The Desert of Arizona
Partly Cloudy 44 Degrees
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When I started in the consulting business, I used a very long winded process to get a client.
There’d be a discussion. I’d go away and put a proposal together. I’d present the proposal and start waiting. And then (often), I’d have to start “following-up” because I couldn’t stand the deafening sound of silence.
The proposals I put together were really good. And they took a bit of work. So it got annoying after a while to go through all of that to find that the prospect wasn’t properly qualified.
By “qualified” I mean interested in actually paying for my services now and not two years from now.
Over time, I stopped doing the big proposals. The proposal represented me doing a lot of work for no good reason. And too many times, that work simply ended up in someone else’s trash can.
The better the proposal was, the higher my “hope” for getting the business would become.
I don’t believe the purpose of the proposal is to qualify a client. It’s a little late in the process for that. It’s not really intended to be a “selling” document. But it’s difficult to avoid the possibility of doing proposals for prospects who really have no intention of ever hiring you.
No matter what they tell you about their intentions, their actions never lie.
That’s what got old.
And so I decided to pull out the truth serum. The one thing that brings the truth about a selling situation to the surface more quickly than any other I’ve found.
I call it, The Beacon of Truth.
That thing is MONEY.
I didn’t plan it this way, but money has this bizzarre way of bringing out the truth from someone.
When you ask them for money, there are only two real answers they can give: Yes or No. For the purposes of our sanity, getting a “maybe” is no different than getting a No.
So over the past few years, I’ve moved the “asking for the money” part much, MUCH farther forward in the process.
Life is short so we just cut to the chase.
Yes or No?
The funny thing is, I actually don’t care what the answer is. I just want AN answer, as quickly as possible.
If the answer is YES, that takes care of itself. If it’s NO, then the prospect just goes back in the “incubator” and enjoys another ride on the Platform(s) I’ve created.
This is why having a Platform takes the pressure off your selling over time. A Platform basically allows you to build a “lazy susan” style sales machine (if you’re under 30 Google it!).
The prospects just keep circling around you until one of them moves to the center.
If you’re not building a Platform, I’d say you’re going to be in trouble. Here’s how to build one.
They take some work and some time. But I can’t really think of ONE other form of marketing or advertising that ANYONE can do that actually has a relatively high chance of succeeding.
Everything else is just a crap shoot. Google Adwords? Maybe… just don’t break their rules. Facebook? As long as it’s around… Newspaper? Perhaps…
If you’re finding yourself frustrated with prospects where you end up wasting your time for nothing, here’s what to do:
Ask yourself, “How can I move UP the asking for money in my sales process?”
Some people I know won’t even talk to a prospect without money being exchanged.
Rude… or genius?
Whichever answer you choose, you’re right.