One of the most powerful techniques I’ve come across for building relationships with clients while you’re selling to them is the concept of pencil selling.
It’s also one that I’ve almost never seen anything written about.
When most professionals meet with a potential client to discuss how they might be able to help they typically come armed with a brochure or a big pack of slides. We consultants are the worst with the latter – often seemingly trying to batter a client into submission with the sheer weight of our slides.
These presentation materials are a sort of comfort blanket. They provide certainty for us. We’ve had time in advance to think them through and perfect them. They look professional.
But they also stand in the way of building a relationship with your potential client. Of really engaging with them.
And sometimes we get even worse – we take a laptop in to the meeting and present slides from there – putting an actual physical barrier between ourselves and the client.
Now I’ve nothing against maybe leaving a brochure behind after you leave. And maybe the odd pertinent slide (if you’ve already discussed with the client something you’re then presenting ideas on).
But in an early sales meeting your key objective is to engage with the client. To get him or her to open up and share with you what their real challenges are. To delve into them and pull out the impact so they’re motivated to do something about it. To get them to commit to moving forward to the next step with you.
You won’t get there by presenting at them.
And that’s what having pre-prepared slides inevitably does – you present them. And presenting means you talk and they listen. The exact opposite of the dialogue you want.
Now you’ll know from my other blog posts on selling professional services that being able to ask smart questions is one of the absolute keys to engaging a potential client.
But at some point, as a professional, you need to start sharing your own ideas and tentative thoughts. You need to be opening up the client’s thinking.
This is where pencil selling comes in.
Simply put, pencil selling is where in the meeting you sketch out ideas and concepts which illuminate and enhance your discussion with the client.
And I mean that literally, not metaphorically. Getting out a pencil or pen and sketching out a concept on paper.
In practice, what it looks like is that you position a blank pad of paper between you and the client (you are sitting next to the client aren’t you – not opposite?).
Then depending on what you’re discussing, you sketch out a diagram which pulls together some of the concepts you’ve been talking about. And you use it to illustrate your thinking.
So if you’re talking about improving their product launch capabilities – maybe you sketch out a rocket and talk about how the product itself is the fuel in the rocket. But how you also need a guidance system – your segmentation and marketing so that the rocket hits its target. And then your performance measurement and management system is like the radar – spotting obstacles ahead and adjusting the flight.
Or the client is talking about building a stronger organisation – so you sketch out a greek temple with a series of pillars representing the major components (business functions, perhaps) supporting the roof (their goals). And of course, you sketch in the foundations and talk about what they need to be in an organisation (people, culture, technology, etc.).
Or maybe you sketch a simple 2 x 2 diagnostic and hand the pencil to the client – asking them to show where they are on the map.
The possibilities are endless. the key is that you use the diagram both to illustrate a point or concept – and as an engagement device to get the client interacting. You want them to make their additions to the diagram. To “get their fingerprints on it” and begin to take ownership.
How much more effective is that than showing some pre-prepared slides about who you are and what you do which they know anyway because they looked at your website?
Mind you – it sounds difficult.
How do you make up all these different diagrams and diagnostics on the fly?
Of course, the secret is that you don’t.
You have a repertoire of diagrams and diagnostics you can use repeatedly with minor tweaking.
Think back to recent client discussions. How many times have you been asked the same questions? How many times have you described the way you run projects, or what the three core components of a marketing plan are, or what makes organisations creative?
Most of us probably have half a dozen or so core concepts which we repeatedly use with clients in slightly modified form.
Rather than (or in addition to) turning those into bullets on powerpoint slides – spend some time figuring out how to draw them out as quick diagrams you can recreate with clients.
Then try it out next time you meet a client. You’ll see how much more effective it is at buildign a relationship and getting the client energised and interacting with you than presenting a bunch of slides is.
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Image by Marc Fonteijn
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You couldn’t be more right, Ian. Another beauty of creating sketches on the spot is the infinite variety available to you — instead of being stuck with what you THOUGHT the client needs. (A bit like Winston Churchill polishing his speeches to perfection only to find that they were totally unsuitable for the mood of the audience.)
Plus the most important point, which you already mentioned: getting the client to participate (read: commit). Thanks.
Great post, always carry a lead pencil, sharpener, eraser & mechanical pencil! Slight variation is that I always add a set of whiteboard markers so that I can develop a flip chart or whiteboard diagram so get a chance to demo facilitating skills as well.
Good post, Ian. I use this technique all the time, but with a twist. I often try to get the prospect or client to take over the pencil. Getting them to draw ‘the problem to be solved’ or ‘the way in which it might be fixed’ can tell me much more about how they think. And that helps me to propose more appropriate solutions to their problems. It’s also helpful in determining whether the person is a ‘pictures person’ or prefers to use words or emotions. That guides me in how I work with them during a project
Thanks Ian. I usually came prepared to talk with my client not present to my client. It felt right. But when I met with another business person to learn about their business, they presented. I felt woefully unprepared because I didn’t have slides, etc. I’ve asked them if this is the presentation they do with their clients and they’ve said yes. I now feel okay about what I do because I want to connect with my potential clients not present.
Comic book backer boards are great, inexpensive, and sturdy portable whiteboards for just this approach. The shiny side takes ink wonderfully—try the Sharpie Pen, which you can readily get in black, blue and red and which does not leak in the wash. (Personal experience.)
Jen – here’s a quote from my friend Brad Trnavsky which you might find interesting and relevant to your comment about feeling underprepared when the other business person used a presentation. Brad runs the Sales Management 2.0 site – but here he’s talkign about how it feels when someone is selling to him:
“When I watch a sales person sell me with brochures, I make two assumptions. First, this sales person lacks confidence and needs promotional material to make them look good. Second, The sales person does not know enough about my problems to sell to me with out a brochure to guide the conversation.”
Ian
Matthew – yes – yes – yes – this is great stuff. Then they really take ownership of the approach/concept.
And, of course, if you’re using a brochure, presentation material or worse yet a laptop – then there’s no way you can “hand them the pencil”.
Ian
Good comments Ian,
I call it “torture by brochure”!!!
It’s really just a show up and throw up strategy where the sales rep pushes instead of pulls.
A good habit to get in to is to rehearse being spontaneous!
Armed with lots of models and drawings in your head you can basically cover off anything that you cover in a visual aspect and by doing this you are adding value, crystalising thoughts and because everyone else is most likely just using their brochure to sell, you look different too.
By getting the “pencil out” and your pad when you explain things it looks as though you’re being spontaneous and makes you look like a true pro!
So lose the show up and throw up and get that sharpener out!
Sean
Sean McPheat
Ian,
I completely agree. Running a design firm that specializes in professional services branding, I’ve been guilty of relying to heavily on my “pretty” slides, even though I know better. I find it’s always better to go into a meeting seeking to understand the client, not just pitching our story. Plus, what consultant doesn’t love a little “white board” or “yellow pad” time?
Your article reminds me a bit of the book, “The Back of the Napkin” by Dan Roam. I think there’s something innately “human” about connecting with someone else through drawing, sketching, or writing.
I’m curious if you (personally) have slides or collateral that echo your sketches that you’d send as a follow-up, or what specifically you recommend to do following this type of presentation?
Best,
Josh Miles
Good question Josh. I’d never thought about it.
Some diagrams have made it into follow-up materials – maybe a proposal or a later slide deck. When you’ve prepared a repertoire of diagrams beforehand it’s easy to select and modify the right one.
But I’ve never put a lot of thought into it – or even bothered to save them.
I’m going to check out that Dan Roam book – thanks.
Ian.