The Secret of Selling Professional Services Effectively…..is not to sell!!
Oct
10
Written by:
10/10/2010 09:58
Hello and thank you for taking the time to open this blog, my name is Terry Dunbar and I am a partner with LiddellDunbar - the UK’s leading professional services marketing and business development consultancy.
In my role as a business development consultant I have trained literally hundreds of Accountants and Tax Advisers to become effective at winning new clients and projects, but I haven’t trained any of them to “sell” …..Well not in the sense that you probably think about selling anyway.
Let me start by explaining that headline, traditionally when the word “sell” is mentioned, the majority of Accountants I have trained have had some sort of allergic reaction, they turn a strange colour and then they start to becoming defensive and splutter out phrases like “I didn’t join this profession to become a salesperson”.
After delegates have settled back down, and their nervous twitches have abated, I have had a conversation about what thoughts the word “sales” and “selling” evoke.
The general view is that selling is about being some slick operator that can charm the birds out of the trees, or persuade Saudi princes to buy Blackpool beach. It is this perception of sales and selling that I beleive has created all manner of issues for professionals.
When we talk about selling, what we really mean is… conducting a process that helps clients and prospective clients (I’ll call them targets from now on) understand all the reasons that they should use your services, and also identifies in clear terms what benefits they will get.
However, before you can help your clients gain this understanding; it follows that you need understand yourself. To quote Stephen Covey “seek first to understand, and then seek to be understood”
Let’s expand on this concept, what we’re actually advocating as the most effective method of selling professional services is - that you adopt an approach that is based around finding out about your target, and what they actually need and want from a service provider, then explain to them how your proposition meets their needs.
To do this effectively you must get under the surface and find out what your target really thinks, and what they actually need.
It is not enough to just rely on the explicit information (what a target will openly tell you) you’ll only really understand how you can help your target or client by listening to them, and understanding the implicit part of their story.
In the majority of cases your target will not know which of your offerings or services will be most appropriate for them, because they don’t have your technical expertise, or fully understand all the component parts of your offering. We call this unconscious incompetence – they don’t know what they don’t know!
When seeking to fully understand your target, the information that you need to ascertain can be split into three clear areas;
The individual
What is their attitude to risk?
What part of the decision making process are they? (I will cover this in future blogs)
What do they gain or lose by using your services e.g. kudos, time, comfort, financial gain, control, etc
The Business
What are its plans / ambitions?
What are its challenges?
What threatens it?
Where are the opportunities?
Who are their current advisers?
And then there is all the technical information that you will need to establish a thorough understanding of the business to support any proposal that you may make.
By establishing this level of understanding of your targets business, you should be in a position to use your skills as a professional adviser to produce a proposal that will help you target understand why your offering is the best for them, and what they will gain by using your firm.
There is one basic fact that applies to every individual who draws breath, and that is… we are all interested in "what’s in it for me?" or to put it less crudely, what benefit do I get? Unless you can identify what your client or target actually gets out of your proposal, you won’t be effective in persuading them to use your services.
If you are now thinking, well all that is great, but, how do I actually create the environment where a target is going to share all this information with me? And how do I establish what benefit they are going to get from my proposal?
Well, unfortunately I can’t cover everything in one blog, but I will continue the story over the next few weeks.
We are delighted that our firm has been selected to become a partner of the Accountants Circle; we will try to help Circle members in a number of ways;
We will be regularly writing about business development, marketing, and client acquisition related topics.
We will also be available to answer questions that members have, in two ways, in the forum, I have started a thread under the heading “Anyone need business development help”, alternatively, if you would like to discuss a specific issue on a one to one basis you can either contact me through our website www.liddelldunbar.co.uk or email me on terry@liddelldunbar.co.uk
4 comment(s) so far...
Re: The Secret of Selling Professional Services Effectively…..is not to sell!!
Thank you for this. It's the first I've seen that goes into any depth on the subject.
As my clients are SMEs, most really don't think too much about an accounting service, just want the statutory requirements met. You take it a step past this that gives thought even on these and how to get a better discussion going instead of just looking for the best price for the minimum work they need.
By Heywood Accounting Ltd on
23/11/2010 13:23
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Re: The Secret of Selling Professional Services Effectively…..is not to sell!!
Very valuable information; which will help in taking my business to another level. This information has provided me help in my most weakest area.
Thank you, Terry.
By yourownofficeservices on
31/12/2010 04:28
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Re: The Secret of Selling Professional Services Effectively…..is not to sell!!
Your information has made me feel like I am ready to go out there and sell. I am about to start an accounting consultancy business, this information was very much needed to help me get clients.
By Daudi on
27/02/2011 17:33
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Re: The Secret of Selling Professional Services Effectively…..is not to sell!!
A great businessman once told me: "Help people first. Provide them with services that would solve their problems - the profit will just flow after that". I guess this is what this article is talking about. Before offering your services, let the target know what you have to offer to solve their problems.
By deeguinoo on
05/10/2011 15:46
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