A lot’s often talked about getting the right mindset for selling. The focus is most often on having a positive outlook, a winning mentality, or even a “don’t take no for an answer” attitude.
But I’ve found that when you’re selling consulting services (as I do) or other high value professional services (as my clients do) then there’s a different, more important mindset.
I call it a “matchmaking” mindset.
The thing you must have in the front of your mind when you go into a sales meeting is that’s it’s your job (together with the client) to find out if there’s a good fit between you and them, and the service they need.
What I mean by that, is that it’s not your job to assume you’re the right person, then persuade them to hire you. It’s your job to find out whether you’re the right person (and also whether they and the work are right for you – it’s mutual qualification).
You see, if you go into a sales meeting thinking it’s your job to get a sale, it affects the way you interact with the client.
Some people get too pushy. They try to manipulate and convince the client to hire them. Others get too subservient – desperate for the sale they accept things they should push back on.
In both cases, the client picks up on your mindset. They know you’re trying to sell to them. So they put up barriers. They don’t really trust you. They second guess what you say because they believe (correctly) that your primary goal is to get a sale.
In contrast, if you have a matchmaking mindset, if you believe your goal is to figure out if there’s a good fit – and you’re comfortable that there might not be and you’d walk away in that case – then they pick up on that too.
They work with you in mutual exploration. Psychologically you’re sitting on the same site of the table. It’s the same relationship you’d have with them if they’d already hired you and you were working together.
That’s a good place to be – because it also allows you to showcase to them what it would be like to work with you. If they feel good during the sales meeting they’ll assume they’d feel good when they worked with you.
Mike Schultz calls it “Selling as you serve” in his excellent Selling Consulting Services free report.
So often in my career I’ve asked clients why they hired me over the other consultants pitching for the business. And so often, their answer (often drawn out of them with the aid of a beer) is that it just felt right. They were more comfortable with me.
And I put a lot of that down to the fact that I developed this matchmaking mindset. It was OK if they said no once we’d explored whether was a fit. I didn’t put them under pressure. When I made a case for hiring me they knew it was because I genuinely believed it from the diagnosis we’d done – not because my primary objective was to get a sale.
And paradoxically, that meant I got more sales than the guys who focused on getting the sale.
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PS: Charter membership for the Selling Consulting Services online training program closed on the 16th April. It will re-open later in the year.
If you’re on the, look out for me on the forums – hopefully adding my ideas and helping out.
You can pre-register for when the program re-opens by clicking here.
Ian
Thank you for this insightful and helpful post.
I am lawyer in private practice and my own view on the most effective way to sell or prospect for new work is to adopt the Bob Burg mantra (the co-author of the book the Go-Giver with John David Mann) that “all things being equal people buy or refer work from/to people that they know, like and trust”. The trust quotient is super important in a professional services environment where the person seeking the work is both the seller and deliver. The one fact that professionals often overlook is that their technical skills will not be enough to convince the client to buy from them and they have to sell themselves – often quite difficult for naturally introverted people.
As someone who worked in sales and marketing before going into law, I am still amazed how poorly equipped some professionals are to make that vital connection with their prospective clients. They need think not necessarily outside of the box but certainly at the limits of the edge of the box, particularly around service delivery.
Julian
Ian,
You make some excellent points. The clients most certainly will pick up on one’s “need” to make a sale.
We spend a lot of time working with clients on developing their “Inner Game” or as you say, getting the right mindset for selling. Part of that is practicing emotional detachment; while I want the business, I don’t need the business. That mindset helps the mutual qualification process and, when suitable, you to accept that a no is the best answer.
With a strong Inner Game, you’ll know when it’s appropriate to walk away from a deal. When that happens, you actually earn trust and respect.
Marty
“Inner Game” is an appropriate phrase Marty. Do use incorporate elements of Timothy Gallwey’s work in your methods?
Ian
This article left an impression on me mostly on the “matchmaking” concept. It does feel like going out with someone for the first time and trying to make the connection work. But with every first encounter, there’s the lingering thought of rejection. To walk away from a prospect feels bad but if a comfortable relationship wasn’t established it might be the right thing to do.
Drop by some time and share your thoughts here on Sales Training Course. Thanks!