sensory). Focus on benefits to people the buyer empathizes with: their customers, their employees, their team, or others.

4. Experimental (integrative, visual, synthesizing, conceptual, metaphorical). Focus on strategic fit, breakthrough results, future flexibility, and innovation.

Bad is way stronger than good: it takes many positive reinforcements to neutralize just one negative reinforcement.

Develop a Protemoi List = list of potential Raving Fans. This would be Tech Enthusiasts/Early Adopters for TransitFile. Use positive reinforcements with this list to build those relationships. Things that’ll convey “I’m thinking about you.” This should be a monthly engagement. I want to use this to start building a board of advisors.

Position yourself as the greatest value, not as the least bad option.

Sometimes less is more. The more you promise with your ad/marketing, the less the buyer believes, whereas if you concisely state your value proposition, the rest is left up to their interpretation. Have a super focused positioning statement. Brands that are for everyone aren’t as successful as brands that are for a very specific customer. Consumers assume specialists are better than generalists (e.g. Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce vs. Kraft BBQ Sauce).

You need a clear idea of who the right customers are to be able to say no to the wrong customers.

Positioning = communicating what problems you uniquely solve. Targeting = communicating the types of people who spend money solving that unique problem.

Be careful not to spend all your time with existing customers and people you already know while neglecting all other new BD efforts.

Positioning statement should have three main points that address these five areas: (1) client needs, (2) thinking styles, (3) competitors’ strengths, (4) your strengths, (5) boldness needed to win.

Five drivers of likeability: (1) commonality, (2) frequency, (3) mutuality, (4) balance, (5) uniqueness.

Keep track of lead generation efforts to make them less mysterious.

Give-to-get: “Show me you’re willing to invest in us. Do your homework and come with a gift of knowledge or something that demonstrates that you value my time and the relationship.” Give something to the prospect to the point where a deal becomes the obvious next step. The sales process shouldn’t feel forced, it should feel inevitable. You should make the prospect feel like it’s their birthday throughout the sales process. Four steps: (1) introductory meeting: help the prospect see you’re a good fit by asking questions, figure out their needs, describe your unique positing in their words and their thinking style, and look for ways to be helpful, show the client what you do, don’t tell them what you do (2) give-to-get: must be easy for you to create and execute, offer genuine value to the prospect, lead to paid work. Often takes the form of a diagnostic, finding a problem and identifying possible solutions without actually solving them (you want this to lead to paid work); (3) small project (paid work): the client is willing to invest in you because you have something they want, they are curious about something you say you can do, or they want to experience your service on a small project before risking it on a larger one. Just need the client to pay for something, even if it’s small. Small projects are a big deal. (4) big project: this is always the goal, but you must earn your right.

Work backwards: determine the big project you want, design a small project that leads to that big project, and design the give-to-get to lead to the small project.

Use “would it be helpful if we…” to offer give-to-gets. For a more formal client, offering a one-pager about your company, how you can help, and some possible give-to-gets is better.

Think about your leads in terms of Buyers, Influencers, and Gatekeepers.

Four steps to selling: (1) listen and learn, (2) create curiosity - craft the goals, create the plan, pick the teams, agree on terms, (3) build everything together, and (4) gain approval.

Pricing (“money is a quantification of the scope”): (1) embrace pricing conversations, don’t avoid them, and bring them up early on. Make light of pricing conversations and your prospect will match your energy; (2) anchor on value/how much you can save them, etc. This places your price into the context of money. Don’t rely on your prospects to calculate the value of your product. Avoid discounting during negotiations because it shows your initial price had room to lose and makes the prospect think there’s more room to lose. Standard pricing across all clients is best. Stick to accurate original numbers, don’t round your price to easy numbers; (3) “what costs more is worth more,” command a premium price with your unique value add to your prospect; (4) make everything cost something, so if the scope changes, the price changes. Sometimes you can ask for intangibles if the prospect insists on lowering the price (e.g. introductory meetings, press release, testimonials); (5) build everything together and look for mutual wins. Label trades clearly for the prospect to understand what’s going on and how value is being exchanged; (6) make buying more a better deal. Use the “good, better, best” bundling strategy; (7) be willing to concede one last thing, but never agree to a last minute discount on price. Think of other nonmonetary ways to give the prospect a small victory at the finish line and keep this ready if your prospect raises any last minute objections. If the prospect DOES ask for a last minute price reduction, have an intangible ask of them prepared to make the exchange of value even.

If you’re having trouble gaining approval from your prospect, then you’re farther along than they are. Circle back to them and see where you’re really at, then start over from there.

[Michael Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Believe it or not, you are a salesperson.” So begins The Snowball System with the truth about any of us in professional services. The good news is selling can be learned, and Mo Bunnell has documented how to excel at it in this book.

Mo draws on his vast experience to break down each of the steps of successful business development, enhanced by research in behavioral psychology and supplemented by a raft of online worksheets. The scope is comprehensive, covering prospect targeting, positioning, lead generation, client planning, meeting preparation, and more. The process is scalable to a sole proprietorship, small business, or large corporation. You can use it to bolster BD skills for yourself, for your client/prospect team, or for any large group with revenue responsibility.

Mo walks you through each step of the system, stating the purpose and describing what to do -- and what not to do. Most steps have an associated worksheet you use to customize the process to your circumstances, support execution, and measure progress. As I was reading the book, I found it helpful to have the relevant worksheet open (by smartphone or computer). For me, the worksheets are a great asset because they provide the framework for practical application of the system.

The conversational style of the book makes it easy to read, understand, and apply. And the text is sprinkled generously with anecdotes, humor, practical advice, and nuggets of wisdom. (An example: “...real, sustainable business development isn’t about selling as it’s traditionally understood at all. It’s about being strategically helpful.”) So when it comes to knowing what to do to be successful at business development, there are no more excuses! Mo Bunnell has done the research, provided the process, and built the tools. Now it’s up to you to act on it.

[Kyle Farris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mo does a fantastic job combining wisdom from all several areas of study, quoting or at least alluding to many of the best-sellers over the past decade. The result is a comprehensive and simple approach to business development that is backed with sound reasoning. Additionally, the use of the HBDI system adds a unique element to the book. So much insight within such a small book. Definitely recommend.

5-Star: Everyone should read this.
4-Star: Everyone in this specific field should read this.
3-Star: This was a decent read for the specific field, but there are better options.
2-Star: It got me to the end of the book, so there is that.
1-Star: It was bad enough that I didn't finish it.

[Joe Rummell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have followed Mo's work for years. In summary, the information is invaluable and perhaps more important, the information can be applied with the straightforward Snowball system. Great read, great information, I highly recommend it!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read many BD books, but I think the ACTIONABLE approach to BD, making it a set of activities is something unique and could be really helpful.

[Evan Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First two chapters and last chapter had some awesome info and ideas to build your network & career but the rest was boring and unnecessary.

[Rachel Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really well structured book. Best on audio, to hear Mo’s enthusiasm, but I am also buying the hard copy because i will be going back to this time and again. Think big, start small, scale up.

[Fred Darbonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Fred Darbonne

All of us are in sales, as many have noted, whether we are selling ourselves to employers, colleagues, or potential partners. But some of us sell our specialized expertise to potential clients on a regular basis, and no matter how good we are at what we do, if we are unable to market our services effectively, we will have no livelihood. Here is where Mo Bunnell’s work helps the entrepreneur – by showing us how to create a system for managing our leads, developing our business, turning leads into clients, and managing the relationships we have worked hard to develop. Bunnell helps turn the “expert” with the expertise to offer into a “seller-expert” who consistently develops client relationships. Bunnell offers the Snowball System to show us how to build a business development framework that, if we will work at it so that it becomes ingrained habit, will enable us to win more of the work with want, with the clients we desire, for the right money, and do more business with our existing clients.

Mo Bunnell is the founder and CEO of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG), which has trained thousands of professionals and companies in a research-based system to improve their business development. Bunnell frames sales as service, arguing that being helpful to our clients is at the heart of building long-term business relationships.

The Snowball System is a practical workbook in the form of a book, and one that every entrepreneur and startup leader should read. There are worksheets to download and complete for each step. It is not a quick fix, and Bunnell acknowledges that we can’t implement our system all at once. He starts with walking us through a personal strategic planning process, describes the hallmarks of a rainmaker, and helps us identify our most important relationships and create a plan for their development. From our strategic plan, he shows us how to target our ideal clients and position ourselves to win, to develop our likeability so people will want to do business with us, and to understand how different clients process information so we can adapt our approach. He helps us create a system for developing leads, turning leads into clients, learning to close our sales, and do strategic planning for long-term client relationships.

Bunnell argues that as we are diligent with this work process, we should see our business begin to “snowball” in increasing momentum. For those with teams, Bunnell shows us how to build this momentum in teams and to coach for success.

I particularly appreciate Bunnell’s being upfront with the reality that this will take work; I would have been skeptical if he had made it look easy. Rather than “Notes,” he labels his chapter endnotes “Resources,” and they are indeed rich in references for further exploration.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a business development professional responsible for training lawyers on sales skills, I have found that most sales methodologies miss the mark for the professional who needs to sell and then deliver his or her expertise. The Snowball System is the first methodology I have found that resonates with the attorneys I support and debunks their previously believed sales myths.

If you are a professional who shutters when you hear the word "sales," especially when uttered in the same sentence as the phrase "key to your success," then The Snowball System is for you. Mo Bunnell shares the methodology that he developed and refined after business development became critical to his own career success. Mo builds a convincing case that to succeed at sales you only need to be good at learning. Whether you are an actuary, attorney, accountant or architect, applying the methodology outlined in The Snowball System will yield results and grow your practice.

[Chaunceton Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

An effective, instructive book on business development. Great systemization of how to turn targets and acquaintances into solid clients.

[Tirthapatha Saravanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for someone who has zero knowledge of Business Development and Client Rep