How Clients Buy

The Seven Elements framework presented in "How Clients Buy" represents a list of ingredients essential for business development success. As such, they can be used to conduct a self-assessment of relative strengths and weaknesses at the firm, practice, or personal level. The post Using the Seven Elements as a Diagnostic Tool appeared first on How Clients Buy.

When researching "How Clients Buy," Doug Fletcher and Tom McMakin interviewed dozens of successful rainmakers. Their subjects ranged from solo practitioners to managing partners of global consulting firms. Doug and Tom’s goal was to field test their business development hypotheses. In addition, as Doug explains, several themes regarding the essence of rainmaking emerged from their conversations. The post Learning from Rainmakers appeared first on How Clients Buy.

By all means, create content. Share the good stuff. Use inbound marketing and marketing automation—mindfully—to build awareness and understanding of your firm and its capabilities. Just don’t neglect the importance of relationships and trust. For that, you need to get personal. A sharpened focus will make the effort easier, more productive, and personally satisfying. The post First is Best appeared first on How Clients Buy.

When it comes to professional services, Tom McMakin believes trust is everything. That's because information asymmetries are inherent in professional services. The service provider diagnoses the disease and provides the cure, the effects of which may take a long time to ascertain. Consequently, there is a very real risk of exploitation of the buyer by the seller. So, competence isn't enough. A higher standard of trust is required. The post Trust is Everything appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Which is more important to professional service providers: marketing or selling skills? The answer is both, contrary to common assumptions about the value of division of labor. Solutions providers conduct research and product development (marketing functions) in the same instant they present and pitch (selling functions). The need for versatility makes professional services challenging and rewarding. Above all—according to Don Scales, the CEO of Investis—we must think. The post Sales or Marketing? appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Doug Fletcher is one of the most likable people you'll meet. His easy-going manner puts one at ease. So, it's a bit jarring to hear Doug advise, "Forget about being likable." Instead, Doug encourages us to do great work and take really good care of our clients. In his estimation, respect and trust trump likability. The post Forget About Being Likable appeared first on How Clients Buy.

When it comes to content marketing, if you hold back your “good stuff,” your efforts will be less effective. Your good stuff is, by definition, the most interesting stuff. If you hold back and offer up only your not-so-good-stuff, your offering will be less compelling. The post The Good Stuff appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Playing golf at the country club used to be an effective way to cultivate business relationships. That's no longer true. Globalization and specialization have made selling professional services more difficult. That's because trust may be more important than ever, and building trust across distance is hard. The post The Decline of Business Golf appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Even if the primary purpose of your practice isn’t to make money, making money is a requirement for sustaining your practice. By definition, a sale is the exchange of a service for money. So why isn’t selling featured in the curricula of business schools—or any other professional schools? The post What They Don’t Teach You in B-School appeared first on How Clients Buy.

In this second in a series of interviews, Andi Baldwin of Profitable Ideas Exchange interviews "How Clients Buy" co-authors, Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher, about the framework they call, "The Seven Elements" of business development for professional services. The post The Seven Elements of Business Development for Professional Services appeared first on How Clients Buy.

In this first of a series of interviews, Andi Baldwin of Profitable Ideas Exchange asked "How Clients Buy" co-authors Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher to explain the premise of the book and why they were compelled to write it. The post Why We Wrote “How Clients Buy” appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Authenticity is critical to successfully engaging potential clients, but you can't game it. You are who you are. That means authenticity comes at a cost. Nate Bennett explains why the benefits of authenticity far outweigh the costs. The post Keeping It Real: Why Clients Value Authenticity appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Advertising professional services can help, but it's a relatively poor investment. With the help of Walt Shill, Global Managing Partner for Client Services at ERM, Tom McMakin explains how it's better to develop strategies and processes that can deliver real impact for your clients. The post Can a Billboard Improve Your Sales? appeared first on How Clients Buy.

It's better to demonstrate expertise than to claim it. Paul Quigley explains how organizing and moderating well-crafted panel discussions can help you sell from "the front of the room." The post Underwriting the Conversation appeared first on How Clients Buy.

I sat down with Cavin Segil and asked him to narrate a typical introductory call with a potential client. He says they always include a handful of key components. Call them the ABCs of an introductory call: a) learn who they are, b) whare what you do with an example, and c) schedule a follow-up call. The post Making Friends: The ABCs of an Introductory Call appeared first on How Clients Buy.

At the end of the introductory call, most prospects will ask for a “short piece” describing what you do and what you’ve done for others. Carlie Auger describes the four elements of a strong deck. The post Following Up – How to Write a Compelling Deck appeared first on How Clients Buy.

If you could ask a question of one of your peers, what would it be? We naturally seek assistance from those who are fellow travelers. Andi Baldwin seeks to find out what you would ask one of your peers in order to help you. The post Seeking Assistance from Fellow Travelers appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Clients aren’t sold services. They buy them based on their evaluation of seven criteria: Awareness, Understanding, Interest, Belief, Trust, Ability, and Readiness. All seven elements must be present before a client can buy. The post The Seven Elements of Business Development appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Too often, we start the sales process from our point of view. Instead, start from your desired customer’s perspective. The post The Customer Journey appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Ann Kieffaber recently retired from the healthcare practice at Accenture as a Managing Director. Before that, she worked for IBM. In both roles, she was charged with helping the largest healthcare organizations transform how they collect, understand and use data. Whenever she started an engagement, she asked herself one powerful question: How do I create outrageous success for my clients? The post Outrageous Success appeared first on How Clients Buy.

When selling services to large organizations, there is never a single decision-maker. Individuals buy, but they exist within a buying ecosystem. Ann Kieffaber explains how understanding the sea in which your prospects swim is critical to engaging with them and helping them achieve their goals. The post Three Legs of a Stool appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Leadership is not just Braveheart-come-follow-me. It’s also a healthy dose of listening to those one wants to lead. The post Servant Leadership appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Tom McMakin believes that selling expert services is different than selling a product. I'm convinced he's right. Marketers of products are generally able to rely on what Doug Hall calls "kitchen logic" to tie features to benefits. Marketers of expert services, on the other hand, must bolster their value propositions by offering opportunities for personal experience and through testimonials. Failing to recognize the differences could be catastrophic in an environment where general brand pedigree may be diminishing in relative importance. The post How Selling Expert Services is Different appeared first on How Clients Buy.

The biggest challenge Dave Bayless sees in his own and others’ professional services practices is the tendency to be “intentionally vague.” The post A Tasting Flight appeared first on How Clients Buy.

John Nord refers to the process of selling across an organization as "farming." It's a term that connotes stewardship and sustainability. The post On Making Friends Across the Organization appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Matt Ulrich tracks professional services business development like it's baseball. “The game is pretty simple. You’re at bat and the trick is to round the bases. Think of BD baseball as a series of bases you are trying to cross.” The post How Selling Expert Services is Like a Game of Baseball appeared first on How Clients Buy.

Expertise is better demonstrated than described. Likewise, trust is earned, not demanded. In this podcast episode, Jacob Parks explains how to use peer forums to demonstrate expertise and cultivate trust among current and prospective professional services clients. The post Using Peer Forums to Develop Relationships appeared first on How Clients Buy.