Have you ever found yourself asking these sort of questions -

	As a professional, how do I secure new clients and work when I don't really see myself as a salesperson?
	How do we get clients to see the real value of what we have to offer is better than any other alternative?
	How do I get to potential clients who are already working with my competitors?
	How do we secure new clients in a manner that builds real commitment and loyalty?
	How do we ensure an ongoing steady growth of new valued clients?
	If prospective clients are making their purchase decisions as much about the salespeople as our services and products, how do we differentiate ourselves most effectively?
	How do I identify the client's real needs and the emotional drivers for their buying, and get beyond what they're telling me on the surface?
	How do we build relationships with clients such that they never think of going to our competitors?

If so, you're quite normal.

If you are selling professional services, or involved with clients seeking complex solutions, or requiring a tailor-made mix of products and services, then it's competitively imperative to ensure relationship selling and marketing is working positively for you.

Securing targeted valued clients in such a manner that the quality of the relationship you build with them during the sales and marketing process becomes your true competitive advantage.

Where you have highly valued committed client relationships, you find - - Higher levels of repeat business. - Lower cost-of-sales, because of the repeat business. - Higher levels of referrals, coming from your delighted clients. - The referals you get are ones you would naturally seek and value. - Business is more satisfying and enjoyable - clients become friends. - Business is more profitable

You'll know your relationship selling and marketing is working when - - Clients take a genuine interest in your success - you personally, and your organisation. - They treat you like a partner, involving you in joint problem solving and solutioning. - They proactively give you referrals and provide endorsements. - When you stuff up, they work with you to fix it and are more forgiving and understanding. - They readily tell you where you need to improve, seeing it as in both your best interests. - They involve you in their planning, and in the process provide the impetus and guidance for your own product and service development. - They have high expectations of you, because they trust you. - They don't shop around for a cheaper quote; they trust that you will honour them by providing great value. - You know the relationship is more important that the contract.

The key philosophies that underpin success in this area include -

When clients are buying services or complex solutions, they focus as much on the person or people doing the selling, as they do on your products or services - ie you're selling trust first, your products and services second. People who have their psychological needs (emotional) as well as their rational needs (the solution they seek) met during the sales process, are more committed to the salesperson, and to making a positive buying decision. People buy services from those they can trust, respect and who they perceive have similar values to themselves. Emotion is the energy driver for buying - people's willingness to buy is proportional to their level of perceived "pain or gain" for a solution. Instinctive first impressions count, and you only get 1 shot at it. Many people do not fully know or understand what they want or need, or the exact solution they seek, and hence bestow greater trust and perceived added-value on those who genuinely help them clarify this. What goes around comes around - people remember the special and added-value things that are done for them, and eventually it comes back. Trust is the bedrock of all relationships, and must be earnt.

To deliver on these philosophies, there are some principles we believe are fundamental - - As a prospector we need to focus firstly on the person we are prospecting with, secondly on their organisation, and thirdly on our products and services (organisation don't buy, people do!). - The final "yes" to buy is a product of all the interim "yeses" on the way. - Emotion is contagious - we have to "be" the emotion we wish our client to feel (positive, enthusiastic, trusting, confident, interested, etc). - Give without expectation of return. - All buying involves perceived risk on behalf of the buyer - we need to be able to identify and mitigate these risks. - Relationship selling involves people, systems, processes. - It is critical to identify real needs - emotional and rational, personal and organisational. - It is not enough just to identify opportunities; we must be able to build the emotional desire for a solution from prospective key "buyers". - People don't naturally know the value we can add - we need to help them understand what we can do for them. - It's only a unique selling point, or point of difference, if it converts to real value for the client - Only get involved in those areas where you can add real value. - Relationships are living - they need to be fed. - Clients expect and value "hi-tech - hi touch".

All our programmes in these areas - - Build on the core philosophies and principles above. - Maximise experiential learning. - Seek to build a critical mass of confident, competent people within an organisation, and the systems and processes to support them.

Client Prospecting and Relationship Selling Skills Programme - Principles of effective relationship selling. - The anatomy of buying. - Characteristics of an effective salesperson. - The selling process / buying cycle. - The selling - marketing - service triad : 3-in-1. - Building and maintaining trust. - The key principle of service - making a real difference - Emotional intelligence - the high performance edge - Resilience and optimism - managing the ups and downs - Personal vision, goal setting, and time management - planning for success - Communication styles - adapting to your client's style. - Effective questioning skills - Empathetic listening skills. - Market and client targeting and segmentation Who should be your high value targets? - Getting to the decision makers Writing letters, making telephone calls, using referrals, gaining interviews. - Preparing for client interviews What do you need to have done before you get there? - Interview clients Using the SIEVE™ model to establish real needs, pain, emotional drivers, required value, and build credibility and rapport. - Preparing effective proposals. - Developing a presentation strategy. - Making effective presentations Creating magic to build enthusiasm and commitment. - Securing the sale Getting the final "yes". Managing resistance. Negotiation skills. - Ensuring "implementation" success and a satisfied client post-sale. - Post-sale strategies to build the relationship and secure ongoing business.

* Programme generally includes 2 + 2 + 1 days of workshops, extensive skills practice including video critique, participants apply practices with real clients, includes 1-on-1 mentoring and coaching.

The Emotionally Intelligent Salesperson - Emotional intelligence What is it? How does it apply to selling and service? Why is it critical to the success of selling, and particularly relationship selling? - What is my emotional intelligence profile? 360° on-line survey feedback. What are my strengths and areas for improvement? - Growing my emotional Intelligence. - Connecting emotionally with clients. - Understanding the emotional drivers of clients. - Having a greater emotional impact with others. - Influence skills. - Displaying genuine empathy. - Using emotional intelligence to build more trusting, empathetic, and effective relationships.

Managing and Leading the Sales Team - Principles and models of leadership and management. - Understanding my own leadership strengths and areas for improvement Including on-line 360° feedback. - Emotional Intelligence as a leader The difference between good and great. - Principles of effective relationship selling, marketing, and service What the sales team should be focusing on. - Establishing team vision, purpose, sales strategies, and targets. - Negotiating individual targets and incentives. - Principles of performance. - Creating a motivating and encouraging team environment. - Analysing performance problems. - Feedback model and skills. - Effective coaching. - Effective communication skills. - Maintaining creative tension. - Influence skills. - Conflict management skills. - Establishing and maintaining team behavioural agreements. - Change leadership skills.

Client Relationship Management - Criteria for an effective relationship - CRM strategies. - Getting beyond CRM technology solutions to the real relationships. - Creating a vision for success Future holograms. - Roles, responsibilities, objectives. - Selection of key people. - Competencies required for success in roles. - Building and sustaining trust, rapport, credibility. - The anatomy of 'value'. - Building 2-way commitment - Getting beyond the "Zone of Indifference" in order to create genuine delight, added value, loyalty. - Clarifying expectations. - Applying the service principles in order to make a difference. - Using glitches or complaints as an opportunity. - Ensuring reliable delivery Getting the basics right, exceeding expectations. - Database management. - Change management. - Risk management Yours and theirs. - Growing the business. - Handling conflict. - Managing personnel changes. - Using the relationship for effective market research. - Gaining referrals and endorsements. - Moving on.

Business Breakthrough Programme Programme designed for small-medium enterprises (SME), professional services organisations, retail organisations, service providers. - The 3 ways to grow your business. - Constructing your own growth picture and vision. - 8 principles for effective marketing. - Becoming an effective marketer. - Effective segmentation of your markets and clients. - Identifying and creating your USP - unique selling point, or point of difference. - Understanding what your clients really value. - 15 overall strategies to increase your new customer lead or enquiry generation. - Key strategies for increasing your conversion rate from enquiries to buying. - Key strategies to increase the retention rate of your existing clients - Effective use of your database. - 10 strategies to increase the buying frequency of your clients. - 8 strategies to increase the average transaction value each time your clients purchase. - Creating an overall marketing and business growth plan for you, your business, and your staff.

Click here to contact us for more information about particular programmes, or for us to design a programme for your specific needs or for a free consultation on what your needs may be.