When dealing with individuals or small companies, an Engagement Letter may make more sense than submitting a formal quotation.

It also makes it easy for the client to buy – no purchase order is needed – just sign the letter. For this reason, Engagement Letters are widely used by attorneys and accountants.

Such was the approach I recently suggested to my Apple computer consultant. Yup, I finally decided to move on from the old XP machines that have served us so well.

After getting our new computers up and running, we talked a little shop. New to consulting, he had some questions – and frustrations. One was getting paid. Been there – done that 🙂

After the work was done, he would submit an invoice. Terms were net due, but many were taking 60 days or more to pay. One client was even arguing about work completed.

So I suggested an Engagement Letter, combined with an advance deposit. My accountant has used this method for years (although no deposit.) I recently needed some legal help, and my lawyer did the same.

Here is a sample. It is based on my standard quoation/proposal described in an earlier post.

Policy Statement & Business Practices

Our clients often have questions about our business practices and policies. This document addresses common questions. Our intent is to help you understand our practices, so that we can better serve your needs.

Rates -Our rates are $XXX per hour ($XXXX per eight hour per day), plus expenses. On-site time is billed portal-to- portal while office time is billed at our regular hourly rate.

We do not charge a premium for overtime, night shift, weekends, or holidays. Our rates are subject to change, but engagement letters or purchase orders received within the quotation validity date will be honored as quoted.

Expenses – All expenses incurred for the client will be billed at actual cost, with no markup. Consultant will not purchase hardware or software. Client will pay vendors directly.

Travel – Travel time is charged at our regular rates, as follows:
-Local – No travel charge for full day consultations. For less than a full day, time will be billed portal-to-portal.
-Out of town (Air Travel) – One full day labor is added to consultation fee for travel within the contiguous 48 states.

Travel expenses will be invoiced at actual costs. We normally make our own travel arrangements, but if made by client, they are subject to our approval. We normally purchase “no-penalty” coach airline tickets.

Quotations – Quotations are valid for 60 days, unless otherwise stated. All quotations are budgetary – not fixed price – and actual time and expenses will be billed. The quotation will not be exceeded, however, without client authorization.

Terms – We can proceed upon receipt of a signed engagement letter or purchase order and a $1000 deposit for clients with established credit. Balance due upon completion and presentation of invoice. We accept checks, credit cards, or bank transfers.

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure – All client information and communications are held in strict confidence. Client Non-Disclosure Agreements to this effect are normally acceptable, provided they do not contain clauses restricting our right to do business with others.

In addition, client names are not released without prior approval , nor do we use client names in our marketing materials.

Certifications and Insurance – If information disclosure, certifications, or insurance are required by the client, these must be forwarded to us for evaluation prior to issuing a quotation.

Conditions transmitted subsequent to the start of work will invalidate the quotation, and subject the client to any incurred expenses. Specifically, the following conditions apply –
(1) we do not disclose names or information (technical or financial) about any client without express consent of that client,
(2) we do not submit to financial audit to any agency, public or private.

Performance and Cost Guarantees – Due to the uncertain nature of most consultations, we are unable to precise estimates. When troubleshooting, we can not guarantee success. Often the extent of the problem is not known until an initial evaluation has been made.

As such, all cost estimates are based on a level of effort, but estimates will not be exceeded without your prior approval. You will always, however, receive our best professional efforts and advice in any consultation.

Thank you for the opportunity to work with you.

© 2017 – 2022, https:. All rights reserved.

Referrals are the life blood of professional services. Think about it — what do you do if you need a lawyer, doctor, accountant, or other professional? You get a referral!

So make this the last step of your sales process (along with your lead generation process.) What better time to request a referral than when you just finished a project?

Building a consulting practice is all about credibility and visibility. Referrals provide a very high level of credibility, especially when they come from a trusted source.

Many consultants ask for written testimonials from clients for their web sites.

When I recently switched from PCs to Macs, I found a consultant on an Apple directory web site. In addition to being vetted by Apple, several past clients had written brief testimonials.

I hired him and it worked out very well, and even wrote a testimonial (at his request) myself.

If your clients are not comfortable with this, ask if you can use them as a reference. We did this rather than written testimonials, as our consultations were often sensitive. It was also easier than getting something written, and nobody ever refused.

Always call first before giving out a name (and then only when someone asks for a reference.) You don’t want to abuse this courtesy.

Another option is to list past clients. Be sure to ask before doing so. Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) often prohibit this. Although many consultants do this, we chose no to.

Rather, we compiled a list of projects. Most potential clients don’t care who you worked for — rather they want to know what problems you have worked on. Although anonymous, it still makes an effective referral. And many clients appreciate your being discrete.

 Don’t overlook referrals! The time you spend cultivating referrals can pay big dividends in future business from future clients.

This concludes the seven part series on selling consulting services. I hope this overview has helped. It is based on my 10 years in technical sales/marketing, and 30 years as an independent consultant. We could have covered more, but I wanted to keep it simple.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions. They are often fuel for future blog posts.

Finally, remember selling is a process — and critical if you are to succeed as a consultant. For without customers, you don’t have a business!

© 2017, https:. All rights reserved.

Don’t neglect this step! Making a second sale (or third or…) is always easier than making the first sale. You are now someone your client knows, likes, and trusts.

So how do you do this? Pretty easy.

Here are some suggestions:

– Phone calls – A week or two after the consultation, call to check. Keep it brief and friendly. Offer to clarify or answer questions. This is particularly important if you submitted a report

Our vet does this after every pooch visit, and we appreciate it. It is also smart business. I’m surprised more professionals don’t do this.

– E-mail – While not as personal, an e-mail can also be effective. A quick thank you, along with an offer to clarify.

Take it a step further and make it a short survey. After every trip, I get a survey from both the airline and hotel. Although usually ignored by me, I appreciate the chance to comment.

It shows concern and provides for feedback. If your feedback is bad (shudder), never fear – this is a chance to fix issues – create good will – and retain a client.

— Newsletters – These are particularly effective as your client list grows and/or there is a time gap between consultations. Newsletters can be printed or electronic. I like both.

After a few years in business, we started our printed newsletter. Later we added e-mail, but made it an option. About half preferred the hard copy, and half the electronic version With the passing of my business partner, I now only do a e-mail version – just to stay in touch.

This worked well as our clients often did not need us for a long period. The newsletter reminded them we were still in business. But it sometimes led to immediate business and even referrals (to be covered in Sales Step #7.)

My accountant uses a commercial newsletter imprinted with the company name and contact information. Even though I am not an accountant, I always enjoy the business and tax tips.

— Invitations – Doing webinars or seminars? Invite past clients. After all, they already know who you are, and may well be interested in your educational offerings.

This works for both paid and free events. For years, our engineering seminars generated a substantial part of our revenues. Our mail list of past clients was most effective.

— Other – For years we sent holiday greetings to the previous year’s clients, with a short note thanking them for their business. Often got responses in return – in addition to future business.

For clients who are electronically connected, Twitter/LinkedIn/Facebook can be effective. My financial advisor (consultant) Tweets business tidbits, which I always enjoy and appreciate.

Don’t overlook dinner with past clients. We often did this when in town. Even if you don’t meet, the invitation is appreciated. If do meet, you are not dining alone.

Finally, don’t overlook beer. As most engineers like beer, we had a trade show beer policy where we always offered to buy a beer. An enjoyable way to spend a few minutes with past, present, and future clients. 🙂

So don’t neglect this important sales step. In closing, I’m reminded of the childhood jingle:

Make new friends, and keep the old– one is silver, and the other gold.

True for clients too! On to Sales Step #7.

© 2017 – 2019, https:. All rights reserved.

In traditional sales, step # 4 is the final step. Once you get the purchase order or signed contract, your job as a salesperson is complete.

Of course, you follow up with customers to make sure they are happy, but its time to move on to the next sale. (We’ll address that for consultants in Sales Step # 6.)

Not so with the small consulting practice. You just “sold” yourself, and now it’s time to deliver. This is the fun stuff — doing what you wanted to do in the first place!

As a small businessperson, you are still in sales mode, albeit lower key. Not only do you want to have a happy client today, but you want to pave the way for future business and referrals tomorrow. .

Here are some suggestions, particularly for a first time consultation.

(1) Show up as scheduled. As a colleague once said, “If you are not ten minutes early, you’re already late.”

If you run into problems, such as a traffic jam, call your client right away. Thanks to cell phones, there is no excuse for not doing so.

If out of town, don’t take the last flight out. If things get screwed up, you may be able to recover. This is particularly important if you have a meeting with several people.

If you’ve never been to the client location, map it out ahead of time. If out of town, make a dry run the night before. (You did take an earlier flight, right?)

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

(2) Show up suitably attired. This depends on your client, but business casual is usually safe. But ask – you don’t want to show up casual if the company norm is suit and tie.

For years, I struck a happy medium with a sport coat, slacks, and tie. If nobody was wearing a tie, I quickly removed it.

But times change. Since I’m dealing with fellow engineers, I now wear slacks, a short sleeve dress shirt, and carry a tie with me if needed. If we’re going to a test lab or on the factory, I usually go with jeans and a golf shirt – just in case we need to get down and dirty.

Don’t be like one client I met. He showed up in the lobby wearing torn jeans, a cartoon T-shirt, and sandals. His boss, however, was wearing a tie. He may have been a good engineer, but I fear he was limiting his career advancement.

How you dress can be as important as how you perform. 

(3) Involve your client. Review the situation, and ask preliminary questions. Don’t jump to conclusions, even if you are pretty sure of the diagnosis. Keep an open mind.

Find out if there is a preferred approach. In my business, I asked “Do you prefer a circuit board fix, or a box level fix?” If the circuit board was purchased, that often precluded making changes. On the other hand, if they were about to redesign the board, we’d start there.

Check with the client as you progress. Nothing worse than getting to the end of a project to find you were going down the wrong path.

Keep the appropriate management in the loop.

(4) Offer a summary report. Done right, this is an effective sales tool. Not only does it document your efforts, but it remains long after the consultation. We had calls years later based on an earlier report, so make sure you contact information is on every page.

Our policy was to charge a flat fee (one day) for a report. They typically ran 5-10 pages.

The first page was a title page (contact information), and the second was a ONE PAGE summary. This summary is important, as it is what management will read. Keep is simple.

The remaining report contained the details. If test data was involved, we included that in appendices. Recommendations were in bullet form, to make them easy to follow.

Your report is your LAST impression – every bit as important as the FIRST impression.

(5) Getting paid. As my late business partner said, “The project isn’t complete until the check clears the bank.” We’ll discuss this more in a later post, but make sure you have a purchase order or contract before proceeding. For larger projects, you may want progress payments or retainers.

Next up – Sales Step #6 – Follow Up – and how to facilitate the next sale (and the next one after that.) Remember, a happy client is happy to buy additional services!

© 2016 – 2019, https:. All rights reserved.

The next step is to ask for the order! This is also known in the sales world as closing.

This is where many consultants fall down, due to fear of rejection. You are not alone – even full time sales people don’t like rejection. But they face it and deal with it – one reason why sales people are paid so well.

For simple projects, just ask if they would like a quote. If they agree, quickly review the tasks and schedule for consensus, and then provide a quote. A purchase order will often be issued based on the quote.

For more complex projects, you may need additional meetings for further clarification. This can happens when approval from a committee or higher management is needed.

In our practice, simple quotations worked most of the time, but we did have occasional contracts for larger scale projects.

Quotations

As a small specialty (boutique) consulting firm, we generally used quotes. Most of our projects were between a week and a month long.

As such, the budget was usually well within a manager’s signing authority. Seldom did our projects need to go to the CEO or a board.

Our typical project schedules were either immediate (troubleshooting or design reviews) or longer term (training.) The former led to a purchase order, and the latter often led to being put in a future budget. Neither required detailed contracts.

So keep it simple! We used a two page format. The first page contained a short description of the objectives, responsibilities, schedule, and cost. The second page contained the “fine print” that did not change from project to project.

With this simple format, we could prepare a quote in minutes. Clients appreciated the quick response, and our quote was often attached to the client purchase order. No need to get the lawyers involved in simple projects.

Here is a sample quote for a short consultation. The second page includes the “fine print.” We used a similar quote for training projects with minor changes.

****** Quotation ******

Client: XYZ Corp.
1234 Main Street
Somewhere, AZ XXXXX
ATTN: John Smith

Purpose: The client designs and manufacturers military doodads, and is failing MIL-STD-461 radiated emissions tests.

Tasks: The consultant, an electrical engineer specializing in EMI/EMC design and troubleshooting, will assist XYZ as follows:
— On site troubleshooting and reviews at XYZ facility in Somewhere, AZ
— Optional summary report (4-8 pages typical)

Schedule: By mutual agreement (or actual date if scheduled)

Budget: $XXXXX, based on 5 days (4 days on site + 1 day travel) plus estimated travel expenses of $2500. Add $2000 for optional report .

Please note this is a budgetary estimate. Actual time and expenses will be invoiced. Quotation will not be exceeded without client approval.

Terms: Net 30 upon invoice. Purchase order and advance travel retainer of $2500 prior to travel. Quotation valid for 60 days.

Daryl Gerke, PE
Kimmel Gerke Associates, Ltd.
NARTE Certified EMC Engineers

December 13, 2016

---

Policy Statement & Business Practices
(Consulting & Troubleshooting)

Our clients often have questions about our business practices and policies. This document addresses the most common questions.

Our intent is to help you understand our practices, so that we can better serve your needs as professional consulting engineers.

Thank you for considering us to help you.

Rates -Our rates are $XXX per hour ($xxxx per eight hour per day), plus expenses. We have a four hour minimum for local work, and an eight hour minimum outside for non-local work.

Our rates are subject to change, but purchase orders received within the quotation validity date will be honored as quoted.

Expenses – All expenses will be billed at actual cost, with no markup. These expenses include all travel costs and other expenses incurred for the client.

Travel – Travel time is charged at our regular rates, as follows:
-Local – No travel charge for full day consultations. For less than a full day, time will be billed portal-to-portal with a 4 hour minimum.
-Out of town (Air Travel) – One full day labor is added to consultation fee for travel within the contiguous 48 states.
-Outside Contiguous United States – To be determined.

Travel estimates will be provided in quotations, but all expenses will be invoiced at actual costs. We normally make our own travel arrangements, but if made by client, they are subject to our approval.

We normally purchase “no-penalty” coach airline tickets. Overseas travel is “business” class.

Quotations – Quotations are valid for 60 days, unless otherwise stated. All quotations are budgetary – not fixed price – actual time and expenses will be billed. The quotation will not be exceeded, however, without client authorization.

Terms – Our efforts can proceed upon receipt of a purchase order or letter of authorization., plus an advance travel retainer of $2500. Payment terms are net 30 upon invoice for clients with established credit.

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure – All client information and communications are held in strict confidence. Client Non-Disclosure Agreements to this effect are normally acceptable, provided they do not contain clauses restricting our right to do business with others.

In addition, client names are not released without prior approval , nor do we use client names in our marketing materials.

Certifications and Insurance – If information disclosure, certifications, or insurance are required by the client, these must be forwarded to us for evaluation prior to issuing a quotation.

Conditions transmitted subsequent to the start of work will invalidate the quotation, and subject the client to any incurred expenses.

Specifically, the following conditions apply – (1) we do not disclose names or information (technical or financial) about any client without express consent of that client, (2) we do not submit to financial audit to any agency, public or private.

Performance and Cost Guarantees – Due to the highly uncertain nature of most EMI problems, we are unable to provide guarantees of success, nor are we able to provide precise pass/fail guidelines.

Often, the extent of the problem is not known until an initial evaluation has been made. As such, all cost estimates are based on a level of effort, but estimates will not be exceeded without your prior approval.

You will always, however, receive our best professional efforts and advice in any consultation.

December 2016

Contracts

For larger projects, a contract may be appropriate. On average, we did several contracts a year. In the simplest form, the contract could be an expansion of the two page quotation.

It might include milestones, deliverables, progress payments, and contingencies. Even so, try to keep it simple and clear.

You may need legal advice, but rather than ask your lawyer to prepare a contract, do a rough draft yourself. Include all the details discussed above. Then have your lawyer review it for proper legalese. You will save money, and your lawyer will appreciate it too.

As an alternate, your client may send you a multi-page contract with all kinds of stipulations and restrictions. This is more likely with large companies with a legal department that needs to justify its existence.

If offered a contract, review it before signing. If complex, run it by your own lawyer first. As my lawyer told me may years ago, “If you have a questions, ask me before you sign anything.” He continued with a grin , “I’d rather keep you out of jail, than get you out of jail.”

Either way, don’t be afraid to remove or change things you don’t like.

One stipulation we always removed was a non-compete clause. Our projects were short and generic – if we agreed to serve only one computer company or one military contractor, we’d be out of business in a year.

A non-compete clause, however, may be appropriate for a long term project. If the client is paying you for unique results, they want to protect that. The same is true for nondisclosure, designed to protect proprietary information.

Don’t be afraid to question the need for a contract. A client once send me a twenty page contract for a five day troubleshooting consultation. When I questioned it, he apologized and sent me a simple non-disclosure agreement. Seems his office administrator sent me the wrong paperwork.

Finally, if you are doing business with the government, expect detailed contracts. Accept it as part of the business. Bureaucracies thrive on paperwork – the reason many of us left corporate or government jobs to become consultants in the first place 🙂

This sales step isn’t complete until you receive a purchase order or contract!

So be prepared to follow up. Ask for an anticipated date, and if you don’t have the requisite paper work by then, call and find out the status.

You MUST do this. Don’t let the fear of rejection stop you. Yes, maybe the project has been sidetracked or dropped, but you need to know.

But don’t be a pest. Our policy was two phone calls. If no answers after two calls, we decided it was time to move on.

Finally, if rejected, be polite. Over the years, many “lost” clients came back for future help After all, the client was interested in us in the first place.

Next up – Sales Step #5 – Deliver. Unlike product sales, the sales process for consultants does not stop with a purchase order or contract. Done well, you can turn a project into a long term client, and in some cases, even a long term friend.

© 2016 – 2022, https:. All rights reserved.

Now that you have qualified the prospective client, you are ready to provide a preliminary diagnosis and prescription.

The goal is not to actually solve the problem, but to create the desire to have you help. You want to reinforce your credibility, while suggesting a course of action.

Here are three theoretical examples:

• A doctor might say, “Based on your symptoms, I suspect XXXX. The next step would be a CAT scan, perhaps followed by surgery. I’ve done this surgery many times before with good success. But we’ll make a final decision after the CAT scan. Would you like me to schedule the CAT scan? “

• A lawyer might say, “Based on our brief discussion, it sounds like you have a case. The next step would be an in-depth meeting in the office. I’ve handled these cases many times before. But we’ll make a final decision after the meeting. Would you like to set up a meeting? “

• As a consulting engineer, I often said, “Based on our discussion, I suspect a problem with XXXX. We can handle this several ways. The best would an on-site review. I’ve done this many times for others. Based on the review, we will either solve the problem, or provide a course of action.”

Note than all three examples, you have not actually solved the problem In fact, at this stage that might not be possible anyway. But you have moved the sales process forward.

Here are three steps:

Reinforce credibility – “Based on XXXX, I suspect YYYY” shows you have listend to the client. Later, “I’ve done this many times before” reinforces that you are capable and have experience in dealing with the problem at hand.

Course of action – “The next step…” shows you have a recommended solution, pending further action by the client. It also leaves you wiggle room if you need to change your preliminary diagnosis at a later time. This may well happen when you dig into the problem.

Trial close – “Would you like to proceed?” If the client says yes, then move forward. If no, you need to ask why not? Perhaps questions remain that need to be answered. Perhaps the client is just shopping. Perhaps there is a schedule or budget concern. Ask why.

But don’t be manipulative! This is where traditional sales training says you must “overcome objections.” I disagree. Selling professional services is about helping, not manipulating.

What if the problem is very simple — something you can handle easily over the phone? Should you give away free advice, or should you hold back to sell your advice?

In those cases, our policy was to make those simple suggestions – at no charge. (Take two aspirin, but call back if the pain persists…) If the simple solutions worked, it created tremendous good will, and virtually guaranteed future calls as well as references. We looked at those cases as cheap and very effective marketing.

Others may disagree. An alternative would be to bill a nominal amount for your time, or set up a set fee for quick questions. Me – I always wanted to be approachable, and didn’t have the guts to charge thousands of dollars for very simple advice.

One final example of giving away free advice. Several months ago a call came in for some in-house training (which I still do.)

No hassles – they just wanted to know when I could come to their facility, and how much would it cost so they could issue a purchase order. What an easy sale!

Upon arriving, my client told how my late business partner had given free advice several years ago. When the advice worked, Bill would not accept payment for his few minutes of time (our standard policy.)

So when the client wanted a training program, he called nobody else, and he told me how much he appreciated our business practices. You can’t buy advertising or references like that!

Next up – Step #4 – Asking for the order. We’ll discuss the mechanics of quotations and proposals, and how to keep them simple and effective.

P.S. When selling professional services, think like a doctor, not like a used car salesman. Diagnose, prescribe, and never manipulate!

© 2016 – 2020, https:. All rights reserved.

There are two simple goals in this sales step:

• Can YOU help?
• Can THEY buy?

It is just as important to disqualify as it is to qualify. Your time is valuable, and you don’t want to waste it chasing low probability leads.

We already touched briefly on the first goal in Sales Step #1.

Now you need to dig a bit deeper. At this point, you are not trying to solve the problem, but rather to make a quick assessment.

As already mentioned, don’t be afraid to turn business away. If it out of your area of expertise, it may be better to refer to someone else.

On the other hand, don’t be afraid to stretch yourself.  You can back fill with books, colleagues, or an on-line search. This is also how you grow your experience bank account.

So ask more questions. You want to probe deeper.

Here are some typical questions/answers from my own engineering consulting business:

• What is the problem? (Equipment malfunctions.)

• How does it manifest itself? (System resets or hangs up.)

• Any idea why it happens? (Not sure, but we suspect a power glitch.)

• How often does it occur? (About once a month)

• How bad is it? (The power supply once caught fire. Ouch!)

• How much is it costing you? ($10,000 every time it fails. Double Ouch!)

• Anything else? (Yes, a major customer is pissed. Triple ouch!)

Assuming you can help, you now know the situation is critical, and the problem is expensive. Since it is intermittent, it may not be super urgent, and it may also be a challenge to isolate.

If you are a business consultant, your questions will be different, but you still want to determine if you can help your client, how much it “hurts”, and how urgent things are.

Now that you have qualified YOURSELF, you are ready to qualify the CLIENT.

Are they willing and able to buy your services?

So probe some more. Here are three client qualifying questions I use:

— Schedule? When do you want to proceed? (Can you come yesterday? If you get this answer, close the deal!)

— Budget? Offer a budgetary estimate. The client is usually dying to know anyway. Don’t ask “How much do you have to spend?” as is sounds manipulative.

In situations like this, I usually quote 4-5 days of time, with the stipulation that the budget will not be exceeded, and that if the problem is still not resoled, we’ll mutually decide on the next step. The latter is like exploratory surgery — we may not know how bad things are (or are not) until we dig deeper.

Give a single number (a not-to-exceed, like $10K..) Don’t be vague or quote a range — the client will assume the lower number.  And never ask for an open checkbook.

— Quote? Offer a quotation. We’ll discuss quotations in more detail later. But at this point in the process, you want to know how serious the client is about fixing the problem.

If they say yes, proceed with the sales process. But don’t quote yet — rather gather more information. The quote should be a summary of what you both agree needs to be done.

If they are reluctant, ask why. But don’t be pushy, and don’t waste a lot of time trying to “overcome objections.” It is OK, however, to ask why several times. Doing so often uncovers the real reason for reluctance.

Offer to follow up if they need to “discuss with the boss.” While some “sales experts” suggest you should only talk with the final buyers, the boss often delegates the initial search to a subordinate. (Very common in the technical world.)

So be polite — while this person may not be able to approve, they can often disapprove. Also, this may be the person with whom you will work.

Assuming you have not disqualified yourself or your client, you are now ready to move on to Sales Step #3 – Diagnose & Prescribe.

P.S. Don’t fret if you disqualify. As a professional, your time is valuable and there is never enough of it. You need to focus on the opportunities with the best chances of sales success.

© 2016 – 2019, https:. All rights reserved.

Time to revisit Uncle Daryl’s “Seven Steps of Selling” and to expand upon them.

Yes, I know — you want to be a consultant — a revered oracle — not a peddler. Sharing all your wisdom, and being paid handsomely for it.

All you need to do is hang out your shingle, right?

Wrong, of course. You need customers. Paying customers. And enough paying customers to pay the bills. Because consulting is a BUSINESS, and business means SELLING.

As a wise mentor once said, “If you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business…”

So first you market. You create the necessary visibility and credibility for your services in the market place. You strategize. You define your markets. You generate leads. (Check here for twenty ideas on leads.) But you are still not selling.

Sooner or later you will need to actually TALK to a prospective client. That is when the sales process begins! And often the fear — usually the fear of the unknown.

But selling is simply a process you can learn. Like riding a bike, or playing the piano. Don’t expect to be an immediate expert, but with practice you can hold your own. And you will get better with time — I promise.

It all begins with establishing rapport. Here are some thoughts:

• Relax, and smile. Even if you are on the phone. It will calm you.

• Ask about their problem. Think like a doctor when he/she says, “What brings you in today?”

• Listen carefully, and ask for more details. “Can you fill me in? How does the problem manifest itself? How long has this been going on? What else is going on?”

• After you have enough preliminary details, simply say “That sounds like something we might help with.”

Assuming, of course, you CAN help. If not, you may want to refer the person to someone else. Don’t worry – they will appreciate you candor and will likely call you again based on the trust you just created.

Before proceeding further, ask how they heard about you. That give you some insight into the trust level.

If a referral, the trust level is already high. Ditto an article or talk. If simply a web search, additional reassurance may be needed.

Such as, “We’ve solve similar problems for others.” But don’t share specific client details, lest you raise concerns about protecting their confidentiality.

Next, ask if they have worked with a consultant before. This gives you some insight into their experience with consultants. If YES, simply proceed. If NO, more reassurance may be needed.

In either case, potential clients often have two fears:

• Can you help them? Done right, you have already initially reassured them.

• Can you work together? This is why a pleasant demeanor is so important. As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Note that Step #1 takes but a few minutes. The focus is on asking questions.

This is NOT time to go into a sales pitch, or to talk about how smart and capable you are. Rather, it is all about the client. Think like a doctor, not a used car salesman.

At this point, you are ready for Sales Step #2 – Qualifying. This is where you dig deeper, to see if you truly can help, and to see if they can buy your services. To be covered in a subsequent post.

P.S. Like many of you, I once feared selling.  But after I jumped in (first as a Sales Engineer, and later as a consultant) I came to enjoy the process.

The best part is that as a consultant, you are usually talking to friendly colleagues in the first place – and helping them solve their problems and/or improve their lives.

© 2016 – 2020, https:. All rights reserved.