For the last century, consulting industry revenue has grown an average of 9% a year. But what most people don’t know is that over the last twenty years, the growth of smaller firms has been nearly treble that of large firms. As a management consultant, you have the rare opportunity to participate in a $300bn market which is all but guaranteed growth. So how can you take advantage of this and ensure your pipeline is full most of the time?
The Importance of Trust in Consulting Sales
We should note that consulting is what economists call a ‘credence good’: services where the seller often knows the clients’ needs better than the client. This means there is a power imbalance in favour of the seller, even though the seller is paying for the service. Think doctors, lawyers and car mechanics. This is why trust is all important in the consulting sales process. It’s not just about trusting the quality of the service it’s also about trusting the consultant or firm to give you the best advice and not game the client’s relative ignorance (though this is much less than it used to be!).
The first thing, of course, is to make sure you’re selling things people want. I’ve talked about that here. You then need to position yourself or your firm as a source of ‘visible expertise’ through targeted, personalised marketing messages (I write about this here) and ensure that you have a systematic method for moving targets from being leads through to being clients (see here) and for measuring your pipeline (here).
The Art of Closing Deals
But no matter how well you market and manage your pipeline, nothing else about your consulting business matters if you’re not closing deals.
It takes more than just maintaining communication with your prospects to convince them to spend their money on you. Closing the deal requires management consultants to be proactive and adopt strategies that work.
So, here are ten tips to help you close the deal:
1. Qualify the Client
The first tip on our list—and perhaps the most important—is to qualify your potential clients before going into a deep-dive sales conversation.
You won’t get far selling your consulting services if you’re targeting the wrong people. Weed out prospects who don’t have an actual interest in purchasing. Ultimately, your goal isn’t to close a deal at any cost. It’s to get hired by a client who can truly benefit from your services and vice versa.
2. Have A Closing Process
Having a well-thought-out process will help you close more deals:
When meeting a client, ensure you always:
- Come prepared – Show up to the meeting having done your research.
- Ask questions – Doing this will give you invaluable insight into exactly what your client needs help with.
- Listen intently – Give your client room to talk. Avoid interrupting their train of thought with possible solutions.
- Demonstrate your expertise –
- Build a closing script – this certainly shouldn’t be something that you learn by heart, but if you’re new at making deals it will help you remember the key points that will maximise your chances of a successful close.
With a clear process, you will open the door to a genuine connection—and that’s what will ultimately help you close deals.
3. Build Closing Assets
As you become more experienced, it is crucial to build up a bank of assets (e.g. case studies; testimonials; white papers, etc.) that you can (literally) pull out of your bag and say:
- “This is how we successfully solved this problem for a similar client”
- “This is the independent research that shows our approach returns 3x its cost”
- “Here’s a video of our last client explaining why they’d use us again on a similar project to yours”
If your client understands the expert value you’re bringing, they’re more likely to close the deal.
4. Ensure You Really, REALLY Understand the Challenge
It might sound like a no-brainer, but clients want to be understood. Your understanding of the problem a prospective client is presenting will be a key determining factor in your closing rate.
More often than not, a client will have a surface-level idea of the problem, and if that happens to be the case, it’s your duty as a consultant to dig deeper to find the truth of the situation.
Read Patrick Lencioni’s book Getting Naked. It shows the power of really spending a lot of time properly understanding the client’s problem when conversing with the client. This builds trust, demonstrates your expertise, and ensures that when the project does kick off, you’re working on the right problem.
I recently hired someone to convert my loft. They weren’t the cheapest or even the most recommended, but the person that really ‘got’ the problem I was trying to solve and tailored their package and approach to fit my needs. They added value before they even started work.
5. Educate the Client
Clients value being educated about their problem. This also allows you to show why YOUR particular solution is the best for solving it. Instead of talking about your experience and credentials, focus on the progress and outcomes your client wants to see.
Encourage the client to ask questions and take a moment to think of what answer is best for them. It will show that you put thought into your work and don’t just say the first thing that pops out of your mind. Your best reaction isn’t always your first reaction.
6. You Rarely Sell the Client in The Sales Meeting
The sales meeting should be the end of a personalised sales process where your client to be knows you, knows your expertise, and knows you can solve their problem really effectively.
This means that you have a consistent sales system which moves from general marketing about your niche to the specific needs of this lead.
7. Personalise to The Company and To the Person
The personalised messaging I suggest above needs to be not only about the company problem (the challenge/opportunity) but also about the person.
What personality do they have? Will they respond better to detail and data or stories and emotions? What is in the project for them? What do they need from you?
Remember, the goal is to sell to the client’s needs, not your skills.
8. Engage the Decision Maker Directly
By now, you’re on a roll: You’re offering the client something they actually need. In most companies, one person has the power to hire you. That person is the decision maker and is the one you need to target. Selling your services to other members of the company can be helpful but convincing the decision-maker is the only way to close the deal.
When meeting with the decision maker, remember to enthuse them and keep the conversation simple. Just because you know your industry like the back of your hands doesn’t mean they also do. All too often, paperwork, legalities, formalities, and jargon (complex words, terms and expressions common to an industry) weigh down the conversation process.
9. Be persistent even when you feel uncomfortable
I come across a lot of (new) consultants who feel that a well written email will suffice to prompt the client to move from the proposal to the contract and are puzzled when this ‘no brainer’ fails. But think about your own inbox. Every day I open mine to perhaps a dozen messages that I simply don’t have time for, so I delete them after a very brief skim. Buyers often don’t have time for exploration as they’re too focused on exploitation. In addition, something like 98% of buyers aren’t ready to buy NOW but will often have set some time aside to make a decision in the next fortnight or so.
So, you need to ensure that you are top of mind when they are ready to do the deal. This not only means reaching out more frequently than you would feel comfortable with, and offering real value with very interaction, but also using a variety of media. Face-to-face (coffee!) is best, followed by phone-calls (remember those) and Zoom, followed by personalised (ideally video-based) emails offering value. A well-crafted personalised email is certainly part of the mix, but by far the only one.
10. Follow Up, Especially If You Don’t Land the Contract
When it comes to closing deals, it’s all about the follow-ups.
On average, only 2 per cent of deals are closed during the first point of contact. That means if you don’t follow up, you’re missing out on potentially 98 per cent of your sales. For B2B sales specifically, most require 5 or more follow-ups – when do you give up?
One of my clients once told me that he landed a contract after a competitor had done a bad job. He followed up with the client when he knew the project should be ending, only to find the competitor had made a mess.
So, plan to follow up with each of your prospective clients at least five times. If you feel like you’re being too “spammy” or “pushy,” then ensure that your follow-ups add value, e.g., by sharing relevant articles or case studies.
11. Continually Improve
How often do you change your sales process? When’s the last time you did a survey of clients who rejected your offer? Do you have someone external to your firm who can give you honest feedback on your proposals? When did you last get any training in consulting sales and closing deals? What do you measure and when?
As Peters and Waterman told us 40 (yes, really) years ago, it doesn’t matter how good you are now, if you are not constantly developing, the competition will overtake you. Continuous improvement can give you the competitive edge you need to close more deals.
Summary
Closing deals is the most important part of the sales cycle. It’s what turns interested parties and casual observers into real, paying customers.
Follow the above tips, and you’ll be well on your way to closing more deals and growing your revenue.
PS: If you’re shy about sales, please have a look at my post here.
If you would like me to help you grow or sell your consultancy please book a slot here
