Читать книгу How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start - Tom McMakin, Doug Fletcher - Страница 35

It's often said in the world of professional services that our industry has a long sales cycle. In other words, it's not a quick sale. Some products – a new mobile phone, for example – are often a quick purchase. We walk into Verizon and an hour later we walk out with a new smart phone. It took us all of one hour to scan all of the options and find the one that best meets our needs and budget.

Professional services are not easy to buy. We need to know someone. We need to respect their expertise. We need to trust that they are honest and ethical. These are not things that can be easily discerned in one hour's time, or a day, or a week. Even if a client is highly motivated and ready to buy, they will often struggle for months in deciding which person or organization to work with.

As I've come to better understand how clients buy, and the many risks they face in choosing to work with us, I've become much more sympathetic to their situation. I understand now why it often takes a very long time to sign a work agreement: it's a long buy cycle. And the client is doing the best that he or she can do to pick the business partner who will maximize their chances of a positive outcome, and mitigate the risks that make them lose sleep at night.

Understanding the client's buying process helps us become better partners in their journey. And it also helps us appreciate why it's so much easier to hire us the second time. Or why a recommendation from a friend is so helpful.

Before we begin learning the rainmaker skills, we're going to first take a look at the key client pathways – where clients come from. I know, you're thinking: just tell me what I need to do to win client business. As the kung fu master says, Patience, grasshopper. It doesn't work if we simply jump to the “what to do” part. In order for the rainmaker skills to make sense, we have to first build a solid understanding of the consumer behavior and human psychology at play in how clients buy.