Marketing Your Consulting Services.pdf - epiheirimatikotita.gr

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for what is working well or for trying something different. Recognize the individual
for doing the best given the situation.
You Can Expect the Client to Ask Questions . . . and If the Client Doesn’t Ask?
What if the client doesn’t ask questions? Perhaps your client has little experience
working with consultants. You will still want to ensure that certain basics have been
covered in your discussion. If your client doesn’t ask, you can introduce the topic
by saying, “You probably want to know . . .” This gets the topic on the table in an
efficient way.
You may also be meeting with someone who is more of a thinker than a talker.
Chapter Nine, the next chapter, identifies a communication styles model. If you
have a non-talker on your hands, you are dealing with either a controller or an
analyzer. Since you will most likely read that chapter before you go off on your
first sales call, I will not say much more here, but that chapter provides some
ideas for addressing each style. Even more important, use the research you have
about the client to start a conversation. Refer to the prospecting letter you sent.
How Do You Handle Objections and Other Challenges?
The most successful salespeople believe that an objection is simply the way clients
identify their needs. An objection is a request to provide more information about
why a client should buy from you. If a client says, “Your price is too high,” it may
simply be a desire to get full value for the project. If a client says, “There will be
too much delay to start the project,” the real issue might be a concern for completing
it on time. If a client says, “We’ve used that approach and it’s been unsuccessful,”
it may be a desire to for reassurance that you will provide success.
Your responses might be something like the following:
• Regarding price: “So you need information that ensures that you will receive
maximum value for the price. Is that correct?”
• Regarding schedule: “Your objective is to ensure that the work is completed on
time, correct?”
• Regarding the approach: “You would like some proof that this approach works.
Is that right?”
Marketing Your Consulting Services