Three obstacles when you ask your people to become commercially active
Professionals are often reluctant to market themselves or their colleagues. In our experience, there are three obstacles when asking content experts to contribute to acquisition.
Naturally, situations vary from organization to organization and from person to person. And in all our projects, we pay attention to these three factors.
Many professionals associate the image of acquisition with unpleasant terms like "cold calling" and "pushing someone for something." This tends to diminish people's enthusiasm. We ensure that this fear disappears and turns into enthusiasm.
What exactly can you do to acquire assignments? How do you recognize a buying signal? And how do you respond to it? Staying in touch with former clients is an excellent plan. But how do you ensure you come across as confident (but not overly so)? How and when do you ask for a recommendation? How do you tell a client the value of your solution? How do you respond when a client asks for something that isn't actually possible?
That's why we also focus on proficiency in our programs. It's very practical; it's done through practice. Compare it to driving a car. Most people can do it, you'll enjoy it your whole life, and it takes a few lessons before you master it.
And that brings us to the third element: discipline. The flywheel of acquiring assignments requires constant nudges to keep them going. This requires discipline and habit, as well as coordination between professionals, managers, and any sales department. This ensures that acquiring assignments becomes a standard part of the job and doesn't only arise when there's no work to be done. Because then you're often too late.
So why would you invest time and effort in actively seeking assignments? From the perspective of one's own organization, this is quite clear. Naturally, the organization wants sufficient revenue. Furthermore, many organizations prefer to operate based on the trusted advisor model, rather than through price wars. The client usually considers this a good idea as well: they would rather do business with a substantive expert who effectively represents their interests than with a salesperson with a revenue target.
And what's in it for the professionals themselves ? What we hear frequently: influence on the type of assignment; more enjoyable assignments (a better fit, or for example, shorter travel distances); it's great to work closer to the client's business; it provides satisfaction and appreciation; advancement to trusted advisor and better opportunities within their own organization and the rest of the job market.
This article was written by Maarten van Os and Jan Willem van den Brink from DreamfactoryIt's based on a chapter from our book Why don't they just do it? – Make sure your consultants and technicians find and keep clients happy.
If you wish to use it, we would greatly appreciate attribution.
Want to know more about this topic or how we can help your organization? Email or call us at 0348-741670.