The success of every professional services department / business unit or for that matter you, in an organization requires an ongoing effort to obtain new clients and new engagements. This equates to the need to sell your services. The selling of professional services can be divided into seven distinct, but interrelated and integrated steps:
1. Identify and quality prospects;
2. Pre-approach;
3. Approach;
4. Presentation;
5. Handling objections;
6. Closing;
7. Follow-up activities.
Introduction
The success of every professional services department / business unit or for that matter you, in an organization requires an ongoing effort to obtain new clients and new engagements. This equates to the need to sell your services. The selling of professional services can be divided into seven distinct, but interrelated and integrated steps:
1. Identify and quality prospects;
2. Pre-approach;
3. Approach;
4. Presentation;
5. Handling objections;
6. Closing;
7. Follow-up activities.
Identify and Qualify
The first step in the selling process is identifying and qualifying prospects. The steps include the following:
Asking current clients for the names of companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, and individuals who may have a need for services.
Cultivating other referral sources such as suppliers, bankers, attorneys, and professional association executives.
Joining the right organizations.
Engaging in speaking and writing activities that will draw favorable attention to you and your firm.
Examining data sources (newspapers, professional journals, directories, the Wall Street Journal, etc.) in search of names and news worthy items.
Pre-Approach
The second step is the pre-approach. The pre-approach is that of strategic selling activity which enables you to learn as much as possible about the organization you have identified. You must ascertain what this company needs, who is involved in the buying decision, and what are their personal characteristics, buying styles, and organizational relationships. The steps include the following:
Setting objectives
Determining the best method of attack (Should it be by a personal visit, telephone call, letter, third-party introduction, etc)
Developing an overall approach strategy. Who will you contact first, and why?
Preparing an effective opening statement.
Developing fact-finding questions.
Preparing your sales message.
Ascertaining the best timing to make contact.
An important part of the pre-approach is to understand the thinking of an organization which leads it to a purchase decision. For example, why does one company engage only large-sized Tier 2 or Tier 3 ERP vendors?
Approach
This is the third step, where the sales process begins with the approach, or first direct meeting with a new prospect. First impressions do matter, and personal appearance, poise, opening lines, and follow-up remarks will be a factor. This step is to further qualify the prospect: to identify needs and your ability to serve them. Some of the following questions will help determine why a consulting service is either being sought, or a change is being considered.
What does your present software vendor / contractor do for you?
Do you meet with him / her periodically to discuss savings opportunities?
Do you have conversations about your business strategy, KPIs, or for that matter the operational needs?
These, and other opening questions should help to obtain appropriate information. With your sound preparation should then enable you to focus attention on your prospect's problems and needs. Careful listening and the use of a checklist are important at this stage. Part of the qualifying activity should be to understand who has the authority or the decision maker to engage us; are you speaking to the right person?
Do not make the fatal mistake of beginning the sales presentation until after all relevant areas of concern have been identified, and a confirmed agreement of an acceptable solution has been reached. Some questions to ask:
What are the factors that are important to you in making your decision?
What requirements are you now seeking to satisfy with a professional service like this?
What kind of savings do you expect?
Why is it important to you?
Wait for answers to the sample questions above from many you may have. Only after you have established their needs should you proceed with your sales presentation. Sometimes it is more prudent to terminate the meeting at this juncture so that you can return with a more focused in- depth value proposition. Use this as the driver in your sales presentation to get their attention and buy in.
Summarize with your prospective client the major points that have emerged from your conversation thus far. Summarizing, along with repetition and reinforcement are important principles which enhances your prospective client understanding. There is a lot of repetition in selling because the interaction is verbal. The reasons for summarizing at this stage of the process are threefold:
1. To re-confirm your understanding;
2. To re-identify the main points to be discussed and followed through to the next stage;
3. To make sure that nothing has been omitted.
Thus it can be seen that a truly professional business development manager or consultant is not only an excellent communicator and a listener, but a coach and a mentor as well. If the prospective client does not understand the want-satisfying capabilities of your professional services as they relate to his or her operational success, then there will be scant value perceived in engaging your firm. (Remember to stress on their Need, their use, and your value proposition must always be established having the prospect in mind before you even discuss fees or charges. Do not enter into this discussion and avoid it all cost. This will give you a better head start in you negotiation process)
You should summarize the information in the order in which you requested it, and ask, "Is there any other point we have not talked about that you feel it is worth mentioning before we go any further?”
You conclude your information gathering process by making the following statement of intent – some what on these lines:
“ I take it that there seems to me to be no apparent reason why you should continue under your present conditions. I believe that I can offer you an alternative which will not only solve your present problems, but give you a competitive advantage over your current competitor XYZ, ABC etc and also take you to the next level in gaining market share or increased margins or ….. Now the question in your mind will be what is this going to cost me… well given the savings of $… dollars or % increase it would cost you marginally more than your current cost, however as stated look at the big picuture and the long term … as to what you want to be… ." .
This provocative statement serves as the bridge to your business development or sales pitch.
Presentation
The fourth step in the strategic selling process is the sales presentation, or the advising and selling phase. The sales presentation sequence includes all of those activities involved in presenting yourself and your firm as professional problem solvers, rather than product pushers (whether it is a box or a piece of paper).
This requires excellent oral communication (identify the best person for this and groom him or her) and negotiation skills. Based upon the previous input received from your prospect, you now present yourself and your firm's professional service capabilities as the logical solution to their business problems. At every point bring in the value proposition and what they are going to gain. Always put the clients needs / issues ahead of what you want.
Sales presentation guidelines
Try to solve these problems by linking your professional services features to client benefits. You are selling benefits ( wear a solution architects hat), and timely solutions to previously identified business problems. Your earlier questioning technique should have helped you to identify what is needed, or desired, as opposed to what has been delivered. If you can make your prospective client aware of this gap, you have kindled their curiosity or the need / desire to select you. Remember you are selling services and not widgets or boxes..!. In other words, you must give them a "headache" before you present them with a "panadol"!
You must also show competitive distinctiveness, be well prepared for any objections as there will be more sharp shooters than you thought of. That is the reason you need to engage with all stakeholders and ensure they are there at the meeting and involve them in the discussion.
Give the most desirable information first, while using two-sided arguments--present the most favorable information before the less favorable. Try to draw conclusions whenever possible so that you are always summarizing for agreement--and possible commitment. Make the buying decision easy by creating a positive and accepting atmosphere.
Remember, that in deciding to engage you as the best firm going forward, the prospect wants to satisfy both personal and operational requirements.
The personal, or primary, requirements are inherent factors that influence personal and individual actions.
The operational, or secondary, requirements are the business needs for a service which solves a specific problem. The technique I have used for selling, takes into consideration this dichotomy of buyer needs and purchasing objectives. That is why it is mandatory to discover the factors that motivate an individual before you launch into a full-blown presentation or proposal.
People buy the expectation of benefits, not the generic services themselves. To the client, these benefits are the service. When purchasing an intangible like professional services, there is a lot of buyer uncertainty, because the buyers do not really know what they are getting or whether they have in fact received what they are paying for. This is service very subjective and open to interpretation unlike seeing a widget!!!
The sales presentation is the heart of the business development or professional selling process. There are a diverse number of approaches to the selling interview. The approach you select will be determined by your attitude, your relationship with the prospect, their maturity, expertise and experience level, and your own objectives. Whichever method, or combination of approaches that you use, you should always make a grand summary prior to attempting to close the sale. This summary will enable you to ascertain whether or not you have covered all of the ground necessary to consummate negotiations. At this point, you will either get the engagement or an objection. If there is an objection take this as a positive reinforcement to either start the process over again ( at least you know that your prospect has been listening to you) and win them over. Never give up having come so far… and do your homework thoroughly. I will cover this below in some detail.
Handling Objections
Handling objections is the fifth step in the strategic selling process. Overcoming objections is mandatory for success in selling. Objections are to be expected; do not become alarmed or discouraged if your prospects and clients object before, during, or after your sales presentation.
Objections are statements, comments, requests for information, or inaccurate statements by the prospect which needs clarification. It is a dramatic form of miscommunication between buyer and you the seller. Because there is a big difference between an excuse and an objection, I recommend the following procedure for handling objections and assure it works:
Listen carefully before answering. (Don’t start framing an answer whilst the prospect is talking, you will miss the plot…. It is easy said and done … but trust me be an effective listener. You will learn more and you could use it as a surface to surface missile..!)
Act interested in the objection. Do not attempt to belittle it, or magnify it.
Restate the objection before answering it. Make sure that you fully understand it. If not, get clarification.
Isolate the objection while trying to determine the real, or hidden, objection.
Convert the objection into the form of a question.
Answer the objection and then ask your prospect: "Does that satisfy your concern?" Or, "Does that answer your question?"
Ask for the engagement, or get back to your presentation.
Remember, a prospect's "no" might be definite for now, but it will surely not remain so forever.
Also, when they object, prospects are objecting to your proposal; not to you. Therefore you should not take it personally--rejection is an integral part of selling.
Closing
The sixth step in the professional selling process is closing the sale, or consummating negotiations. Closing the sale means resolving doubts, reassuring your prospect, and obtaining the engagement decision.
Gaining client commitment should be the ultimate goal of all of your selling efforts. Closing is not the art of getting a decision, but the art of making a decision that your prospects will approve. After all, you are the expert in your field, and why shouldn't you assert your knowledge? (Don’t be aggressive like a car salesman… it will not get you any where and you would have killed the goose that laid the golden egg).
Your effectiveness as a "closer" is directly determined by your attitude(read my white paper tilled “ how to win or loose clients based on your attitude”) toward your client, yourself, your firm, and to the selling process itself. You must view it as a legitimate and necessary function. Furthermore, you should expect to get the engagement--every time! Thus, it can be seen that selling is merely a state of mind. If you believe that you can do it, you will. If you think you can't, you won't! . (Remember start saying “ I am going to win the client over 5 times – twice a day in writing for the next couple of days before the presentation, and send me a note on the success )
Follow-Up Activities
The seventh, and final, step in the strategic selling process is the after the sale follow through. This is probably the most crucial of all of the action phases of selling, as you are involved with your new client's post-purchase behavior. Their purchasing behavior started with the recognition of a personal or business problem and then proceeded to an information search and the evaluation of alternatives. Your firm and its array of professional services were one of several alternatives. They selected you and your firm, and now that they have made an engagement decision, it is natural for their management to have second thoughts or doubts. In selling terminology this is called "Buyer's Remorse."
When buying an intangible, such as software implementation / development consulting services, a prospect never knows for certain what they are in for when they are buying and still is not sure afterwards. You must constantly reinforce the buying decision.
Since you are selling the "promise of a benefit" which cannot be tasted, sampled, or touched, there is a great deal of uncertainty throughout your presentation; but particularly after the buying decision has been made. It is most important that you reassure the new client and positively reinforce their buying decision during the closing and follow-up stage. Therefore, you must pay particular attention to their needs and continue partner contact during the early stages of your new professional relationship. By initiating periodic client "health check-up" meetings you are validating your original commitment to them, and minimizing the possibility of losing them to a competitor. At the end of the day you have another satisfied client (make sure they are) before you take on another. Use the lessons learnt to better your self next time over and use this client as a reference for the next one on your hit list. Good luck and I am confident you will get the next one.
Conclusion
There is no substitute for professional salesmanship. Never make the mistake of thinking that brochures, proposals, third-party testimonials, or your firm's reputation will make the sales for you. No piece of paper or advertisement can ever do the selling job as well as a carefully planned and executed sales presentation.
If you believe in yourself and follow the seven strategic back to basics 101 steps involved in the professional selling process, you will be able to increase your client base. You can then decide either move into management consulting or move up the corporate ladder.
This is not rocket science and you have been engaging (without realizing) in this process from the day you were born so it is a matter of polishing the edges.
