Читать книгу How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start - Tom McMakin, Doug Fletcher - Страница 33

Interestingly, we found from our research that these seven elements of the client's buying decision journey are not necessarily linear. They could, in theory, happen in the exact order as we have them outlined. A prospective client could become aware of us, learn what we do, have an interest in our services, grow to respect our professional ability, trust us, have the funds, and be ready to get started. But that is not often the way in which things play out.

A new client could have met us ten years ago at a conference, grown to respect our professional expertise over time, and developed a belief that we are trustworthy, but didn't have an interest in working with us at the time. It may be years later before they find themselves searching for the right person to assist them with an important problem. Such is often the nonlinear path of the client's buying decision journey.

If we have a better understanding of how clients buy, we can be sensitive to where the prospective client is in their thought process. And if we understand where the client is in their journey, we can do a better job of providing them with the things they need to become more confident in their decision. In doing so, we increase our chances of success at winning client business.

The seven elements framework also helps us assess how well we are doing, as individuals and as organizations. We can gauge how well we are doing at building awareness, better understand how well we are doing at helping others understand exactly what we do best, and determine how successful we are at demonstrating our professional credibility to others in ways that build respect for our capabilities.