I was working at a software company in Chicago as their corporate marketing director, and I was tasked with finding a new marketing tool for our team. After looking around at a few options, I found myself on the phone with a salesperson for one of the more promising options.
I was on the phone with him as we had a great conversation. We had some chit chat, he asked me some great questions about my team’s goals, he ran through the standard pitch, he told me how it works and what they could offer. I was actually enjoying learning about what the tool could do for us.
Then before I knew it, he concluded the conversation with,
“So, what do you think? Are you ready to say yes?”
As soon as he said it, I remember thinking to myself, “Are you serious?”
Did he really think I could just make a decision that fast? I had a whole chain of command that I had to go through. I had to talk about it with my VP. We had to sell it to the CMO. And we had to take it to finance. We weren’t a huge company, but that’s just how decisions were made. There was a lot I had to do before I could even think about committing to anything.
Because that’s not how it works! Having a quick conversation and saying yes on the phone – that never could have worked. That’s not how I could have said yes. And for the clients of the women I work with, that’s not how clients buy.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people trying to convince you that your clients — companies of all sizes, from solopreneur to Fortune 500 — that your clients can buy like that. That they can say yes after one phone call.
And even more unfortunately, those people are business coaches.
I see it all the time: “How to close clients in just one call!” “The funnel to fill your calendar with high-paying clients!” A simple formula like this one:
They might work for B2C. But if your clients are businesses, this just won’t work. You have to know:
How to message your work for value, so they know exactly where to plug you into their business.
How to lead an awesome conversation that builds the relationship and moves the sales process forward.
How to price your work to help them say yes and get paid more (yes, you can do both!).
How to write proposals that clients want to say yes to.
How to lead a sales process so you won’t be ghosted.
You can’t land B2B consulting and coaching clients with a formula. The only way to get the type of clients you want, especially right now, is to actually know how to sell.
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With everything going on right now and the pressure to want to grow your business, it’s no wonder you’re hoping to find the fastest way to get somebody to commit.
But I want you to pause for a moment and think.
Think about a time back in the days of your corporate life when you were faced with a decision just like mine, Would you have been able to say “Yes?”
And now, running your own business, what would you do instead to help your clients say yes?
That’s why I’m leading a live training this week, all about how to secure consulting clients, even if you’re convinced that no one is hiring right now (hint: they are!!)
LIVE Training:
How To Secure Consulting Clients… Even If It Feels Like There’s No Way Clients Are Spending Money (hint: they are!)
Tuesday, October 13th
(Want to send this training to a friend? Here’s the link you can send: https://growthworks.lpages.co/secureconsultingclients)
So what are you ready to learn today? Join me!
To your success,
Leah
