I attended a panel discussion about raising venture capital. Another attendee and I met when we both asked the concierge where the conference was being held. After some small talk, the usual questions arose about careers and the reasons for attending. The following exchange was approximately verbatim. I think that is a oxymoron but just go with it. I’ve changed his name and services to protect the guilty.
Elevator Arrival: “Ding” – Anthropomorphizing slightly here.
Him: “So what keeps you busy during the day?”
Me: “I help organizations plan for their future through strategic investments in their people, processes and technology.”
Him: “Wow, that’s cool. It must be interesting.”
Me: “It sure is, and how -“
Him: (interrupting and accelerating) “Thanks for asking, my name is Mr. Blah and I am super passionate about how I can help companies such as yours with its a, b, c things.”
Elevator Departure: “Ding”
Me: “Who is-“
Him: “Did you know that 55% of all widgets are inverted or whatever and there are so many opportunities?”
Me: “Um, no I didn’t. What is a widget?”
Him: (nodding sympathetically) “Of course you didn’t, no-one does.”
---Fast-Forward or TiVo® through about 5 minutes of information later when the panel was beginning.
Him: “Counter intuitive widget knowledge enhancement through ROI super awesomeness or whatever.”
Him: “Here is my card, a few brochures, a DVD, a self published book and a CD in case you or your network would be interested.”
Me: (sigh of relief) “Wow, the panel is starting already. Let’s listen in.”
I can’t be completely ungrateful for this fellow. He really drove home two important lessons in building relationships which are the foundations of consulting engagements. On a side note, he continues to call me to this day asking for referrals.
The first rule of selling comes down to knowing who is a current customer or potential customer and who isn’t. If you are in an environment where your customers are not, don’t waste your time selling. A panel discussion regarding raising capital in which the attendees were primarily broke entrepreneurs who are seeking investment is not a great place to target new business. Many of these individuals have boot strapped their businesses. Don’t waste your time on selling items to others who will never be clients. In this case, I did not need any widget services or products. The idea of A.B.C. or Always Be Closing is ridiculous. The importance of qualifying questions cannot be overlooked. Potential clients are not stupid. If I wanted to listen to a scripted speech about all the functions, benefits, or value of your product, I would… well I never would. A client wouldn’t either.
It sounds like I’m against networking and that is far from the truth. Networking is a vital part of any business. Simply be mindful of those you network with to ensure your circle of professionals all have the same highly ethical standards. Birds of a feather…
The incredible second rule. If the potential client looks uncomfortable it is for one of the following reasons. Make sure to find out why before proceeding.
1. The lack of interest in your product or service has gone from moderate to monumental resulting in physical discomfort.
2. The client has a question.
3. The client might be concerned since you haven’t taken a breath in the last 750 words or 3 minutes and is considering the liability if you pass out.
4. The Super Duper Burrito was a bad call for lunch.
Being able to sense the tenor of the discussion and respond effectively to client concerns is much more effective than ripping through three hundred Microsoft Power Point® slides complete with transitions. Nothing in a presentation will build a relationship. It might build trust or establish expertise but it does not build a relationship.
I recall one very effective relationship where our first meeting was only 20 minutes long.
The client asked 2 questions:
1. How can you make this project/process/implementation more effective?
2. If Monday was your first day, what are you doing?
To effectively answer these, the rest of the meeting was discussing the current client challenges.
I asked the client after a few years about why there were only 2 questions. The answer taught me many things. The Client said: “You explained that you didn’t know exactly how to improve my condition but the knowledge exuded through your questions indicated that you were the right choice.” This specific relationship was created through questions.
But enough about me…
Lessons Learned:
1. The questions you pose provide a better gauge of your knowledge than any presentation ever could.
2. It is not about you.
3. I’m serious, it is not about you.
4. Relationships exceed all other forms of sales tools.
5. Obsequious sycophants cannot build relationships.
Elevator Arrival: “Ding” – Anthropomorphizing slightly here.
Him: “So what keeps you busy during the day?”
Me: “I help organizations plan for their future through strategic investments in their people, processes and technology.”
Him: “Wow, that’s cool. It must be interesting.”
Me: “It sure is, and how -“
Him: (interrupting and accelerating) “Thanks for asking, my name is Mr. Blah and I am super passionate about how I can help companies such as yours with its a, b, c things.”
Elevator Departure: “Ding”
Me: “Who is-“
Him: “Did you know that 55% of all widgets are inverted or whatever and there are so many opportunities?”
Me: “Um, no I didn’t. What is a widget?”
Him: (nodding sympathetically) “Of course you didn’t, no-one does.”
---Fast-Forward or TiVo® through about 5 minutes of information later when the panel was beginning.
Him: “Counter intuitive widget knowledge enhancement through ROI super awesomeness or whatever.”
Him: “Here is my card, a few brochures, a DVD, a self published book and a CD in case you or your network would be interested.”
Me: (sigh of relief) “Wow, the panel is starting already. Let’s listen in.”
I can’t be completely ungrateful for this fellow. He really drove home two important lessons in building relationships which are the foundations of consulting engagements. On a side note, he continues to call me to this day asking for referrals.
The first rule of selling comes down to knowing who is a current customer or potential customer and who isn’t. If you are in an environment where your customers are not, don’t waste your time selling. A panel discussion regarding raising capital in which the attendees were primarily broke entrepreneurs who are seeking investment is not a great place to target new business. Many of these individuals have boot strapped their businesses. Don’t waste your time on selling items to others who will never be clients. In this case, I did not need any widget services or products. The idea of A.B.C. or Always Be Closing is ridiculous. The importance of qualifying questions cannot be overlooked. Potential clients are not stupid. If I wanted to listen to a scripted speech about all the functions, benefits, or value of your product, I would… well I never would. A client wouldn’t either.
It sounds like I’m against networking and that is far from the truth. Networking is a vital part of any business. Simply be mindful of those you network with to ensure your circle of professionals all have the same highly ethical standards. Birds of a feather…
The incredible second rule. If the potential client looks uncomfortable it is for one of the following reasons. Make sure to find out why before proceeding.
1. The lack of interest in your product or service has gone from moderate to monumental resulting in physical discomfort.
2. The client has a question.
3. The client might be concerned since you haven’t taken a breath in the last 750 words or 3 minutes and is considering the liability if you pass out.
4. The Super Duper Burrito was a bad call for lunch.
Being able to sense the tenor of the discussion and respond effectively to client concerns is much more effective than ripping through three hundred Microsoft Power Point® slides complete with transitions. Nothing in a presentation will build a relationship. It might build trust or establish expertise but it does not build a relationship.
I recall one very effective relationship where our first meeting was only 20 minutes long.
The client asked 2 questions:
1. How can you make this project/process/implementation more effective?
2. If Monday was your first day, what are you doing?
To effectively answer these, the rest of the meeting was discussing the current client challenges.
I asked the client after a few years about why there were only 2 questions. The answer taught me many things. The Client said: “You explained that you didn’t know exactly how to improve my condition but the knowledge exuded through your questions indicated that you were the right choice.” This specific relationship was created through questions.
But enough about me…
Lessons Learned:
1. The questions you pose provide a better gauge of your knowledge than any presentation ever could.
2. It is not about you.
3. I’m serious, it is not about you.
4. Relationships exceed all other forms of sales tools.
5. Obsequious sycophants cannot build relationships.
Are you channeling Dr Phil, [southern drawl]"It's not abooouuuut YOU!"[/southern drawl]
Posted by: Joshua | 02/22/2010 at 09:31 AM