Conversations: Perfecting the Lost Art

 Selling professional services  has been defined as a combination of art and science, with communications being the key element. How many times have you planned the perfect client meeting only to leave the meeting without the sale or client commitment to move forward?  Communication might be getting in your way. 

One of our biggest problems is not taking into account the communication “noise”.  You might not have the undivided attention of your client. I am not talking about telephone interruptions or knocks on the door.  I am talking about what is going on in the client’s mind while you are trying to have a conversation.  In my “Overcoming Communications Barriers” seminar, I have a slide showing a client at his desk with cartoon balloons above his head showing what is on his mind. He is thinking about dinner with his wife, his son’s soccer game, the MLB baseball results, his car needing an oil change, etc.  And, you thought you were the most important thing he would be thinking about today.

When I first got into this business a sales trainer told me the key to selling is getting the client more interested in buying than you are in selling.  This means make your conversation less about your company and more about the client.  Don’t confuse this with leaving out the key reasons why the client needs your services. Since there isn’t a magic phrase that will make a client want to buy from us, we need to look at how a conversation can take us to the place where the client must buy from us.  If you start with a problem he is dealing with at the beginning of the conversation, it is easy to get the client to set aside other things on his mind and focus on you.  This is the art of selling.

Understanding how to lead a conversation will put you on the path to gaining information that is critical for your success in selling the client your services.  Asking the right questions is the first step.  Everyone working in business development or marketing in the professional services industry and all other industries for that matter knows you need to ask open ended questions. Yes and no answers are not the way to build a conversation.  Here is an example (How to find a client problem):
“Did you know there are five critical areas of expertise needed to design (fill in the blank with the client’s project)?  Conversations are built on body language. Wait and see the client’s reaction to your question.  Use the client’s answer and non-verbal cues to build the case for your firm.  The conversation might continue with the client saying, “Your expertise is great, but my problem is (blank).  Now the client is helping you build the conversation. You just learned a pain point you didn’t know before the meeting. When you answer, you will have the client’s full attention.

Your answer is simply, “Have you ever visited X.  The client for this project had the same problem you just mentioned and was initially concerned about using our firm.  We were selected not only because our team had experience with the large design issues, but because we had innovators who took care of the small issues that can slow down a major project.  We built trust by assuring the client that when you have a problem that no one has ever dealt with, you want us on the team to create a solution. The project has received many awards since its completion”

Your statement will generate a number of questions.  It might reveal a competitor who is wired into the project.  It might reveal the client’s problem is not what he just stated, but something different.  The answer will allow you to continue the conversation.  You might follow up with, “I understand how the problem you mentioned could impact the project, but is the project a current priority? Has it been funded? When do you plan to start? Do you have other people on your team working on the problem now or will you leave the solution to the design team?”  All of these questions continue the conversation and allow you to gather more information.  

Change: Taking Control of Your Future through Connection Priority

Change is often difficult to predict in our industry.  One reason is because our industry spans across

multiple industries where change often occurs at different intervals.  The healthcare industry is an example of constant changes over the last 25 years. Every 10 years or so, the pundits tell us the industry is going through revolutionary change.  Yet, the industry continues to grow and need our services. 

Firms selling services in this market have learned how to keep up by being connected to institutions and developing relationships with leaders.  Hospitals have gone through acquisitions and mergers during this time.  These changes alone have made it difficult to stay on top of who is in charge of what.

The oil industry is one of the biggest change agent industries in the world.  They make multi-billion dollar investments on exploration that will not pay back for 20 years.  They use a method called scenario planning.  Yet, there are firms in our industry that stay connected despite the constant changes in oil and energy markets.

Of course, there is volatility in other markets as well. But, the examples listed above should suffice for the purposes of this article.  The butterfly affect in weather explains how even the flapping of butterfly wings thousands of miles away can cause disruptions in weather patterns here at home. What can cause disruptions in your firm and your firm's clients?

Marketing services professionals respond to thousands of clients requests each year.  In a world of constant change, they need to understand how and why those requests have come to them.  To be successful in this climate, you need to understand the competitive nature of the markets your firm works in, the corporate culture of the clients you want to work with and internal strengths and weaknesses of your firm.  In other words, you need to be connected.

Questions that need to be answered in order for you to be really connected include: Can you see patterns in a story your client is telling you?  What is your firm’s mission and how do you find common ground in your role as marketing services professional?  There is a cause and effect.  What if everyone in your firm is not on the same page?  Some people in your firm might not be clear about your purpose.  We are hard wired to have a need to have a purpose. You are the change agents connecting your people to clients and often management to frontline staff.  You must build bridges.

When was the last time you thought of yourself as a bridge builder. Bridges make life better when there are connections between two shores with a body of water flowing underneath.  What gives you the power and edge is the ability to build bridges between people, people and clients, clients and vendors and even clients and clients.  The world in turmoil flows underneath the bridges built by marketing services professionals. When the dots have been jumbled by change, it is your ability to connect the dots that will bring success to your career and your firm.

In addition to bridge builder, you must be seen as an advocate, seeker, counselor, interrogator and communicator.

When you give clients perspective and guidance, you are also giving them hope.  Not the simple hope that tomorrow will be a better day but the realistic hope that the project they are planning will be a success with your firm at the helm.  Do you look at yourself as someone who can bring stability to your clients when things are changing all around them?

When you work strategically with a client are you prepared to ask, “What if and if then?”  Vince Lombardi is often misquoted as saying, “Winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing,” when he actually said, “Preparing to win is everything.” 

In a world of change, preparation is the key to success for every marketing services professional.  Improving how you connect with everyone will integrate preparation into all of your actions.  Integrated preparation with true connections will build client trust and acceptance of your firm’s superior ability to complete their project. That is an outcome everyone is looking for, even in a world of change.