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The most useful sentence I ever read

Posted byIan Brodie on June 23rd, 2013.

Have you ever been in a meeting with a client or potential client where you felt something was going on, but you just didn't know how to deal with it?

Maybe you felt a certain unease coming back from your potential client when you proposed that project.

Or maybe it felt like your client wasn't really paying attention when you discussed the agenda for your next meeting.

Or maybe you got the impression they just didn't believe you when you told them about the improvements they'd get from your service. Or it felt like they were “fobbing you off” when they asked you to write up a proposal for them.

Sometimes you know something's not quite right, but you don't know what to do about it.

So typically what we do is plough ahead.

We ignore the feeling of discomfort we have. We proceed as if the client has fully bought in even though our gut is telling us they haven't. We just get off and do that proposal even though in our heart we know there's something else the client is looking for.

And nine times out of ten, our gut instinct was right. The client had a concern they weren't voicing. Or some bigger issue was on their mind. Or they really weren't interested in the project but didn't want to say so, so they asked for a proposal anyway.

Years ago I read a sentence in the book “Let's Get Real, Or Let's Not Play” by Mahan Khalsa that changed the way I handled these situations and made a massive difference to the outcomes I got.

It said: “If you feel it, find a way to say it”.

So you'd say something like “I'm getting the feeling that this may not be exactly what you're looking for right now” and then wait for their reply.

Or “It feels like something else is a bigger priority for you right now – would you like to focus on that instead?”

Or “you know, I'm getting the sense you're not really convinced this'll work – what's your concern?”

If you feel something isn't quite right, get it out on the table.

Not in an aggressive or accusatory way. Talk about what you're feeling and it doesn't make it seem like you're blaming them.

It takes a bit of courage to do this. You might not want to hear what they have to say. But it's a lot better to hear it now when you can do something about it than let the concern fester and have it come back to bite you later.

And more often than not they'll open up. They'll tell you what's concerning them. It'll be a relief for them. They didn't come out with it initially because they didn't want to hurt your feelings.

And once the issue is out in the open, you can deal with it. Or if it can't be dealt with, you don't waste any more time both pretending things are going swimmingly. You part amicably.

This is an incredibly powerful approach when you're in a sales meeting with a potential client.

Usually what happens when you feel your potential client isn't quite ready to buy is you wheel out reason after reason why this is a good thing. And it feels more and more to them like you're trying to push something on them.

But if you just say “it feels like you still have maybe a couple of concerns about moving ahead…” they they usually tell you exactly what the issue is. And often it's something you just wouldn't have thought of yourself.

Once it's out in the open you can address it. Unspoken, it becomes a barrier to the sale.

All it takes is that little bit of bravery to be honest with the client and tell them what you're feeling.

And you get a huge payoff.

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Nothing lasts forever

Posted byIan Brodie on June 16th, 2013.

A few years ago I interviewed Greg Alexander, CEO of Sales Benchmark Index for my Authority Marketing Podcast.

I've just read a new interview with him by David Meerman Scott. It's a fascinating read.

Greg's a hardcore sales guy turned consultant. And he tells how he initially built Sales Benchmark Index with traditional sales activities – particularly cold calling.

But then in 2011, his outbound lead generation just stopped working.

“It's like somebody slammed the doors shut.” he says in the interview.

Greg's view isn't that somehow his competitors outsmarted him. It's that his clients just got too busy to accept interruption based marketing. He stopped being able to get their attention.

So in 2011 he switched to inbound lead generation.

He researched his buyers' problems and how they solved them. And he and his team started regularly creating valuable resources that helped address those problems: blog posts, white papers, diagnostics, webinars.

Turns out my podcast interview with Greg was part of that process ;)

And it's working. They're currently having over twice the number of client meetings they used to have, and revenue is up over 50% already this year.

But for me, the important point isn't the specifics of what Greg and his team did.

It's simply that they did something.

They spotted that their lead generation efforts weren't working. They figured out why. And they started doing something that would work instead.

Many businesses are finding that the lead generation strategies that worked well for them in the past just aren't as effective any more.

If you're in that position. if you can no longer rely on word of mouth or networking or cold calling to bring in the new leads and clients you need; you need to do what Greg did.

First, decide to take action.

Then look for ways of generating leads that don't rely on interrupting your clients or on them having the time to go to events and meetings to connect with you. Because, frankly, those days are over.

Implement lead generation strategies that work today. Strategies that add value to your clients in advance of you working with them. Strategies that build your credibility and relationship.

And don't just wait until your current lead generation strategies stop working completely. Nothing lasts forever – so keep monitoring them and testing new approaches.

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Your bravest decision

Posted byIan Brodie on June 9th, 2013.

Your bravest decision is…well, we'll come to that in a minute ;)

I don't consider myself to be a particularly brave person.

Sure, I've left the corporate world to do my own thing. I've got up on stage in front of hundreds of people. I've stood up to a few bullying executives.

But nothing I'd consider out of the ordinary.

Until I spoke to a friend recently over a few drinks.

He'd been watching a few of the videos I've been doing and he remarked that I seemed “more comfortable in my own skin”.

In particular, he said it seemed like the “real me” on video. Not an image I was trying to project. Not some all powerful guru expert.

Just me.

Not wearing a suit and tie. Not dispensing wisdom like a professor. Just sharing what I've found.

And surprisingly enough, “just me” seems to be working.

A few years ago Huthwaite did some research into how people who sold different things were perceived by their clients.

And they found that people who sold professional services (that's you and me) were perceived as less trustworthy than those who sold products.

Less trustworthy than people who sell used cars or double glazing? Ugh.

Out of the three components of trust in their model (in their words, candour, competence and concern) the area that apparently lets us professionals down is showing concern and empathy for our clients.

So we're viewed as knowing what we're doing, and of being straight with them. But we do much, much worse than product salespeople at building that person to person relationship with our clients.

Accountants, lawyers, consultants; we're trained “to be professional”. To be objective, fact-driven and solution focused. We're conditioned into feeling we must constantly demonstrate our cleverness and expertise in order to be credible.

But all of this mitigates against showing genuine human concern for clients and their challenges.

We put on a veneer of professionalism that prevents us connecting deeply with our clients.

And so your bravest decision is to strip away that veneer.

To open up. To be you.

It's brave because it gives you nothing to hide behind. It's you out there, warts ‘n all. And not everyone is going to like you.

But for those you do click with, that relationship will be far stronger than the superficial professional to professional relationships most people have.

And that means more loyalty. More work. More fun too.

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Is it just me?

Posted byIan Brodie on June 2nd, 2013.

s it just me?

For a marketing and sales teacher, I seem to be remarkably intolerant of being marketed and sold to these days.

Thanks to Sky+ I fast-forward through the ads on TV. I close popups on websites on autopilot. I unlink from people who send me sales pitches or unsolicited “newsletters” on Linkedin. And don't get me started about people who call me up trying to sell me stuff.

Worst of all: people who seem to think that because we've gone to the same event it's their duty to tell me how brilliant their products and services are despite the fact I've indicated no interest in them.

Our attitudes, our client's attitudes, change all the time. And our marketing needs to change to reflect this.

I don't mean that we should abandon direct mail or referrals or other tried and tested marketing approaches in favour of newfangled, unproven technologies. Far from it.

But we need to use them in a different way.

Clients don't want to be bothered, interrupted, sold at. And these days they won't tolerate it – they'll go elsewhere.

So our marketing needs to be valuable, useful, entertaining.

If people tell you your marketing is so helpful to them you ought to charge for it, you know you're on the right track.

If your ideal clients think of your marketing as something they want to tune into, not switch off, then you're on the right track.

If they actively seek it out, subscribe to it, pay attention to it, learn from it, laugh at it. Then you've got marketing that can cut through any cynicism and reach even the most overworked, short-of-time client.

It's not rocket science. It's not costly. It just requires a different way of thinking.

Instead of trying to “persuade” people they should hire you, you prove you're the right choice by giving them value in advance of working with you.

And you know what? Not only is that sort of marketing better for your clients. Not only does it work better. It's more fun too.

Give it a go.

More Clients Memorandum

My Achilles heel (one you might have too)

Posted byIan Brodie on May 26th, 2013.

I spoke to a couple of my email subscribers recently.

Josef and I chatted over skype. We discussed a bunch of stuff but one thing I picked out was when he said “I read your email about Fiverr last week. Not heard of it before but I went on and got a logo for my new business and some quick market research done – all for $10 total”.

The other was a coffee I grabbed with Steve just before a meeting he was about to have with a potential corporate client. He'd got the meeting using a social media strategy I'd recommended (despite the fact that his MD had written off social media).

The common factor in both cases was that they actually did something with the advice they'd read.

They didn't just read and think “oh, that's interesting”. Or “yes, he's right, I knew that”.

They did something. Immediately.

In Steve's words: “I'm an implementer”.

I have to admit, that's often my Achilles heel.

I love to read and learn. I love to be at the leading edge of new techniques and strategies. To discover them before anyone else.

But I'm sometimes hesitant to “pull the trigger”.

Given the choice between implementing something or learning more about it so I can make sure I implement it perfectly (eventually) – I get learning.

Very many people are like me in this way I've found. And unfortunately, it really is the wrong way to do things.

Sure, if a little more research will give you a whole lot better result, then do it.

But that's not usually the case. usually a lot more research gives you a little better plan.

Nine times out of Ten, a B grade plan implemented today gets you much better results than an A grade plan implemented next week.

And that one time out of ten, you usually procrastinate and put it off another week anyway.

So do this right now: make a resolution to do something this week. Implement something you've been thinking of for a while but haven't pulled the trigger on.

Something you're sure will work, but you've been hesitating because you'd like it to work even better.

Better can be version 2. Do version 1 now.