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Salesperson: Facilitator of Next Steps
It is not our job to talk people into things.
We sell ideas and advice – the very contents of our heads – and so how we sell impacts what we are able to deliver.
To sell is to: Help the unaware Inspire the interested Reassure those who have formed intent
help people move forward to solve their problems and capitalize on their opportunities.
The role of our thought leadership is to educate, not to persuade.
Experts write.
The interested future client looks for inspiration to move forward. This is where we as creative people excel. We are among humankind’s most natural inspirers. Our work is inspirational. Our skill in commanding and leading a room is inspirational. Our ability to come at problems from previously unconsidered angles and our passion for solving the problem not yet solved are both inspirational. We excel here, in inspiring the interested. Let us be clear: our goal with such a prospect is to inspire him to form the intent to solve his problem; it is not to inspire him to hire us. At this stage,
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It need not even be our own work that we show here
his primary motivation is fear of making a mistake.
The key is to respond to the motivation and not necessarily the request.
easier when we reach out to the client at a time early in the buying cycle, when he is unaware of any need;
we will never again ask documents to propose for us what we ourselves should propose.
document that we write is the contract.
public verification of an agreement we have already formed with the client in conversation.
The paper is produced only once the agreement has been reached.
If the client does not see a fit between his need and our expertise, we want to hear so as early in the buying cycle as possible.
If we are pomegranates then we will resist being pushed into a process designed to compare apples to apples.
A client asking for unpaid ideas in a written proposal is like a patient asking for a diagnosis and prescription from a doctor he refuses to visit or pay.
We must learn to measure the client’s intent;
“We propose to do X for you, over Y timeframe, for Z price.”
Let us be clear to our clients and ourselves: we are not in the proposal writing business.
we will no longer ask a document to do what we ourselves ...
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Instead of seeking clients, we will selectively and respectfully pursue perfect fits – those targeted organizations that we can best help.
a small number of slowly revolving high-quality clients
It is human nature to follow what retreats from us and to back away from what advances.
The client should be able to determine from a sentence or two whether our expertise is likely to meet his needs.
If the answer is no, we want to hear it as soon as possible,
Our inclination is to avoid the questions to which we think we may not like the answers,
we might say, “I’m a little concerned about the ability an organization of your size has to afford us.”
Passion can be a tiebreaker when the client believes the level of expertise to be equal among his considered options.
The client may view our display of passion as an invitation to take control and an admission that our expertise may be lacking.
Expertise forces selectivity.
we will commit to the idea that continuous learning is mandatory.
When we put our flag in the ground, heads turn. The competition, seemingly oblivious to us before, suddenly takes notice.
This is one of the indulgences of the generalist: it is an easier life. It is not as lucrative. It is not as fulfilling. It is, however, easier. Nobody attacks the unthreatening generalist.
most people will change their desires, even their values, before they will change their behavior.
are we most people?
We commit to deepening our expertise, rapidly and forever, so that we can find out just how good we can become.
Writing is the tool that helps us formalize our thinking on these observations.
If we are to be experts we must write.
we commit to the idea that perpetual learning and continuous improvement are mandatory.
Our thinking is our highest value product;
If we demonstrate that we do not value our thinking, our clients and prospects will not.
If we do not value our thinking, the client will not.
It is not until he has parted with his money that he is fully committed to moving forward with us;
“We’ll get started as soon as we receive the deposit, as is our policy for all new clients.”
for all new clients, we will be paid in advance.
Overcoming this stress begins with deciding that from here forward we will talk about money early and often.
The annual fee minimum that we require becomes our Minimum Level of Engagement.
