You’ve Got a Yes! Now What?

By Elaine Biech and Halelly Azulay, creators of the Building Your Successful Consulting Business online course.

You’ve been in touch with a potential client for months. You finally have a “yes” to meet with them. What do you do?

Your initial meeting is critical. It sets a tone for the rest of the relationship, which is why it is important to be your best self in this meeting. Many consultants come prepared for their initial introduction with a “dog and pony show”—a slick PowerPoint® presentation, materials in a bound folder, and a precisely worded presentation. If that’s your style and it works for you, continue doing it. We try to create a conversation with the client. It’s natural and it sets the tone for the rest of the relationship. How do we fare? We are regularly pitted against the top consulting firms in the United States. We are awarded the work a much higher percent of the time than not. Be yourself. If you land the project, it will be difficult to continue the charade you used to get it.

The skills you need for this first meeting read like an Interpersonal Skills 101 class:

• Read the client to determine whether to make small talk first or to get right down to business. Conversation based on the client’s communication style will lay a foundation for the rest of the discussion.
• Listen for understanding, especially to determine the critical points. Sometimes clients will not be clear about what they want. Read between the lines and ask for clarity. Remember that every statement has at least two messages: The content and the intent.
• Ask pertinent and thought-provoking questions. Before you attend the meeting, develop 3 to 10 questions based on what you know about the situation. Three well-thought-out questions will usually start a discussion. You will probably not have time to ask 10 questions, and if you have more than 10, it will be difficult to prioritize while you’re trying to focus.
• Put others at ease by remembering and using their names, by showing interest in their needs, and by balancing the discussion appropriately in a group. Ask for a list of attendees and their positions before your first meeting. Study the names before the meeting.
• Exude self-confidence without arrogance. Display your self-confidence with your body language, so use good eye contact, a pleasant demeanor, and confident posture. The client will want to know about your experience. Provide examples or relate similar situations.
• Project a professional image. First impressions count. A firm handshake, appropriate attire, and genuine interest in the client and the organization you are visiting will help.

Prepare for the Questions Clients Will Ask

Clients who have used consultants in the past will ask many of the same questions. Most will want to know what you do. Know how to tell your story in a 60-second sound bite. We experience the following variations repeatedly.

• What are the deliverables? What will the final product look like?
• What are the critical milestones? At what point will progress and quality be checked? How?
• How much will this cost me? (Answer this one using the word “investment,” for example, “Your investment for completing this project will be $13,900.”)
• What are your billing practices? How often will you invoice me?
• How can you help me with the kick-off of this project?
• Whom do I contact if there are problems or concerns?
• How can we stay in contact?
• How can you help me communicate with my boss?
• What is our responsibility at each phase? How will you involve our employees?
• How will you evaluate the success of this project?

Selling: Helping Clients See the Value

One of the most-asked questions by consultants is “how do I get more clients?” What they are really asking about is selling. But once you are in front of clients, you need to sell to them. Lots of consultants—us included—do not like what we perceive as “selling.” Think about it differently. Do you like to help your clients solve problems? Of course you do. How can you help solve their problems if you don’t work with them? You can’t. So some transaction needs to occur that allows you to help them. It is helpful; stop thinking about it as selling your services.

Instead help your potential clients see the value in what you offer by asking a few questions. Your questions should help your potential clients see the value of solving their problems. In addition, create a conversation that gives them value immediately. These conversations can be so positive to the client that they will look forward to speaking with you again. You can do this by asking a few powerful questions. Help your client understand how you can help them, ask four kinds of questions, the 4Rs. Plan one or two in each category before meeting with potential clients.

• Relation Questions. Start by building and strengthening the relationship with questions such as, “What’s happening in your organization these days?” or “I read about the big award your company received. Congratulations! Tell me about it.” Or “What’s changed since the last time we talked?”
• Requirement Questions. You have an opportunity to gather more information about the problem your client is trying to solve. For example, you might ask, “How important is . . .” or “How would this affect profit margins?” or “if you don’t solve this, what will happen . . .?”
• Relatable Questions. Relate your solution by asking questions that draw comparisons between now and the future. It might sound like, “How does your current situation compare to what you want in the future?” or “If we could show you that . . . would it solve it for you?”
• Rationale Questions. These questions inform you about the decision-making process. You might ask, “What criteria will be important to make this decision?” or “How will the decision be made?” or, my favorite, “If there were no constraints, what would you change and why?”

Finally, demonstrate how you can add more value to the discussion. Can you share your unique perspective or insight? Can you use an example about how you can you help them avoid making bad decision? Can you share pros and cons or a process to help them make the right decisions? Can you share testimonials? What data or information can you share to help them justify the purchase to someone higher? Can you discuss return on investment? Or how the value will benefit the organization? 

Asking questions that help to target value help potential clients justify a decision to buy from you. Help potential clients get clear on the value, rather than just seeing it as a cost. A good result for you is that by not “selling” you have convinced them that you can solve their problem and provide value.

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About the Authors

Elaine Biech and Halelly Azulay are successful consultants with a combined 50 years of experience. Both are leaders in the talent development field, volunteers for ATD, and mentors and coaches for new consultants. They are the creators of the online course: Building Your Successful Consulting Business. Elaine has published 85 books, including The New Business of Consulting and Halelly produces and hosts The TalentGrow Show podcast where she interviews legends such as Daniel Pink, Beverly Kaye, Dorie Clark, and others.

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