Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants

When Sales Questions Fail You

Even powerful ideas can lose their potency when we lose sight of how to use them effectively. For example, you may understand the potential power of the questions you ask in sales situations. But are you really asking questions that help you?

In this month's issue of The Guerrilla Consultant, we take a look at sales questions to make sure that yours are serving your clients, not a sales methodology.

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A special offer for Guerrilla Consultant readers

No matter how effective your marketing program is, eventually you'll have to sell your services and yourself to a prospective client.

In my first book, Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, Jay Levinson and I laid out a market-proven lead generation strategy for professional service providers.   

Now, my new book, Winning the Professional Services Sale, shows you how to convert a qualified sales opportunity into a paying client without losing your sanity, or profit, in the bargain.

This isn't another sales book that promises to teach you how to sell just anything to anyone.

Winning the Professional Services Sale was written specifically for those who are involved in selling professional services. And, if you sell services, you know how complex the selling process can be. That's why I want to bring this book to your attention.

The book offers dozens of innovative strategies for managing every aspect of the services sale process, from initial client meetings, to writing and presenting your proposal, to negotiating the closing details.

Here's my special offer. For the next two weeks, if you purchase a copy of Winning the Professional Services Sale, we’ll also give you complimentary access to download and replay one of our most popular webcasts, Creating a Killer Web Site, which is a $79 value. This offer also includes the 50+ page companion workbook for the webcast.

This 60-minute webcast is based on our extensive study of the effectiveness of professional service providers’ web sites and covers:

The six essential elements of a client-centered site

• A step-by-step framework for evaluating the strengths and improvement areas for your site
• How to launch, or re-launch, a site without investing a small fortune
• Three quick changes to the home page that can draw clients to your practice
• When and how to use a newsletter or blog
• Three common web design mistakes you can avoid.

At the end of the webcast, you’ll have an approach for reviewing your web site’s effectiveness, and new ideas for boosting the ROI of your web investment.

How to Qualify?

It's simple.

Step 1. Buy at least one copy of Winning the Professional Services Sale from your favorite bookseller. Here are links to top booksellers for your convenience:

Amazon.com
Barnes&Noble.com
BooksAMillion.com   
Borders.com   

Step 2. After your order is processed, you will receive an order number.

Send an email to: Sally@MindShareConsulting.com that includes your name, email address, where you purchased the book, and your order number.

We will evaluate that information and send you a link that will allow you to access and download the webcast, Creating a Killer Web Site. We will also send you the 50+ page workbook (pdf).

If you've already purchased the book—Thanks! Just send along the same information and we'll send you the webcast link.

Attention Mac users: This webcast must be viewed on a PC.

Why am I doing this?

Quite simply, to draw your attention to this: you can more easily build a profitable practice and maintain a balance in your life by mastering the strategies in this book. So I want to bring Winning the Professional Services Sale to as many people as possible.

This book has been called a "must read" and "immensely practical" by leaders in the industry. It's organized to help you master any services selling situation. Read it from start to finish, or use it as a reference. Either way, the book will make you a better seller.

All this for about $20, plus you'll have access to a high-value webcast.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this offer. And let me know what you think of the book.

Natural Born Seller

I'm always amazed when consultants tell me that they don't like (or want) to sell. Some seem to think that the whole sales thing is completely beneath them. Then there are others who believe they aren't any good at selling. My reaction to both views is, you're kidding, right?

In this month's issue of The Guerrilla Consultant, I write about why these perspectives are missing the point, and why consultants, by virtual of their profession, can and should be top performing sellers.

Read this month's issue.

The Downside of Client Relationships

Read almost any book on marketing professional services and you'll find an obligatory section on how important it is to build client relationships. That's sound advice but, as with most good things, there are potential drawbacks.

In this month's issue of The Guerrilla Consultant, we talk about the pitfalls of client relationships.

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The Knowledge Trap

Jumping to conclusions about any problem can be disastrous. When confronted with a small house fire, for instance, your first instinct might be to douse it with water.

In more than a few cases, though, spraying water causes a fire to spread, resulting in even more damage.

In this month's issue of the Guerrilla Consultant, we explore why jumping to conclusions about your client's issues can also be dangerous--for the client and for you--and what you can do about it.

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Should You Blog?

Many consultants ask if they should jump into blogging to add power to their market presence. Blogs certainly are pervasive. In fact, if you listen to the experts, you get the impression that everyone should be blogging.

In this month's issue of the Guerrilla Consultant, we talk about how you can decide if blogging is right for your business.

Read the article.

"Where's Your Slide Deck?"

Whether it's a proposal, training seminar, status update, or final report, consultants use slides for nearly every presentation. When you show up to present (or even before), expect the client or meeting host to ask, "Where's your slide deck?"

Unfortunately, too many speakers misuse slide decks as a glorified cheat sheet for remembering what to say next. In this month's Guerrilla Consultant, we discuss some simple rules for transforming any slide presentation from a necessary evil into a powerful way to get your point across.

Read this month's issue

The One Service Every Consultant Should Offer

In one of our recent webcasts, a participant asked me if there is one service every consultant should offer. I didn't hesitate with my answer.

No matter how different your practice is from that of other consultants, the one service you should offer to clients is a diagnostic assessment. You might refer to your service as a strategic assessment, gap analysis, business process evaluation, or even an initial consultation.

Whatever you choose to call it, the service is a relatively short, systematic project to evaluate a specific area of client concern and offer objective advice. The emphasis is on short, systematic, and objective.

In this month's issue of The Guerrilla Consultant, I'll discuss this service offering, which can form the basis for everything you do with your clients.   

Read the article.

You Should See It Coming

Some memories fade with time, but a project that goes wrong can haunt you. We tend to relive profitless sinkholes, kicking ourselves anew each time.

Even though consultants learn quickly from debacles, in many cases, it's possible to sidestep such headaches entirely by heeding the clues clients give us.

In this month's issue of The Guerrilla Consultant, we discuss those clues and why it's sometimes better to pack up and walk away from a project rather than pursue it at all costs.

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Run with the Bulls

As 2007 wraps up, many consulting firms chalked up another year of double-digit revenue growth and strong profit performance. And the demand for consulting services appears bullish as we head into 2008.

You might think that selling services in times of high demand is the easiest of the market conditions we face. Some firms will find that a "rising tide" lifts their boats. But to reap the potential rewards from a bull market, you may need to make subtle changes in how you position your services.

In this month's issue of The Guerrilla Consultant, I discuss the challenges and essential strategies for consultants to succeed in any bull market.

Read this month's issue.