I recently worked with some talented people in a professional services firm. Their client base is 100 percent business to business. The goal for our time together was to help expand their prospect pipeline. Over the course of our work, a couple of things became apparent. First, focus is critical. Second, people matter.
Let me explain.
This firm, like most professional services providers, does not need to “serve the world” in order to be successful. Their engagements are typically mid-five figure to low six figure revenues over a 12-month period. A good year would mean they engaged three to five new clients; a great year would be six or more new clients (while retaining their existing client base).
When we analyzed how they went about finding prospective clients to talk to, the most effective producers were extremely focused. The less effective producers were more random in their approach.
The most successful producers started by focusing on the firm’s immediate history. A simple question became the guidepost for moving forward — where are we successful now? The most enlightening aspect about the answers to this question is how the successful producers defined success. Their definition was solely focused on client results. Why are they happy with our work? What deliverable did the client realize? More specifically, what financial benefit did the client gain?
Once the group identified this set of solutions, we focused on the next inevitable question — who else would like to realize this type of benefit? The most enlightening aspect about the answers to this question is that typical market segmentation variables were not part of the answer. There was no commonality of industry. There was no commonality of company size or location. Rather, the answer focused on product life cycle — where are the client’s products in their life cycles?
Good prospects are companies with products in one of two positions in their life cycle. The product is either early stage seeking market presence or latter stage needing reinvention and repositioning. Through this insight came clarity and focus in their prospecting. Identifying the motivation for buying their services made it much easier to identify the prospects that fit the criteria.
Identifying potentially well-qualified prospects was only half the challenge. The other half was connecting with them. This is where the people side of the equation comes into play. Each producer identified 6-10 potential prospects they wanted to focus on. Research is next. Get to know the company, their industry and their challenges. More importantly, find a connection to the people.
The successful producers developed a focused networking / connection path. They want a warm introduction to their prospect. Online research, LinkedIn connections, and Facebook connections are just three tools they use. Their goal is to map a path to the individual(s) in the prospects firm who they want to meet.
The successful producers don’t attend networking events in the hope they might meet someone. They do attend events where their prospects might be present. They don’t send out direct mail pieces explaining their services. They do practice generosity, sending out material or information that the prospect can use and would find valuable.
The successful producers are looking for the opportunity to build a relationship. A warm introduction, generosity, and offering value are the door openers. Once there, the successful producers connect to the person, not to the opportunity. They do not sell. They build a relationship. From the relationship comes the foundation of trust needed before anyone would consider spending tens of thousands of dollars with you.
Successful producers are focused in their approach to the marketplace and opportunities. They find people to connect to. They look for relationship opportunities where the value they offer is valued. These successful producers are the rainmakers.
Author Ken Cook is founder and managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors and developer of the Rainmakers System. For details on the Rainmakers approach to business development visit www.peertopeeradvisors.com.
