Consultant, two factors play a huge role in new buyers saying “Yes” to your proposals. They are:
Confidence and certainty 💪 🎯
When you walk into a store to buy a physical product, you walk out with it. You can touch and feel it.
There’s a feeling of confidence and certainty attached to the transaction because you’ve got the product in your hands. You feel like you’ve “got” something in return for your investment.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple when you sell high-value professional services to a new buyer. It gets even more complicated when it’s a B2B sale with multiple decision-makers.
No buyer wants to make a wrong decision when buying a high-value item, especially when it’s a service they can’t touch and feel.
So when you’re selling high-value professional services, it’s especially important to give buyers a feeling of confidence and certainty.
Here are a few ways you can do that, in no particular order:
👉 The “have-you-done-this-before” factor: I’ve sold over 200 consulting engagements and every buyer has directly or indirectly asked me this question: “Have you got results for a company like ours before?” Everyone thinks their organization or domain is unique. That’s why specialization works so well in consulting. When you demonstrate you are great at what you do for a specific vertical or type of organization, buyers in that market feel more confident and certain you can deliver for them.
👉 An introduction from a trusted source: People trust their network more than they trust you. When your former clients introduce you to others in their trusted network and talk about the excellent results you’ve got them, it transmits confidence and certainty like nothing else.
👉 Multiple case studies and testimonials: Yes, everyone knows you can make them up, but the way you present them and talk about the results you got your clients has a bearing on how you are perceived. The more relevant and detailed your case studies and testimonials are, the more credible you will sound.
👉 A strong body of work: The more you can demonstrate publicly that you understand your buyers’ world, their problems and have solutions that work, the more trustworthy you’ll be perceived. When you do this for a long time, you’ll notice buyers approach you saying they’ve been reading/watching/listening to you for weeks or months…and now they need your help.
👉 Empathy: This one is underrated but when buyers see that you understand their problem better than them and can articulate it better than them, you can win their trust. Showing empathy in all your interactions, especially in 1-on-1 interactions such as discovery calls or needs assessments go a long way in instilling confidence and certainty in your abilities.
Of course, these ideas are not mutually exclusive. They build on each other and work together. Master them and sell more consulting solutions.
❓ What did I miss? Anything else you can think of? 👇
Ready to add $100k-$500k revenue to your consulting business in 12 months or less without burning out? Schedule a call and let me show you how.
Image credit: Firefly
