One simple thing consultants can do to grow their businesses faster

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Most consultants are looking to grow their businesses.

Most consultants who have been in business for a while say it’s harder now to get business than it once was.

When consultants start to work with me they often say their problems have nothing to do with them and the way they manage their practices.  They say:

“It’s the economy.”

“It’s the cutbacks.”

“It’s the level of competition.”

Well, I’m not sure I agree.

When I start working with a consultant, one of the questions I ask in our first meeting is:

“How many sales meetings did you have last month?”

I often get blank looks.  Then I get lots of information about the one-to-one meetings and the discussions following on from networking meetings and the lunches and breakfast meetings the consultant has attended.

I take notes. It’s fascinating to listen and to work out how much time and money consultants spend on these activities.

In the end it turns out that quite a few consultants don’t have any sales meetings at all.

They have meetings where they talk about what they do.  They have meetings where they present proposals.  They have meetings where they discuss options and possibilities.  They have exploratory meetings.

They don’t actually have meetings where they say:

“This is what I am offering and this is the price.  Now, when can I start work on your project?”

That’s the main reason why they’re not making sales.  They just never get around to asking for the business.

How to make sales

If you’re going to do business you need to make sales.

We’re now into week four in the Business Start-Up month, which is why I’m writing about sales.  In week four in The Solo Success Start-Up Guide I concentrate on sales and doing one very important thing to get sales.

What is it?

It’s asking for the business.

If you don’t make sales, your business is doomed. Yet, when you delve into the way lots of consultants work, they never actually ask for the business.  That’s their biggest problem.

Do you ask for business?

Think carefully.

• Have you asked for a piece of business in the last month?
• Have you asked a customer for a start date for a project?
• Have you asked in plain and simple terms that the customer makes a commitment to work with you?
• Have you asked when you can submit your first invoice?

If you haven’t, then you’re missing out on business.

Often customers are just waiting for you to ask them for their business.  They want you to ask. If you don’t, they won’t offer to put the first meeting in the diary.  They won’t ask you about the best time to run that workshop.  They’ll let you walk away from the meeting empty handed.

You can improve your business if you make a point of asking for the business every time you make a proposal of any sort.

What have you got to lose?

They can only say no.

Over to you . . .

Be honest.  Do you ask your customers for their business?

If you don’t, what gets in the way?  Let me know in the comments.

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The real secret of consultancy success

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