The Ultimate Differentiator
By Michael W. McLaughlin
As consultants, we rely on marketing communications to get the initial attention of prospective clients. Your hard marketing work helps you open a dialogue with a prospective client.
Before you can close any sale, though, you must pass the final test and prove that you are truly different from anyone else. That’s about creating personal differentiation—the ultimate differentiator.
When the Spotlight Shifts to You
When a prospective client contacts you, whether as the result of a referral or because that client learned something that made you sound promising, you have an opportunity to shine. Now it's up to you or your team to convert that opportunity into an assignment, and that's when your interpersonal skills come to the forefront. At this point, you are the ultimate differentiator, not your web site, speeches, references, or articles.
Clarifying the upside, or value, of your solution for clients is imperative, of course. But it doesn’t end there. In early interactions with you, the client is after the answers to three essential questions: do you really understand the problem? What's the probability that you'll deliver against your promises? And are you a fit with others in the organization?
Everything you do in early client meetings leaves a lasting impression. Ace the early tests and you're on your way to work.
Get Time on Your Side
Speed can be a powerful differentiator in almost every professional services sale, but its importance is easy to overlook. Your ability to rapidly understand the client's problem, integrate that understanding with your own expertise, and craft a range of workable solutions will always set you apart from others.
When one client was asked why he chose a particular consultant for an assignment, the simple answer was, "She figured it out fast." That consultant's skills allowed her to quickly comprehend the client's real issue and communicate that comprehension in a way that expressed competence and built client trust. She delivered an unambiguous proposal quickly, and it included firm dates and clear business terms.
Another consultant's advice for handling client meetings is "Never be sloppy with your use of the client's time. Move purposefully through every agenda item. And send everything to the client a little earlier than scheduled, including invoices."
Naturally, rushing to a solution is rarely a good idea. But when a client calls for help, it's usually a time-sensitive request. So think about how time and speed can differentiate you. Clients will appreciate your swiftness, and you're likely to win more work.
Listen to This
Unfortunately, the competitive benefit of speed can be undone by our use of language.
How we say things is as important as what we say. It's easy to fall into the jargon trap and befuddle clients with a bevy of buzzwords. If you find yourself talking about things like process velocity metrics, for example, you will probably leave that client meeting empty-handed.
Everyone has shorthand for communicating ideas, but consultants seem to have cornered the market on jargon. Stand head and shoulders above the competition by using simple, direct language, instead of new-age business speak.
And choose with care when—and how often—you speak. Some consultants would rather hear themselves yak than listen to clients, and that rarely leads to a positive outcome. More than one consultant has torpedoed a project opportunity because of pontification. Sadly, some consultants are blissfully unaware that their lectures are perceived as unadulterated drivel.
When one long-winded consultant learned that he didn't win a project, his response was to blame the client for not understanding how valuable his contributions would be. It only takes a smidgen of self-awareness to know when to shut up.
The best consultants listen intently even when they think they already know what the client is going to say. Maybe you've seen the same problem dozens of times and know exactly the right solution. But let clients tell you their version before you launch into your answer.
You won't get hired until clients are sure that you understand problems from their perspective. So hold that thought. And when it's your turn to speak, don't babble or drone on.
Do You Have Killer Questions?
To create the opportunity to listen to clients, you need insightful questions. What you ask has far more power to demonstrate your knowledge—and to differentiate you—than simply telling someone what you know.
One client said she recreated her project approach—and shaved time off the project duration—because of a single question from a consultant. That consultant won the project.
Out-of-the-box sales questions, which most buyers can spot from a mile away, rarely provoke that kind of response. Of course, you'll have some prepared questions, but don't be a chained to a script. Your questions say more about you as a consultant than just about anything else you do in a client meeting.
One particularly successful consultant explained how he managed to land so many projects, especially from first-time clients. He describes himself as a non-sales, salesperson and says he goes into every client meeting with the same plan: "Ask lots of questions, muck around a bit, and see what we come up with."
Planned Spontaneity
The most successful consultants know that planned spontaneity beats winging it in a meeting every time. If you've done your homework, you will have the confidence to think on your feet. What separates the top consultants from others isn't in the research itself, though, but the creativity they apply to it.
Every consultant visits a prospective client's web site and reads background material before a meeting. Ignore this simple step and you won't be in business for long. Consider taking extra steps to find fresh insights that many consultants won't bother to look for.
One consultant's preparation includes the development of three simple hypotheses about the client's business issues. She then uses tools like third party research, store visits, calls to the customer service center, or interviews with the client's customers to test each hypothesis.
This preparatory approach, which isn't as time-consuming as you might think, always generates insights that demonstrate to the client the depth of thought that this consultant invests in every assignment.
The knowledge you gain from your preparation will help you tailor a response to the inevitable client question, "Why should we hire you?" Many consultants respond reflexively with a canned elevator speech about qualifications. But if clients have made it into a room with you, they probably know all that from their own research about you.
The information you gather when preparing for a client meeting may lead you to shift the emphasis of your normal spiel. That intelligence may also help you modify your resume so it supports your client-level marketing.
Most of us have confidence in our ability to close a sale. Before that happens, you must show the client—again and again—why you're different from the rest of the pack. When it's time for the client to decide who to hire, what always matters most for that decision is the ultimate differentiator—you.