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Dear Coach: I'm a consultant. I'm really uncomfortable with the selling aspect, but I have to sell. Any tips for me? Coach says: I bet a double scoop ice cream with hot fudge that you've got two problems: You don't realize you're doing a lot of selling when you're consulting; and you don't know when to take off the consultant hat and put the sales hat on.
After some sort of informal assessment, most consultants then give a little advice. They talk about how they would solve the problem. In selling, this is called "presenting." So, you see? You are already doing a good job of selling in some ways! The trouble for many consultants does start right at the above point: They get so caught up in showing off their marvelous advice-capacity, they forget the deal is not yet set. They leave the meeting feeling happy, then crash when the "client" doesn't come through with a contract, after all. Once you've given whatever advice you want to give for free, it's time to put on your sales hat. One of the best ways to make this comfortable is to make it obvious. Say something like, "Now I'm going to put my sales hat on and ask you a few more questions." After you make that statement, ask permission to continue with a nice little, "Okay?" (If the prospect is not really in a shopping mode, they'll put you off right here and you can leave knowing they are not a hot prospect.) Once you have permission to continue, ask questions like these: "Tell me about the fit we may have, so far. Look good to you?" (Let's you know if your fabulous advice is actually fabulous in their eyes.) "Do you have budget set aside for this project?" (Get the hard money question over with quick so you can breathe again.) "Tell me about your decision-making process; what's the process and who is involved?" (This is the buyer question.) "When you find the right consultant, when would you want to get started?" (Timing question.) "Can we talk about next steps?" (Transitions to talking about what you both want to have happen, next.) If the next-step is a proposal, be sure to ask prospects about what they might want to see in that proposal. "Describe what information I should be sure to provide in the proposal." You may also want to ask about how they like their fees structured, so you have this information to work with. "Do you have any preferences for a flat rate, versus hourly fees?" Though the above is just an overview, this is a great way to get more comfortable with your sales hat. In consultant-speak: This new paradigm should ease this portion of your dialogue quite a bit. |