Will You Inspire Your Clients in 2015?

Over one hundred articles have been written examining the approach industry firms take regarding sales, business development, marketing or the other phrases used to describe how new business is secured. In fact, books have been written on the topic and industry professionals keep seeking answers.

For example, how does a firm with an impeccable record of service and project delivery fail to obtain the key contracts? How does a firm with thought leaders across a broad spectrum of service groups fail to win against firms lacking these experts? It can’t all be assigned to luck—good or bad.

It does point to the intangibles in the procurement process. Everyone strives to work on an even playing field. We know the decision makers, personal and business wins, personalities, buying influences, client history, competition, and the client’s decision process. We also know our strengths and weaknesses.

And, whether we call the process marketing, business development or sales, we know how to put a winning proposal and client presentation together. Therefore, we should never lose. What happens when we don’t win?

Don’t go back to the drawing board or rewrite your strategic approach to client acquisition. Get ready to take differentiation to a new level. Inspiring clients is the new cost of doing business. In the 1980’s this change was a focus on quality. In the 1990’s it was about giving back to your community. The focus is now on inspiration.

Ask your team what they did to inspire the client. Winning business is often personal. When you peel away all of the bells and whistles, buying decisions are made by people for people. Most clients go into the selection process for an architect or engineer with fear. Their job and reputation might be on the line. The success of their company might be decided by the impact of this project. They are mainly afraid because they believe anyone of 10 firms could do the job but only one will remove the fear and make the experience wonderful. Only one will inspire them.

Art Linkletter hosted a program called, “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” He could have included industry clients on that program as well. He might have called it “Clients make the darndest decisions. “ A selection process for an engineer or architect is rarely an apples to apples comparison. It might start that way, but the ending is often quite different. Does your firm know how to navigate when the selection turns personal.

How can your team inspire a client? The end result is a client becoming an advocate. The journey to advocate is not a straight line. You might start with your thought leaders. How often do your thought leaders sit down with clients (outside of a particular project or something billable) and brainstorm issues impacting the client’s business or industry? Most firms shy away from this because it might backfire. However, what is the value of an inspired client? It is definitely worth the risk. Have your principals really gotten to know the people who hired them? Caring about the personal outcomes of a client can be extremely inspirational as a firm seeks to acquire new business.

Understanding the outside elements that impact the client’s business or industry create the framework for producing an inspirational presentation instead of a cookie cutter PowerPoint that spends too much time patting your firm on the back. The images of your presentation are the storyboard that propels your story to the finish line of winning business. When it inspires, you transform the mind of your client. It is not simply changing the mind of the client, but creating a mindset that needs your firm to be part of the team.

Some firms stumble upon this change by accident. Success over the long term requires your firm to go deeper into client relationships. Inspiring clients is now a cost of doing business. Is your firm prepared to pay the price?