Welcome Professionals…

…as a top management consultant, you must set the agenda for a meeting. That is a no brainer. It is almost too simple to mention here in our Thursday Night Flight session. You want to be prepared, so you write down your objectives and you formulate the agenda for each and every client meeting. Every new consultant learns this within the first days and weeks.

Having said that, the agenda is usually the first business interaction when you and your client meet. After the usual small talk warmup, this is the first content that is put on the table.

You want to make sure that you get full confirmation for your agenda! Why? Because this determines how the whole meeting will run for you.

Firstly, there is an obvious reason for this. You want to make sure that all participants are on the same page. That the content of the meeting is actually addressing a true concern of your client. You want to channel the attention on the prepared content to have a constructive discussion.

Secondly, there is a non-obvious reason that is more than equally important. You want to get a couple of “yes”-statements from your client before you actually start. This is psychologically beneficial for the overall process of what you have to sell (ideas, projects, next assignment, etc.). Saying “yes” to your agenda sets your client on the right track, makes your client more agreeable and considerate than a first “no”.

Next time you set the agenda, you may want to step into your client’s shoes and phrase it from their perpective. Find formulations that mirror your client’s needs. Talk about what your client will win and gain in each step instead of what you were preparing. Use this simple first content for a number of “yes”-agreements.

Wishing you lots of success!

Malte

Thursday Night Flight is brought to you by Malte Müller Professionals. Sharing best practices for top management consultants on topics like communication, client handling, problem solving, appearance, and fitness. Check out www.mm-professionals.com for more material and free resources!

Welcome Professionals…

…are you a farmer or a hunter? This distinction is a common terminology in sales and business development. While the farmer nurtures and cultivates existing clients, the hunter finds new opportunities and turns them into sales. It is a common belief that these are two different profiles which require a different set of skills and different personalities. I think this is a myth! It is not true for top management consultants!

At least when we talk about our business, which is top management consulting – this distinction into farmers and hunters is certainly misleading. The key for successful business development in consulting services are trustful relationships. While the service is generally hard to compare in objective terms, it all comes down to the subjective perception of trust.

Here is a definition stated on Wikipedia: “A hunter is often associated with aggressive personalities who use aggressive sales technique”. This is exactly the problem. Many people have this association when thinking about a hunter. But the imagination of a consultant cold-calling a client, identifying the opportunity, aggressively pushing the unique selling point and finally signing the contract is a myth. It does not work this way.

Instead, both farmers and hunters need a trustful relationship to their client in order to win. The main difference is that the farmer usually already has a relationship – at least to some persons within the client organization. It is easier for the farmer to spot opportunities when already working for the client. Ongoing project work is a good means to provide knowledge and offer emotional support which is the main driver for trust in relationships.

What is different in hunting? The hunter as well has to rely on trustful relationships. The hunter just starts at a different level. Instead of using internal references, the hunter needs to establish a first contact by using external references, e.g., projects at clients from the same industry. Instead of taking advantage of existing relationships, the hunter builds new ones, which will usually take a certain amount of time before the first sale can be made. Instead of using paid work to generate trust of decision makers, the hunter needs to find other ways to do favours and offer support. These are usually unpaid.

So yes, hunting may need more stamina in building opportunities. But is has nothing to do with aggressiveness. Being aggressive is hurting any trust in relationships. The skillset and process applied are very similar.

In summary, hunting is just like farming, with the addition of:

• using external reference
• forming new relationships
• providing (mostly) non-paid upfront favours

Looking forward to hearing from you about this debunked myth!

Malte

Thursday Night Flight is brought to you by Malte Müller Professionals. Sharing best practices for top management consultants on topics like communication, client handling, problem solving, appearance, and fitness. Check out www.mm-professionals.com for more material and free resources!