One simple way to measure the strength of your client relationships

It comes down to one question that you need to ask of each client relationship you have:

“Can I send non-work related texts to this person and feel confident that they will reply?”

That’s it really.

• Yes – your relationship is where you need it to be. Keep it fresh and keep it active.
• No - keep the dialogue going, get to know them more and add whatever value you can. If nothing improves give the client to somebody else to manage; sometimes the spark just isn’t there.

You’re really seeking a client relationship which is 5% off being the same as you have with your friends. When you can pass the “Text-test” you’ll know you’ve reached it.

How the sugar-plum fairy can help you to engage with prospective new clients

Mike during his "dancing years". Ah, the memories.

Years ago we were on a family holiday in Menorca at the sort of place that families with a shortage of disposable cash tend to go: cheap and cheerful. One evening we were sitting having a drink whilst the Animation team (mostly Germans and aspiring actresses from England) were entertaining the kids and then I heard those fateful words “OK kids go and get your mum or dad and bring them up here on stage”.

My sons rushed over and dragged me up along with several other hapless and slightly tipsy adults. I can still see the sly smile on the lips of the head honcho as he said “vell done kids you can all seet down now. Get ze costumes guys!” at which point the rest of his merry troupe arrived on stage with various “amusing” costumes. To cut a cringe-worthy story short I ended up dressed as a sugar-plum fairy complete with pink tutu and magic wand doing various dance moves on stage much to the cruel delight of the audience.

Now, you may be wondering, how can this help me engage with my clients? Fair question so let me elucidate. Imagine if the so-called Animation team had stood on stage and said “we now want a number of adults to come on stage so that we can ritually humiliate them for the delight and delectation of the audience”. Not many takers I’d guess so what they used was a decoy, a sort of trick really but it worked.

To do this in sales you use a thing called a Latch key. In short it’s a product or service designed to engage the target in a low risk and low-cost kind of way. Once you have the engagement you can dispense with the Latch Key and focus on moving the sale process forward.

Here are a couple of examples and then I’ll give you a check-list of conditions you can apply to any possible Latch Keys to measure their strength.

• Phone Apps.  An easy one to start.  Anybody with a smart phone will be used to down-loading a free “lite” version of an app and then being reminded every time that they use it that they can update to the full-fat version for a fee. This approach creates engagement between the user and the product which will often lead to a sale even though they may not have been prepared to buy the app in the first place.
• Methodology. We know a lot about recruitment having been in it for over twenty years and so we also know how the client should organise their internal recruitment capability to make it efficient and highly effective. We brought the two things together into a Latch Key product called Resource Integration. This is an 8 step methodology that will transform the recruitment function of any company to a) be as effective as it is possible to be; b) be entirely bespoke towards the needs of the client and c) be designed to change as the needs of the business change. We offered it on a risk and reward basis and won new clients with it.

The following list describes Latch Key characteristics; the more that apply the stronger it is: -

1. They look like a real product or service offering. They have supporting collateral and are present on your website.
2. They add real value to your clients. They solve a problem or help to capitalise upon an opportunity.
3. You are able to deliver them for free or on a risk or reward basis. Budget restrictions can prevent engagement.
4. They are very low-cost for you to provide. You may not charge for them so cheap is good.
5. They are unique or uncommon. If everybody provides them they won’t work.
6. They are easy to engage with. If it’s a hassle the recipient probably won’t bother.
7. There is a tangible result. Something the recipient can touch even if it’s it only a report.
8. There should be no risk for the recipient. Just like hassle, risk is the kiss of death for a Latch Key

In my opinion if you’re in sales and you don’t have two or three latch Keys at your disposal you are not only making life a good deal harder than it needs to be, but you also at a distinct disadvantage to your competitor down the road who does have some.

Latch Keys open doors for you in more than one sense of the words!

Business Development: Ever wondered why people buy from you?

Kerching!

Strange really. We all buy things every day whether it’s a sandwich at lunchtime, petrol for your car or a £4m computer system the process is pretty similar but what makes us do it? Let’s explore this aspect of business development it in more detail.

1. Need. If you think about the obvious starting point is having a need that is either immediate or anticipated. Sometimes we may not be aware of that need (which is why the advertising industry exists, in case you ever wondered) and it needs to be brought to our attention. In my case I realise I need a glass of red wine when I see somebody on TV drinking one.
2. Capability. Who is going to buy anything that is not fit-for-purpose? Well actually loads of people but nobody does it willingly. So as a business developer you must demonstrate that your offering can meet all of the client’s needs. This can be tricky; a sort of a catch 22 – they won’t hire you until they know and they won’t know until they hire you. These are the ways round this dilemma: references; case studies; testimonials; site visits; risk and reward work; what you have said and written; you!
3. Beliefs. People tend to buy from people who match the same beliefs as they hold (for more on this watch this brilliant TED video of Simon Sinek). It’s how all great brands work. They convince us that their beliefs are the same as ours and we buy. What do you believe in I wonder?
4. Differences. Let’s face it if we were confronted buy two offerings that we could not differentiate between in any meaningful way which one would we select (drum roll) the cheapest of course. This is how commodities work: something that is purchased solely based upon its price. A nasty place to be and one to be avoided at all costs. Now being different is easy but being different in a way that benefits our clients is a lot harder however, dear readers, this is exactly what we have to do. We must show we are different from our competitors and that these differences somehow provide tangible benefits to the client. or we could just be the cheapest I guess.
5. 

   I'll take the red shiny one please

   Value. We don’t always buy the cheapest but we all buy according to our own cost/value equation. Audi cars are brilliant: reliable, stylish, hold their value and make us feel cool but they are definitely not cheap and yet we still buy them by the boat-load (quite literally in fact). The reason is that Audi have provided those people who have sufficient money with a balanced cost/value equation – basically they are worth the money. We must do the same.

6. Trust. Occasionally we are forced to buy from people we don’t trust. We don’t like it but we do it when we need to. What we really like though is to buy from people we trust so if you can build trust you increase the chances of getting a sale. Here are a few ideas: always deliver on your promises no matter how small; be open and honest at all times even if this is not in your best interests; be consistent. There are other contributories but these are the most powerful.
7. Rapport. Probably not as important as you might think but having rapport with a buyer can swing the deal your way when its a close call. A lot of rapport stems from trust of course but try smiling more (recent research by Bangor University proved you will sell more if you do)  and just be you. When the American businessman Lee Iacocca was asked by a group of students what his best piece of advice was he answered “don’t fake it”.

So there you have it. Want to be successful at sales? Well find somebody who has a need you can satisfy, demonstrate your credentials, show how you are different and how these differences can benefit the client, establish common beliefs and present your offering in such a way as the benefits outweigh their investment. If they trust you and there is a rapport between you start and draw up the paperwork.

Business development wins by making your prospects “feel” your proposal

Business development is a funny old thing. Let me recount a true story to you. A while ago I was pitching for a piece of work to help an IT department improve their brand. I knew the IT director but had never met any of his team most of whom, it appeared, were less than enthusiastic about the idea of being branded in any shape or form.

The IT director asked me to present to his team at the tail-end of one of their monthly meetings which I was delighted to do – but on one condition: that he let me approach the presentation in a way that I felt would get the best result. He agreed and the meeting was set.

As regular readers will know I am obsessed with being early and on this occasion I was sitting outside their offices in London with half an hour to go. Sitting there dressed in my gardening trainers, a pair of tatty jeans, my oldest tee-shirt and a jacket that had belonged to my father before we bought him his new bib. I did feel a little nervous I must confess. Pro business development? I think not.

I left it a full 15 minutes after the agreed start time, dropped a text to my PA that said “5 minutes” and went in. The IT director did that double take thing  they always do in the cartoons when he saw me in all my student-like glory. I could see he wasn’t best pleased; so much the better. When I entered the room I can still recall there was a most pronounced frostiness in the air not helped by my louche appearance and “A-Team” ring tone that burst into life as my mobile went off.

“Mind if I just take this” said I and then proceeded to have a one sided conversation (my PA had put the phone down as soon as I’d answered) about a meeting I should have been in at that very moment and why I wasn’t there (car broke down and waiting for the AA man to arrive – such fibs!). I than sat down and asked the person sitting next to me if they had any spare paper and a pen; I had forgotten mine.

By now the room had gone through annoyance, anger, resentment and some of them had now entered the realisation stage. They knew nobody could be this unprofessional.

The game was up time to make my pitch. “I know that some of you are not necessarily in favour of running this departmental branding exercise but what you have just experienced is a strong negative brand albeit a bit over the top. When you are late, unprepared, untruthful, disrespectful and not smartly dressed you are bound to make a negative impact on your customer. If you want to avoid this why not create a positive brand which will have a completely opposite effect. Would you like me to talk you through the process?”.

They were unable to hide their feelings with the most powerful one being unanimous realisation. Were they engaged for the rest of the meeting and did I get the deal? Well, I will leave you to ponder on this (no I won’t  – of course I did).

As a  business development tactic it worked like a dream and I know many of you will think that I made this up but it really happened and anybody who would like to speak to the IT director concerned please contact me.

 

How you can win a deal by making your prospects “feel” your proposal

Let me recount a true story to you. A while ago I was pitching for a piece of work to help an IT department improve their brand. I knew the IT director but had never met any of his team most of whom, it appeared, were less than enthusiastic about the idea of being branded in any shape or form.

The IT director asked me to present to his team at the tail-end of one of their monthly meetings which I was delighted to do – but on one condition: that he let me approach the presentation in a way that I felt would get the best result. He agreed and the meeting was set.

As regular readers will know I am obsessed with being early and on this occasion I was sitting outside their offices in London with half an hour to go. Sitting there dressed in my gardening trainers, a pair of tatty jeans, my oldest tee-shirt and a jacket that had belonged to my father before we bought him his new bib I did feel a little nervous I must confess.

I left it a full 15 minutes after the agreed start time, dropped a text to my PA that said “5 minutes” and went in. The IT director did that double take thing  they always do in the cartoons when he saw me in all my student-like glory. I could see he wasn’t best pleased; so much the better. When I entered the room I can still recall there was a most pronounced frostiness in the air not helped by my louche appearance and “A-Team” ring tone that burst into life as my mobile went off.

“Mind if I just take this” said I and then proceeded to have a one sided conversation (my PA had put the phone down as soon as I’d answered) about a meeting I should have been in at that very moment and why I wasn’t there (car broke down and waiting for the AA man to arrive – such fibs!). I than sat down and asked the person sitting next to me if they had any spare paper and a pen; I had forgotten mine.

By now the room had gone through annoyance, anger, resentment and some of them had now entered the realisation stage. They knew nobody could be this unprofessional.

The game was up time to make my pitch. “I know that some of you are not necessarily in favour of running this departmental branding exercise but what you have just experienced is a strong negative brand albeit a bit over the top. When you are late, unprepared, untruthful, disrespectful and not smartly dressed you are bound to make a negative impact on your customer. If you want to avoid this why not create a positive brand which will have a completely opposite effect. Would you like me to talk you through the process?”.

They were unable to hide their feelings with the most powerful one being unanimous realisation. Were they engaged for the rest of the meeting and did I get the deal? Well, I will leave you to ponder on this (no I won’t  – of course I did).

I know many of you will think that I made this up but it really happened and anybody who would like to speak to the IT director concerned please contact me.

Smile Check

I have Chris Barrow (http://www.coachbarrow.com), the renowned dental coach, to thank for this. He reckons one of the best ways to connect with a potential client is to show that you understand them and the best way to do this is to ask a few simple questions that help them to self-examine. Very successful in the world of dentistry, apparently.

Here’s the skinny on the deal: if they do the Smile Check properly they will realise that a) they are not in the place where they want to be, b) they should take action to change things and c) since you are asking the questions you probably know what you are doing and should be the first port of call.

I adapted this for my personal effectiveness and efficiency coaching programme and came up with a Smile Check all of my own. Here’s an extract of it: -

“…….please tick each box where, on balance, you feel that the statement applies to your management team.

<_> They attend too many meetings.

<_> They cannot get  everything done without working silly hours.

<_> They have congested diaries.

<_> They do not spend a lot of time developing their their team.

<_> They need to be involved after they have delegated something.

<_> They do not have plenty of time to add real value to their area of responsibility.

<_> They do not invest enough time networking inside and outside the organisation.

<_> Their staff appear demotivated.

<_> They look tired and stressed and lack that “zip”.

<_> Training appears to have little or no lasting effect.

If you haven’t ticked many boxes then you probably have a smile on your face, I know I would, but if you feel there are too many ticks then perhaps we can help…….”

You may feel that this is a little cheesy but I have to report it worked and still does. Obviously it depends on where and when it is used but in the right environment it makes ‘em think a bit.

Here’s a lark. If you get a moment why not write down the 10 questions you would like your clients to ask themselves and then try them out for real.

 

Social Networking

When I started to look at the Internet in a completely new light I wondered if it was any good as a sales or marketing tool. Clearly, if all the rags-to-riches-in-3-months stories are to be believed, it is but the big question for me was “how can I use it to sell my business development coaching services?”

Upon closer inspection it seems that the marketing of products or services through social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter is most successful when you are selling to people or companies where you cannot know them by name. You must have a shrewd idea of the general demographics, but it is not possible for you to identify them all by name.

Compare this with professional services offerings where your potential client base may be counted in hundreds or perhaps thousands. In this case there are plenty of ways to identify potential clients and then, by direct or indirect means, ascertaining the name of the buyer of your particular offering. You can still resort to marketing of course, but why bother – just sell to them instead.

So the conclusion I have reached is that because I sell to a specific market of lawyers, accountants, bankers and consultancies, using any social media tool other than LinkedIn is not a prudent use of my selling time. However, if I were selling products say, to the general public, social media would be my channel of choice I feel.

I fully intend to continue with my Twitter activities because it is a great way to communicate ideas, link and introduce others to me and I enjoy it – will it generate any sales? I doubt it.