The dog and pony show, the beauty contest, the shoot-out. You may just call it “the pitch.” The term is especially common in some industries—advertising, executive recruiting, some law firms—but we all know it. Typically we think of it as an event—a rather formal presentation by several professionals made to several members of the client […]
Consultants and salespeople (especially consultative sellers and sellers of consulting) have learned one mantra, and we love repeating it. It is the mantra that says, “Listen first; talk later.” In other words, it’s all about the question. Ask a great question, the logic goes, and all else will fall into place. That is the great […]
It’s a special kind of person who finds his or her way into an expertise-based advisory career. They are, of course, what we call “smart”—meaning cognitively talented, analytical, with high IQs. They are also often driven, motivated, and high achievers. What doesn’t get mentioned as often is that they also tend to have high standards—for their […]
Do your customers trust you? Be honest, now, this is not an in-house survey. Do they believe what you say? Will they cut you a break if you goof up? Are they happy to share information with you? Do they go out of their way to refer you? Can you honestly answer ‘yes,’ to yourself, […]
If you’re interested in selling, you might plausibly start with trying to understand how buyers buy. It’s a simple enough question. But then why are there so many answers? Three of the most common answers to that question are: People buy when they strongly feel a desire to alleviate a negative situation. People buy as […]
You may know “The Prisoner’s Dilemma.” In game theory, it is a classic conundrum. As Wikipedia states, it “demonstrates why two people might not cooperate even if it is in both their best interests to do so.” It turns out that the solution to The Prisoner’s Dilemma is also the solution to a great many […]
Few things in business so dramatically affect customer perception as how you handle pricing – particularly when and how you offer discounts. People may evaluate your products or your service by averaging out multiple experiences. But drop your price just once – and see how hard it is to recover. For one large-scale example, recall Bill […]
I had a conversation with BigCo., Inc. They want their B2B salespeople to become trusted advisors. They felt (correctly) that greater trust levels with their customers would result in greater intra-customer market share, and greater profitability. And they’re right. But then they described their implementation plan. It consisted of breaking down the objectives into finer and finer […]
A free bit of advice to anyone seeking to improve their networking skills, or looking for a true best practice in getting a meeting with someone. And here it is: Comment on a blogpost or article that person has written. Simple. You already intuitively get how that can be powerful, but let’s break it down. Note: […]
Neil Rackham’s classic SPIN Selling book is famous for many reasons – the depth of research, his clarity of thinking, the deeply commonsensical conclusions he draws. It’s a great book, and deserves all the acclaim it’s gotten over the years. Yet I’ve always been amused and delighted by a small item he mentions almost in […]