Bluewire News – 25th May 2016

Okay, yesterday I shared with you that the “I can solve that” mindset can kill your consulting business. We talked about creating exclusivity. But today I want to talk about the deadly objection it brings up.

See, most of us started our businesses because we’re specialists at what we do. You’re good at what you do, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be doing it today.

Since we’re so good at what we do, we can do a lot of things. You’re so good that when you walk into a room and hear a problem, you can solve it.

I know you can. That’s how good you are.

Since you’re so good at solving problems, you’ve probably resisted the idea of narrowing down to just one problem. That would seriously limit your business opportunities, right? I mean, fewer clients means less money.

Or does it?

When you sell services to someone who knows and trusts you, you can get away with that.

“I’m a smart person. Show me the problem. I’ll solve it.”

If you’re trusted, they’ll let you.

But what if they’re just getting to know you?

Then, that pitch doesn’t sound so good. In fact, sometimes it sounds like, “this person doesn’t really know what they’re doing.”

And once you move beyond your rolodex – which you must at some point – then you’re dead in the water.

And no prospect is going to tell you they think you’re incompetent. They’re just going to tell you they’re busy, or this isn’t that big of a problem, or they have no budget.

Have you heard those excuses before?

They’re almost never going to tell you the real reason you’re not getting the sale.

They’re not confident in your skill.

So, how do you make people confident in your skill?

You have a repeatable process, with proven success, to solve one particular problem.

Imagine the difference between these two sales conversations:

Version #1  
Prospect: So, what do you do? 
Consultant: Well, I help companies be more efficient.

Prospect: What exactly does that mean? How do you do that? 
Consultant: Well, it depends. We go into a company and look for operational inefficiencies. Then we work with you to figure out the best way to solve them.

Prospect: Hmm. That’s interesting [thinking: I have no idea what that means or if he’s even worked with a company like mine before, but I’m not going to say anything.]

Version #2 
Prospect: So, what do you do? 
Consultant: I help mid-sized manufacturing companies streamline their delivery operations.

Prospect: Well, I’m a mid-sized manufacturing company. How do you do that? 
Consultant: We have a proprietary 3-step process. First, we do a process mapping of your delivery operations and review it with you. Then, we do a gap analysis against best practices. Finally, we work through the gap review one-by-one and close each gap by deploying the appropriate technology solution.

Prospect: Wow. I can see how that would work in my business. [thinking: Sounds like she has done this before .. a lot. I wonder if I could get on her schedule…]

See the difference?

If you don’t have a “proprietary process” for your consulting business that drives your ideal client to their desired outcome, you’ll just sound like a smart person who wants to come in and “poke around” until you find something to fix.

Not really compelling, is it?

How do you create your own proprietary process? I’m glad you asked.

I mentioned earlier that I’ll be doing a free training session with Frank. You need to join us at How to Grow and Scale a Consulting Business Where You Earn 5- and 6-Figures for Every Client … Even if You’ve Never Charged That Much Before.

Frank will talk about how you build your own process for your consulting business.

Click here to register for the webinar.

Here’s what you’re going to learn on the webinar:

• How to attract 5- and 6-figure consulting clients and make them want to talk to you.
• How to never again wonder where the next client is coming from.
• How to avoid wasting time with tire-kickers and focus on those most likely to buy from you.
• When to know it’s time to call your prospect – and when it’s not time to call.
• And much, much more

Get off the “feast or famine” roller coaster forever!

Learn the techniques that will keep new leads coming in on a regular basis.

Okay, time is running out. The webinar is coming up fast.

RSVP for the webinar so you can join us.

Or don’t…and fall victim to these same mistakes over and over again. That’s just a recipe for a slow-growing, cash poor consulting business.

You don’t want that, do you?  I didn’t think so.

Click here to register for the webinar.

Click here to register to attend this FREE webinar

Frank and I are doing this training especially for Bluewire News readers, so please join us on the call.

Bring your questions for both Frank and me. We’ll have plenty of time to answer them for you.

I’ll see you on the webinar.

Cheers,

Adam