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Social Media vs the Lawyers: The Case of Chris Cardell

Posted by

Ian Brodie on July 22nd, 2010.

Please Note I have had to remove a number of comments from this blog post. The comments were reports from readers about their experiences with Chris Cardell's products and services. Mr Cardell has threatened me with legal action if these were not removed (ironic on a post chastising him for trying to gag bloggers with legal action, I know). I have removed them until I can confirm the veracity of the claims against him.

There's an interesting little storm brewing over here in the UK.

There's a fairly well known business guru here called Chris Cardell. He does seminars for small business owners and has online membership clubs etc.. I can't comment on the quality of his work as I've never bought any of his stuff – however you can get a general idea of feedback by googling his name.

Earlier this year Cardell ran a direct mail campaign where the piece being mailed was made to look like a newspaper clipping with an article singing his praises with a post-it note attached in handwritten script saying “Ian, I saw this and thought of you. This guy is brilliant. Have a look at his website” and is signed “J”. The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK ruled the ad to be misleading and the claims in it unsubstantiated and told him not to repeat it.

He also came in for criticism that the “free gifts” he advertisised in the piece came with an expensive monthly subscription plan attached that many people found it difficult to unsubscribe from.

Recently he ran the piece again in slightly modified form (I got one myself and it fooled me for a minute or so).

I guess what he hadn't counted on was the uproar this approach would create in the social media world. Dozens and dozens of bloggers wrote posts on it. Some credited it with being clever – but most decried it as being deceptive and unethical.

The end impact was that if you google his name you get an awful lot of negative vibes. So much so that the first additional word suggested by google when you type in “Chris Cardell” is the word “scam”. That can't be good for business.

Update: He's tried to counter (or maybe even take advantage of) the scam association by running an adwords campaign targeting “Chris Cardell Scam”. he appears at the top of the paid listings, and directs people to a page where he calls traditional advertising a scam. So maybe he's hoping people will think that “Chris Cardell Scam” really means his views on advertising being a scam – rather than the original meaning of people thinking his direct mail was a scam.

So what's Cardell's answer been? Has it been to go back and review his campaign and whether he should be running it? Has he realised that in todays social media dominated world you just can't get away with some of the things you used to get away with?

No.

He's hired a bunch of lawyers to send threatening Cease and Desist letters to bloggers to get them to take down their blog posts.

I'm not sure if they've sent similar letters to google to get them to remove the blog posts from their cache, or the Internet Archive to wipe them from the Wayback Machine!

Will his bully-boy tactics work?

Personally I think not. It's one of the great things to have come out of social media that you just can't get away with things or bury them under the carpet any more.

In even the recent past you could succeed with brilliant marketing and a mediocre product because it was relatively difficult for buyers (especially via mail order) to get any real feedback on what your product was really like. Nowadays you can. The truth is out there, and thanks to google it's a doddle to find it on blogs or via social media channels.

Now it may well be that I end up getting a Cease and Desist notice for this innoccuous blog post. But rather like the little Ants in Pixar's Bugs Life standing up to the big mean old grasshoppers – every time one of us gets knocked down, another will stand up to take their place, then another, then another. I believe that even big bad grasshoppery gurus and law firms can't take on so many of us blogger ants forever.

In fact, a number of posts just like mine have started appearing reporting on his attempts to legally gag bloggers. Here's one from popular IT commentary blog The Register.

I'll keep you updated if I get the big bad old letter…

What's your view? Is Cardell doing the right thing? Will it work – can he silence criticism from so many bloggers? Will it backfire? Drop you comments in the box below – I'd love to hear them.

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Marketing

Authority Marketing: The Essentials

Posted by

Ian Brodie on July 10th, 2010.

In recent posts I’ve been musing over the concept of Authority Marketing. After my last post where I talked about the benefits of establishing authority, one reader rightly posed the question: “what’s the difference between authority and expertise?”

It’s a good question. We all feel intuitively that authority implies something more than expertise – but it’s sometimes difficult to put your finger on exactly what it is. Is authority just the upper echelons of expertise? Or is there something more to it?

Authority is Expertise + Influence

For me, the key is that while an expert is defined by what they know; an authority is defined by who listens to them.

In other words, you can be an expert by knowing a lot. But to be an authority, people have to listen to your expertise and act upon it.

An authority is the expert people turn to for guidance. When they speak, people listen.

So to become an authority, you must not only build your expertise, you must build your influence.

I’m very tempted to do a 2×2 matrix here with expertise on one axis and influence on the other. But I’ll refrain from consulting cliches on this occasion.

To be influential, you must communicate, and you must be persuasive.

And this is where many professionals fall down. They have a high degree of expertise, but they're unable to communicate it in a persuasive manner to their target clients.

Some don't communicate at all. They're either uncomfortable marketing – or they've fallen into that terrible psychological trap of believeing they're entitled to be respected and listened to because they're experts.

Others communicate badly – they stumble, or confuse and complicate.

Others communicate, but don't persuade. Their communication is informative – but it doesn't guide listeners to action.

Authorities simplify (without oversimplifying) the complex. They give clear recommendations and courses of action to take. They communicate frequently and effectively. And they're listened to.

What will it take for you to become an authority in your field?

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Marketing

Linkedin Profiles – My Shocking Findings

Posted by

Ian Brodie on June 16th, 2010.

My latest tips on building a Client Winning Profile for Linkedin are now on a free, short video – click here to watch it.

Last night I was finalising a training course I ran today on Linkedin. I was having a quick look round at people's profiles for good/bad examples – and what I saw shocked me.

First a little bit of background:

In my landmark post 10 Linkedin Tips for Professionals (still showing on page 1 of google for “linkedin tips”!) the very first Linkedin tip I shared was to build what I called a Client Focused profile.

When most people join Linkedin they do one of two things.

After going through the process of telling Linkedin your education and previous jobs you get the chance to create a summary. This is the main thing people will look at when they visit your profile – it's your opportunity to say exactly what you want them to read when they do so. Most people spurn that opportunity.

Either they put nothing in their summary at all, or they essentially copy the text from their resume and talk about the jobs they've had, the responsibilities they've held, the achievements they've made, etc.

It's a huge mistake.

Your achievements and responsibilities may be great for a resume – but are you actually looking for a new job right now? Did you join Linkedin to use it as a place to store your resume for all to see? Probably not.

Most of us aren't looking for a new job most of the time. But we are on the lookout for new clients most of the time.

For the vast majority of professionals, their Linkedin profile summary should be written to give the right impression to potential clients or potential referrers (depending on whether they typically get their work mainly directly, or mainly from referrers).

It's not hard. Figure what impression you want to give to clients and referrers and write to create that impression in your profile.

Perhaps you want to come across as an expert, or someone who's approachable and easy to do business with. Or experienced. Or fun. Or empathetic.

Whatever it is, figure it out. And prove it in what you write. Your profile summary is the thing that's looked at more than any other – and it's under your control.

It will be looked at by potential clients who you meet and then who check you out online afterwards. It will be looked at by potential referrers who you offer to connect with.

It's not rocket science. Don't mess it up.

And yet last night, when I looked at a random set of profiles I was truly shocked by what I saw. They were awful.

I searched for profiles containing “managing director” in the job title.

What I got in the first 10 I looked at were:

2 who had nothing in the profile summary at all.

1 whose summary said “for information go to www.mysite.com/myprofile” (if he couldn't be bothered to copy and paste a decent profile onto Linkedin what on earth makes him think the people reading his page would be bothered to copy and paste his website address to go and see it?)

1 who just listed some consulting jargon words. Business Process Reengineering, ERP, etc.

3 Who said nothing about themselves – just what their company did. No personal connection at all.

1 Who told me all about his vision, his favourite mottos, the rules he lives by (but nothing about what he might be able to do to help me).

And only 2 who had reasonably descriptive profile summaries that actually said who they worked with, and how they helped them – so that I was able to see whether I'd be interested in connecting with them further.

And these were all very senior people.

Frightening really.

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Mindset

Think Like a Fish

Posted by

Ian Brodie on May 21st, 2010.

Captain John Rade catches a Sea Bass Legendary copywriter Gary Bencivenga tells an insightful story about Long Island fisherman Captain John Rade.

Rade was a rod fisherman who out caught all other fishermen day-in, day-out. In his little motorboat he'd put out to sea and regularly come back with a bigger haul than boats with dozens of fishermen on them.

A local journalist interviewed him once and asked him what the secret of his success was.

“Well” he said, “when other fishermen set out to sea, they think like fishermen”.

“I think like a fish”.

OK – so it sounds simple, trite even.

But how many of us really think like our clients?

Rade apparently studied fish, and the ocean, obsessively. He knew what different currents meant, different weather conditions, and how the fish would react in each. He was able to go where the fish were, and offer them the bait he knew they'd take.

Are you a real student of your clients? Do you know what they really feel like when they've got the sort of problem you deal with – or they're thinking of hiring a professional like you?

Sure, you've probably skimmed the market research. Maybe even read the results of feedback or focus groups which reveal what clients feel comfortable sharing in public.

But how often have you put yourself in their shoes? Immersed yourself in what it must be like in their position?

What do they feel when they first approach a professional if they've never hired one before?

Here's a starter: fear.

Fear of looking stupid. Fear of being ripped off. Fear of losing control. Fear of what might happen if things go badly. Fear of what might happen if things go well.

Next time you meet with a client for the first time, think like a fish, not a fisherman.

For my in-depth guide to building deep understanding of your ideal clients so you can think like a fish, go here:

» Customer Insight Mapping «

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Mindset

An Irrational Fear of Worms…

Posted by

Ian Brodie on April 28th, 2010.

Irrational Fear of Worms I've just been watching some of the free videos Dov Gordon is giving away as part of the product launch of his upcoming Alchemist Entrepreneur course (** Update – the course has now closed for new members, but you can still get access Dov's free “Plenty of Clients” manual which originally sold for $97 by clicking here **).

I've found the second video Dov released (“How to Win Your Customer's Hearts by Reading Their Minds.”) to be particularly appropriate for those in the professions – in fact, the first case study he gives is of an accountancy firm.

The focus of the video is on the mindset and tools you can use to “mindread” your customers – and so present yourself in a much more compelling way. There are some great points in it – particularly around getting beyond the rational surface justifications for things to the underlying emotional drivers.

One of the simple methods Dov discusses to help you better get inside the heads of your potential customers is a simple series of questions to ask your existing ones. But in the example he gives, he has a client who is very reluctant to ask those questions.

“I don't want to open up a can of worms” the client says.

Now that phrase rings a bell.

Over the years I've met so many people who don't want to open that proverbial can of worms. Be it asking clients for feedback, or asking a colleague what seems to be bothering them.

But guess what? That can is already open.

The worms are already out. They're slithering all over the floor. The only reason you can't see them is because you've got your eyes closed.

Closing your eyes doesn't help anything. If a client isn't satisfied, it's best to find out now rather than when they leave you. If a colleague has an issue with you, best to find out early on and fix it rather than later when it's gone too far.

Being open to client feedback, in particular, is very scary – but it's critical to develop the deep understanding of them you'll need to secure them as clients for life and win more like them. As Dov says, they need to feel you “get it”. And you can't “get it” if you don't know what “it” is.

Let's be honest: worms can't really do you much harm. And neither can finding out what your clients really think. So make sure you open that can of worms soon.

——–
If you're interested in getting access to Dov's free “Plenty of Clients” manual, click on this link. You'll need to sign up to get free access.

Just like with Amazon, I'll get a small commission if you eventually buy one of his programmes.

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Marketing

Authority Marketing

Posted by

Ian Brodie on April 22nd, 2010.

Authority Marketing Sometimes my blog posts are fully formed ideas that I'm sharing, or examples of best practice from my experience, or a snippet of the training I deliver.

But sometimes the blog acts as more of a conversation with myself as I explore a new concept or topic. This is such a blog post. What you read below is more like you're looking over my shoulder as I scribble ideas in my personal journal. It's not a fully formed idea. It's not something you can pick up and implement right now. But it might help your thinking.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

——-
In my recent post on vertical differentiation I highlighted that the best marketing positioning for most consultants, advisers and other professionals is not one that's “different” to their competitors – but “above”. In other words, “we're the best in the field” – where best translates to best results.

How do you achieve that positioning? Through what I call Authority Marketing.

Authority Marketing is the process of establishing yourself or your firm as a leader – an authority – in your field.

Why is it important to establish yourself as an authority?

Well, direct marketing guru Dan Kennedy said a rather long time ago “it's all about the offer”.

In marketing we obsess about writing compelling copy, about design, image etc. But as Kennedy says, the single most important determinant of whether someone buys is the offer we make them. It's the value of our product or service.

You can have copy written by David Ogilvy himself, but unless you're offering something of high perceived value you won't get sales. Or to put it another way: you can put lipstick on a pig…

So how do clients determine value for professional services?

Well, of course it's dependent on the situation. Some clients just want a basic service at low cost. But to be frank, I don't want to play in that game – and neither do most professionals.

It's actually very difficult for clients to determine the value of a service they're going to get from a service provider. More often than not, the service will be tailored to the specific needs of the client. So in theory, all providers offer the same value because they're all offering the same “solution”.

What's different is the client's perception of how well they're able to deliver that value – or what the risk is that they might not deliver it.

And that's largely dependent on the perceived expertise and authority of the professional.

If the client doesn't believe you're an expert in your field – then the only part of the value equation you have to play with – the only way to differentiate yourself from your competitors – is through price. That's not a good place to be.

But how many of us focus on establishing our authority in our marketing and business development efforts? Not many.

Networking is the favoured approach of most professionals – be it face to face or social. But although it's a great way to meet potential clients, how easy is it to establish your authority in your field? Usually not easy.

Yes, they get to know you, like you and trust you.

And the old saying goes – all other things being equal, people buy from people they know, like and trust.

But guess what? If you're competing against an Authority Marketer – all things aren't equal.

If you're up against someone who's already perceived as an authority, you're starting with a huge handicap.

Yes, I like to do business with people I know and like. But if I'm developing a new strategy for my business, or if I want to minimise my huge tax bill, or I need my case defending – I want the best (within my range). So I'll pick someone I perceive to be an authority.

Look at most professional service firm's websites. What do they have on them?

About Us, Our Services, The Way We Work, Our People, Our Values, blah blah blah.

Nothing to establish their expertise or authority – other than claims about their great people and leading edge thinking. No proof.

And by proof I don't mean testimonials. They're 10 a penny.

What I want to see is examples of your expertise. If you're in marketing, show me some new marketing ideas. Get me excited about new insights I've not seen before that I can really use in my business.

And think about your own marketing for a moment.

What if instead of trying to “get in front of clients” or “establish our brand values”, the objective of your marketing was purely to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

What would you do differently? What approaches would you use that you don't use today? What approaches would you tweak and use differently? And what approaches would you drop? And how might that make clients perceive and react to you when they first meet you face to face?

Worth thinking about.

There'll be more on Authority Marketing in upcoming posts.

Update: I've developed more thoughts in this area in a more recent post on authority marketing:

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Marketing

Vertical Differentiation

Posted by

Ian Brodie on April 19th, 2010.

You can't turn a corner these days without bumping into a marketing consultant banging on about the importance of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and differentiation.

I've written on the topic before – and in my view, for most service businesses it's actually far more important to focus on creating compelling client value than it is to worry about being unique or differentiating yourself.

However, it's a topic I keep coming back to and thinking about. For while clients buy based on the value you can bring, they may well initially notice you, and remember you based on your uniqueness or differentiation.

So there's a challenge here: being different helps you get noticed and get remembered. But if you're different in a way that doesn't add value to a client then you won't get hired.

Now you can try to find ways of being unique and different that are also valuable to clients – but it's difficult. Competition being what it is, if something is valuable to clients, other people will notice and create and provide that service too. Unless you're very, very smart or a great reader of early trends – the chances are if you spot something that no other professional in your field is doing – it's because clients don't value it.

But there is another way to think about differentiation.

Too often, when we think about differentiating ourselves we think of what I call “horizontal differentiation”. We want to be viewed as doing something different to our competitors. As not occupying the same space in our niche.

But think of some of the most successful professional service firms. Do they really do something different to their competitors?

Is McKinsey the only firm that does Strategy? No.

Do Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom* or other top law firms really do law differently? No.

Do AECOM design different buildings from the rest of the profession? Again, no.

What sets these firms apart is not that they are differentiated horizontally. They don't really do anything different to the other firms in their niche.

They do things better.

They're “vertically differentiated”. Clients perceive them to be in the same horizontal space as their competitors – but above them.

That's the perfect positioning for a professional service firm. Delivering the same services as their competitors (because they're the services clients need). But delivering them better.

How do you differentiate vertically?

Well to some degree, the perception of superiority comes from delivering great results.

But all professional firms have a truckload of testimonials and happy clients. It's difficult to differentiate on that.

What allows these firms to stand head and shoulders above their competitors is perceived authority.

Being a consultant, McKinsey is the firm I know best (in my career, I've had to come in after McKinsey projects and pick up the pieces on more than one occasion – yet their reputation is immaculate).

I've asked McKinsey clients about why they perceive them as being better than their competitors. And I consistently get two answers.

It's the quality and depth of their thought leadership – and the insights their partners share when they meet with them.

Clearly these two are related. Face to face insights come from personal experience – but also from the thought leadership the firm produces. Thought leadership is usually grounded in the personal experience of the team.

But perceived authority isn't the exclusive domain of global giants. At a local level, there are consultants, accountants, lawyers, many professionals who are viewed as authorities in their field.

They're the ones who “really know their stuff”. Who get invited to speak at events, and who are the first to get the call when there's a tricky or out-of-the-ordinary issue.

They get the best work, and they charge the highest prices.

So next time you're thinking about differentiation: think about up rather than sideways.

____

* I could have named a different law firm – but blimey, I love that name!

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Mindset

Getting the Right Mindset for Selling (and it's not what you think)

Posted by

Ian Brodie on April 16th, 2010.

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.

——–

PS: Charter membership for the Selling Consulting Services online training program closed on the 16th April. It will re-open later in the year.

You can pre-register for when the program re-opens by clicking here.

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Mindset

The Top 10 Ways to Screw Up a Client Relationship

Posted by

Ian Brodie on April 15th, 2010.

I don't often do top 10 lists, but most of this one came to me in a dream (which is a pretty sad admission in itself) and it kind of amused me.

In reverse order:

10. Bad mouthing a client. We all have clients that we dearly love, but who drive us wild. There's a terrible temptation to moan and bitch about them to colleagues, business partners and friends. Don't. Delivered with affection by you, you might get away with it. Repeated second hand you certainly won't.

9. Courting a competitor. It doesn't often happen (but it happened once to me). Sometimes clients can get upset if we approach or start working with one of their competitors – especially if it's a particularly direct or aggressive competitor. Even though you know you won't be sharing anything confidential and you're probably working in a different area, it can raise big concerns. Best to avoid it, or check with your current client first.

8. Being too salesy. Clients don't like being sold to all the time – especially not when they're paying you to be there. Developing client relationships and winning extension work, expansion work and referrals which currently being employed by them is subtle art you have to learn.

7. Making a mistake. We all make mistakes. Clients are usually very forgiving of small mistakes – but sometimes not. Make quality control a priority. Far more serious than making a mistake though, is:

6. Covering up a mistake. You might be able to cover up a mistake and get away with it, or fix it before the client notices. It's surprising how often they find out though. And if they do, they now know that you prioritise your interests above theirs. It's difficult to come back from that.

5. Overpromising. Even if you do a brilliant job, if you've promised the earth and you only give them the moon, they'll be disappointed. And they'll know not to trust your word in future.

4. Surprises. Clients hate being surprised. Even more so if they find out about it from their colleagues, their customers or their bosses rather than you. Make sure you warn them in advance of potential risks, and you keep them regularly informed. Even surprisingly good news can be embarrasing if you're the last to hear about it.

3. Taking key decisions without involving them. Even if clients have hired you because you're the expert not them, it can be a big loss of face for them if you take key decisions without consulting with them and reviewing the options. Agree very early in your engagement how you will take decisions and who will be involved. And stick to it.

2. Not being open. Touch feely stuff this – but important. Any close relationship will go through high points and low points. There'll be moments when the relationship is tested. As your relationship develops, it needs to move beyond the factual and rational into the emotional. But many professionals feel uncomfortable sharing their feelings. If a workshop or meeting or event didn't go as well as planned, instead of being open about their disappointment and how they feel, they put on their “game face”. They hide their feelings and call it professionalism. They never develop really strong relationships with clients because they never let them in.

1. Indifference. This doesn't sound like a big crime – but it's #1 because it's the cause of more broken relationships than anything else. When you've stopped working for a client (or even when you still are but you're really focused on delivery) it's so easy to stop communicating. All those great corridor chats they found so valuable suddenly go away. You don't seem to care any more. The truth is that you still love them, but you're just so darn busy. But to them, it feels like you don't care – and that the only reason you had a relationship with them was because they were paying you at the time.

That's my top 10 – comments on some of the things you've seen that screw up client relationships would be much appreciated – just drop them in the box below.

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Selling

Selling Consulting Services: The Myth of "Killer Closing Techniques"

Posted by

Ian Brodie on April 8th, 2010.

Mike Schultz's excellent free report “Selling Consulting Services: Forget Everything You Know About Sales and Begin to Sell Without Selling” has a great section in it on closing techniques.

At first I approached this chapter with trepidation. In my professional career I've never found closing techniques worked for me. Not only did they feel uncomfortably manipulative – the complete opposite of the relationship I was trying to build up – but clients didn't seem to respond to them as well as all the books suggested.

Maybe it was just me, I thought.

After all, all these sales gurus can't be wrong.

But as I grew in confidence and experience, I learned it wasn't just me.

The truth is that despite all the books you can buy and courses you can go on to learn “killer closing techniques”, when it comes to selling high value consulting and other professional services, they're actually counter productive. If people aren't yet convinced that they really need a service, and they're not sure that your particular one is right for them; then using closing techniques like asking if they'd like you to start on Tuesday or Thursday will push them further away.

So how do I recommend closing if it's not with techniques?

In my experience, closing is a three stage process which begins early on in your discussions with the client.

Initially, you set the stage for a positive close through the whole sales process by:

Confirming agreements through the discussion.
Addressing client concerns as they arise rather than “steamrollering” through to the next point.
Ensuring you drill for impact – it's understanding the full implications of the issue which will motivate the client to buy.

Next, close at the Concept level (i.e. first get agreement on what the client wants to achieve):

Summarise the client's priority needs, the impact of the issue and the outline of what they are looking for.
Check for any outstanding concerns – and genuinely address them if there are any.
Propose the next step – usually to move on to agreeing the practical details.

Finally, close at the Practical level (i.e. get agreement on what you will actually do together). This may need a second meeting and some further work from you to prepare an outline plan. But it's crucial that you and your potential client work together to finalise the scope and plan, for example:

Jointly discussing and designing the approach to the project/engagement (while remembering that you are the expert).
Checking for any final concerns – and addressing them.
Proposing moving forward together.

The idea of being able to use a magic technique to increase your sales is a very alluring one. But in the case of selling consulting or other professional services, it's a misguided one. Clients will only buy when they feel comfortable they're getting what they need from someone who's capable and who they can work with. You establish this in the way you engage with them throughout the selling process – not by using some clever technique at the end.

So how did my approach fare vs Mike's recommendations?

It turns out we're in agreement (which shouldn't have really been a surprise given I know Mike quite well). As Mike says in the report:

Selling consulting is about trust, not tricks

I couldn't have put it better myself.

—————
You can download a free copy of the Selling Consulting Services report here.

The reason Mike's giving away such a valuable report for free is simple: it's a bribe!

He and the team at Raintoday.com have just launched a new online training program on selling consulting services which they'd like you to try out: hence the “bribe” of the free report.

I chatted to Mike on the phone last week about the program and the content looks excellent. There are 6 modules, teleseminars, expert forums, and over 25 individual training sessions covering everything from developing your value proposition to starting sales conversations with rapport to getting in front of the economic buyer to crafting winning solutions to closing the deal.

Next to having your own personal business development coach or mentor, it's absolutely the best way to boost your selling skills.

They're limiting enrolment to the first 200 members who sign up and they're closing the doors on April 16.

This initial “Charter Membership” will be at only $97 per month. When they reopen the program the price will be at least double.

And as an added bonus, all Charter Members will get a free copy of the $345 “How Clients Buy Professional Services Benchmark Report” absolutely free. (As many of you know, I've been quoting the report and using it to guide a lot of my work over the last year).

You can find out more about the course here.

You should know, the Raintoday.com team have offered to pay me a small commission if any of my readers sign up for their course. I hope you know me well enough by now to know this has in no way influenced my recommendation. If you've been a reader of the blog for any time you'll know I've been a long-term supporter of Mike and the team and really respect the quality of their training.

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