Yes, many do sales, many do marketing, and yet many others do customer service. The problem is that most of them treat business development as three separate services, three separate silos. And here are some advantages and disadvantages of working with me.
1. Being the "product" of both academia and real world of commerce, my work is based on an oddball "power salad" of military strategy, psychology, empirical data and real-world trench-tested applications. As all this stuff gets integrated into your current approaches, it improves your overall ability to find "savvy" clients who're ready, willing and able to pay premium fees and prices for your premium solutions.
2. Being a former buyer for $1 million plus technology solutions, I understand the psychology of how technical buyers think and make buying decisions. And although most marketing plans have a section on the target market called "Psychography", it's a far cry from first-hand DNA-level understanding of how buyers buy, what inspires them to buy and what pisses them off. And while there are many technology-focused marketers out there, I am one of the handful of people who has extensive knowledge from both sides of the negotiation table.
3. Being a former engineer, I have a comprehensive understanding of technology and engineering principles. Upon being engaged, it takes me only a fraction of time to get up to speed on your industry, business, products and services it would take a non-technical person. It means I can offer you value much sooner than a consultant without a technical background.
4. Being a former military, what I've found is that the higher we raise the bar and expectations, the more committed people are to step up to those expectations. So, in my work we create high standards for business development teams and tools to enable committed people to live up to those standards. As the saying goes, the cream rises to the top and the sludge settles at the bottom. Then it's up to you who you keep and who you replace. Sadly many companies waste lots of resources on nurturing sludge.
4. While many other firms' approaches are based on selling when they want or need to sell, that is, creating a selling environment and "chase -> present -> handle objections -> close", my approach is about creating a conducive buying environment in which you always have a healthy amount of prospects who are ready, willing and able to buy your stuff because they are ready for the purchase. The traditional approach manipulates prospects into buying right now because the seller needs the next commission cheque. I manipulate the attractiveness of the buying environment and the prospects' perceptions and experiences. Then it's up to them. The law of bear hunting applies. The smart hunter doesn't chase bears. He baits and waits. And, because that's the law of nature, the hunter knows the bears come... in droves. And they do.
5. When prospects convert into clients, since they converted on their own volition and at their own pace without external manipulation from commission-hungry peddlers, they are willing to pay higher fees and prices, and remain long-term clients with lots of repeat and referral business opportunities. This makes it possible for my clients to generate high sales figures with high margins and very small sales forces.
6. While other firms work on sales, marketing and clients service issues separately, I treat business development as a holistic process, that seamlessly integrates lead generation, lead conversion, value delivery, client service and staying in touch. It's a smoother and better experience for clients, producing higher margins and more repeat and referral business.
7. While other firms focus on the sales process itself, I focus on the initial contact and prospects' pre-sale experiences. You can ask for the sale until you're blue in the face and broke, but it's much better and profitable to create such great pre-sale experiences that prospects ask you to accept them as new clients. So, my focus is on marketing, branding and public relations, which create a conducive buying environment. The sales is a foregone conclusion. The proverbial icing on the cake.
8. While other firms' sales processes are based on the traditional and manipulative "Finding the pain -> Agitating the pain to the level of screaming agony -> Overcoming objections -> Close, close, close" sequence, my approach, similar to that of doctors, is highly diagnostic, so prospects come to their own conclusions as to what to do next. Also, buying decisions take place at an early stage of the sales process, so you don't end up doing lots of work for nothing.
9. While other firms' approach is manual labour-heavy, including lots of meetings, giving away free work, writing multiple proposals, preparing fancy presentations, etc., my method is highly automated which enables my clients to acquire better clients at a lower acquisition costs.
10. While other firms use emotional manipulation in search of "hot buttons", my method is more number-based, more factual. Emotional selling has huge level of buyer's remorse. Yes, it can create instant purchases, but it also creates lots of next-day-cancellations. My approach is more factual. It's about calculating the impact of both the experienced symptoms and the value of the absence of the symptoms, so based on the gap between buyers can decide what to do next. So, we use numbers to show buyers on paper in black and white the estimated value of taking action and the cost of not taking action. You can argue with emotions but not with numbers. After this buyers sell themselves if they are ready. If not, we keep in touch for a future opportunity.
As a result of this approach my clients...
...stop chasing prospects and begging for business (also called traditional selling) at "Purchasing & Procurement" level, and start interacting directly with "premium" buyers.
...eliminate fee and price objections, so they can sell at "premium" level
...create a "negotiation-free" environment, so there is no haggling. My clients dictate the terms and clients accept them.
...receive a definite yes/no buying decision at an early stage of the sales cycle. There is no "Let me think about it"
...gain maximum commitment from their clients which improves success rate
1. Slightly longer buying cycles - This allows prospects to come to you and become clients when they are ready to buy not when you're ready to sell. But when they become clients at their own pace and on their own volition, they become very good clients offering you lots of referrals and repeat business. One more interesting thing is that in this model prospects make a definite decision pretty much at the beginning of the cycle, not at the very end of a long and expensive "chase".
2. Planning and revising the plan - Mine is not an ad hoc "go and get 'em" "hit the road running" approach. Most creatures who just hit the road running become road kill on that very road. My approach is based on finesse and precision, not brute force of pavement-pounding and dialling for dollars. Therefore it takes some time, and is not suitable for companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy and are in desperate need for instant cash just to live another day. This is for smart companies with a long-term perspective. Hint: The real combat part of the first Gulf War lasted for only a few days but the preparation took almost two years. But it was that long and meticulous preparation that made possible to win in such a short time.
3. Ability to walk away from business - Since we work only with clients who fit your ideal client profile, you must be able to say "no" to inappropriate prospects regardless of the amount of money they want to throw at you, and reserve the space only for ideal clients.
4. As a former military I'm not what you'd call overly diplomatic or tactful in a business sense. No, I don't yell, but I'm not the typical glib, smooth-talking, pinstriped business chameleon who can morph into anything to make money. I believe the harsh truth is better than smooth lies, but many people - mainly due to inflated ego, emotional insecurity or low self-worth - don't like the truth. Also, I take discipline (basically accountability and commitment) dead seriously, and that's what I expect of clients. In turn, this expectation will advance their businesses. And many people, especially low performers and no performers, hate being held accountable for their actions. It's a great filter on expected performance.
Back to main FAQ page.