5 Tips For Closing That Consulting Deal
Bid higher. Be timely. Be responsive to the customer’s needs- every time. Make sure you're a good fit for the project and company culture. Prepare for objections and be ready to answer them with solutions or alternatives to their problem. If you can find a way to make the project work, whether it's in timing, budgeting, turnaround time, etc., do it! Plan an ongoing relationship with the client after they hire you- offer them upgrades and additional services outside of what they asked for in their request spec sheet or quote request form so that when their needs change in the future they will think of YOU first before contacting another consultant.
4. Let them give you some business. After a consultant has demonstrated why they are the best consultant for the job, ask for a shot to win their business. For example, "Do you know anyone else who could do this project? Maybe you should give me their name and number so I can call them and show you how awesome I am."
5. Promote yourself. Use the blog, Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, etc. to generate a buzz about you and your business. In addition to a nice professional website with tons of content, you want customers looking at other ways they can connect with you or your business. You may want to offer this as an optional service, but if it is something that will save them time and increase their ROI it should be included.
The above tips are specific to my consulting business, but when I first started out in my career I experienced the same things that many people do in their industry: there’s a lot of competition out there and often times consultants are competing against companies that have hundreds of consultants and years of experience in the market place. It's important to figure out how to differentiate from the competition and make yourself stand out.
No matter what industry you're in, there are best practices and processes that can be applied to your business that will help you attract more clients looking for your services and get them to understand the value of bringing you onboard for their project or initiative.
Good luck!
Shawn B. Gregory is the President of Development Minded Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in helping corporations, institutions and non-profits achieve their business goals and objectives. He is an International Business graduate, experienced in developing corporate level strategic plans, international business development and marketing. Shawn has served as Senior Vice President of Sales with a U.S.-based ERP software company; as an account executive for an international software development firm; as Regional Director for a large education software corporation; and most recently in the international insurance industry where he was charged with creating strategic partnerships to sell new programs to small to mid-size businesses all over the United States.
Many of his solutions have garnered more than a million dollars in revenue for his clients, and he uses his current knowledge of strategic planning, analytics and research to solve business problems for organizations around the world.
Shawn Gregory is also the Founder of Strategic Conversations , an interview based podcast series where he interviews some of the world's best CEOs, CMOs & CIOs about their strategies in business & technology.
The series offers candid discussions that go beyond marketing & technology to educate entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses on advanced strategies used by enterprise level companies. The podcast is available on iTunes
The post 5 Tips For Closing That Consulting Deal appeared first on Strategist Blog .
[/HOME][THE ULTIMATE COMFORT FOOD]
I have no idea what's in this but it tastes a million times better than expected.
"Like eating over-ripe, cancer-causing fruit? Well, if so, make sure you do actually eat this juice every day. It's not just for the sake of your teeth and your health; it will actually improve both."
These need to be added to the list before drinking tomorrow evening! [THE ULTIMATE COMFORT FOOD]
I know I'm late to the party: I've been using the water bottle for only a month now. (That was my first impression of it. I was working one day and noticed it sitting there in the office, just waiting for me to take it home.) But as a result, I've only been using it for a month now. If you've had yours any length of time longer than that and have made noticable progress with your health, please feel free to share in a comment below!
It's really helped me manage my blood sugar levels. Most mornings I wake up with blood sugar levels in the 60's (range is 40-180, according to the American Diabetes Association ). Before I started using this device, my levels would be higher – like 85-95 average – and that would make it difficult to eat breakfast. It would keep my sugar levels stable most days, which allowed me to eat breakfast and keep my blood sugar level in the lower range.
I also bought an extra pack of batteries because they're so expensive, and I've only used it 2 or 3 times since I got it. It's been sitting on the shelf for 9 months and still works fine.
I'll continue to use it, but I agree with what you said about everyone having different strengths and weaknesses with their health conditions, so everyone will have to decide for themselves which strategies work best for them.
Post a Comment