“ dissatisfied ,” “ unsure ,” etc . Listen for talk about missed deadlines , missed opportunities , and / or the need to rapidly capture opportunities .
The client believes there is a lack of internal resources and / or expertise
The client feels that they don ’ t have the right skills or enough people to tackle the issue on a timely basis . “ We don ’ t have the capabilities to do this on our own right now .”
Test : Ask why they want to use or are considering an external resource . Probe to understand what the shortfall is . Is it expertise ? Warm bodies ? Skills ? Process understanding ? Knowledge about the competition and best practices ?
The client trusts that you / your firm can do it
They have to believe that you not only have the capability to solve the problem or realize the opportunity , but also that you are the best alternative compared to other competitors and to tackling it internally . “ We believe you are the best people to help us with this .”
Test : Do they keep asking you for more documentation and detail about your methodology and approach , or do they talk as if they ’ re going to be working with you ? Are you seeing buying signals , such as a request for a proposal , questions about fees , and so on ?
The executive sponsor feels that the right stakeholders have all been aligned around retaining you and utilizing your suggested approach
This is especially true in large corporations where many constituencies and layers of management may have a vested interest in the issue at hand . “ We ’ ve got support from our leadership and alignment from all the right
‘‘ Does the client demonstrate a clear understanding of the approach you ’ ve suggested , or do they keep saying things like , “ I ’ m not quite sure how this part of it is going to work ”? Ask , “ Is there any aspect of our approach that you still don ’ t fully understand or that you have questions about ?’’
constituencies .”
Test : Ask , “ Who needs to be aligned with this , and where do they stand today ?” or “ Who needs to approve this within your leadership team ?”
They can see tangible next steps to move forward
The client has to feel that your proposed solution and approach are clear and make sense for the organization . If they don ’ t see these tangible next steps , they will hesitate . “ Your solution is clear , and we ’ re comfortable that it ’ s the right approach for us .”
Test : Does the client demonstrate a clear understanding of the approach you ’ ve suggested , or do they keep saying things like , “ I ’ m not quite sure how this part of it is going to work ”? Ask , “ Is there any aspect of our approach that you still don ’ t fully understand or that you have questions about ?”
Notice that I haven ’ t listed “ available budget ” as a pre-condition . That is because budget is always available for a client ’ s highest priorities . If it ’ s truly important , and if these pre-conditions are met , there will be funding .
If any of these pre-conditions are absent , the sales process will come to a grinding halt . Whenever you feel that your conversations with the client aren ’ t going anywhere , carefully review each of these .
Most of the time , you will find that one or more of these six preconditions are not fully present .
You may then need to schedule another meeting with your client to retrace your steps and see if the pre-condition can be satisfied or achieved .
You can even put it on the table - for example : “ Bill , we ’ ve had a number of conversations about sales force productivity over the last three months . When I look back at my best client relationships - where I really made a difference - they usually started with a focus on an issue that the client felt was truly significant - it was a problem or an opportunity that they had a high degree of urgency around . Do you think this is the case here ?”
Dr Clifford J Ferguson is the Managing Partner of Rainmakers , and chairman of Glad ’ s House . He can be reached via mail on : Cliff . Ferguson @ rainmakers . uk . com , or website ; www . rainmakers . uk . com .
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