Client Discovery
This is the most important skill during a first client meeting.
What is listening?
Clients usually buy outcomes, not these.
What are services?
This explains why a client should choose your firm instead of another firm.
What is a value proposition?
Good marketing educates before doing this.
What is selling?
This type of employee both delivers projects and helps generate work.
What is a seller-doer?
These questions typically begin with "how," "what," or "tell me about."
What are open-ended questions?
A school district worried about project costs is concerned about this.
What is budget risk?
A value proposition should focus on the client's needs rather than these.
What are your company's capabilities?
A project story should focus first on the client's challenge and then this.
What is the solution and outcome?
Building trust with clients happens through repeated delivery of this.
What are results and reliability?
Before proposing a service, you should first identify these.
What are client pain points or business challenges?
A facilities director struggling with too many projects may need this type of support.
What is program management or project management support?
Cost savings, faster delivery, and reduced risk are examples of these.
What are client benefits?
LinkedIn posts, articles, presentations, and websites are all examples of these.
What are marketing channels?
Existing clients often create the easiest source of these.
What are new opportunities or repeat business?
This is the outcome you should seek at the end of an introductory meeting.
What is a follow-up meeting or next step?
This stakeholder typically makes the final decision to hire a consultant.
Who is the decision maker?
A strong value proposition should be simple enough that someone can do this after hearing it once.
What is repeat it back?
The most persuasive content often includes measurable results known as these.
What are proof points or metrics?
The best business developers are known for being genuinely this.
What is curious?