PODCAST · business
How Clients Buy
by Profitable Ideas Exchange
Podcast brought to you by PROFITABLE IDEAS® Exchange
Episodes
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Using the Seven Elements as a Diagnostic Tool
Using the Seven Elements as a Diagnostic Tool In How Clients Buy, Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher present seven elements that must be present before a prospect will be ready to buy a professional service. They must be aware of you understand what you do be interested in your services respect your...
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Learning from Rainmakers
Learning from Rainmakers When researching How Clients Buy, Doug Fletcher and Tom McMakin interviewed dozens of successful rainmakers. Their subjects ranged from solo practitioners to managing partners of global consulting firms. Doug and Tom’s goal was to field test their business development...
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First is Best
First is Best When the topic turns to content marketing, my friend, Tom McMakin, is clear. “I’m not a fan,” he says. Narrowcast Rather Than Broadcast One might argue that Tom conflates marketing automation, inbound marketing, and content marketing. However, I hear something different. What I...
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Trust is Everything
Trust is Everything When it comes to professional services, Tom McMakin believes trust is everything. Trusting the person you’re going to engage with is the whole ball of wax…There’s an information asymmetry in the world of expert services. To sustain and grow our practices, those of us who offer...
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Sales or Marketing?
Sales or Marketing? Don Scales runs Investis, a large digital communications agency. He is a marketing guy who talks about brands and their power to convey compelling stories. But he is also a numbers guy who holds a degree in chemical engineering and mathematical physics from Rice and an MBA…
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Forget About Being Likable
Forget About Being Likable Doug Fletcher is one of the most likable people you’ll meet. His easy-going manner puts one at ease. So, it’s a bit jarring to hear Doug advise, “Forget about being likable.” Instead, Doug encourages us to do great work and take really good care of our clients. In his...
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The Good Stuff
The Good Stuff As You Sow, So Shall You Reap Levison Wood knows something about generosity and so does Kris Klein. As documented in his Walking the Himalayas series, Wood shared a meal with Kirgiz shepherds in the Wakhan Corridor in the remote northeastern corner of Afghanistan. In the…
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The Decline of Business Golf
The Decline of Business Golf According to The 8 Rules of Business Golf, Golf isn’t merely a leisure sport. It’s the martini lunch of the modern workforce, the buoyant venue where work gets done. That may have been true, but golf—and country club memberships—are in decline. It’s been said that…
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What They Don’t Teach You in B-School
What They Don’t Teach You in B-School Even if the primary purpose of your practice isn’t to make money, making money is a requirement for sustaining your practice. By definition, a sale is the exchange of a service for money. So why isn’t selling featured in the curricula of business schools—or…
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The Seven Elements of Business Development for Professional Services
The Seven Elements of Business Development for Professional Services In the second of a series of interviews, Andi Baldwin of Profitable Ideas Exchange spoke with How Clients Buy co-authors Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher about the framework they call, “The Seven Elements.” A Set of Conditions The...
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Why We Wrote “How Clients Buy”
In this first of a series of interviews, Andi Baldwin of Profitable Ideas Exchange asked "How Clients Buy" co-authors Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher to explain the premise of the book and why they were compelled to write it. The post Why We Wrote “How Clients Buy” appeared first on How Clients Buy.
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Keeping It Real: Why Clients Value Authenticity
Authenticity is critical to successfully engaging potential clients, but you can't game it. You are who you are. That means authenticity comes at a cost. Nate Bennett explains why the benefits of authenticity far outweigh the costs. The post Keeping It Real: Why Clients Value Authenticity…
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Can a Billboard Improve Your Sales?
Advertising professional services can help, but it's a relatively poor investment. With the help of Walt Shill, Global Managing Partner for Client Services at ERM, Tom McMakin explains how it's better to develop strategies and processes that can deliver real impact for your clients. The post Can…
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Underwriting the Conversation
It's better to demonstrate expertise than to claim it. Paul Quigley explains how organizing and moderating well-crafted panel discussions can help you sell from "the front of the room." The post Underwriting the Conversation appeared first on How Clients Buy.
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Making Friends: The ABCs of an Introductory Call
I sat down with Cavin Segil and asked him to narrate a typical introductory call with a potential client. He says they always include a handful of key components. Call them the ABCs of an introductory call: a) learn who they are, b) whare what you do with an example, and c) schedule a follow-up...
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Following Up – How to Write a Compelling Deck
At the end of the introductory call, most prospects will ask for a “short piece” describing what you do and what you’ve done for others. Carlie Auger describes the four elements of a strong deck. The post Following Up – How to Write a Compelling Deck appeared first on How Clients Buy.
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Seeking Assistance from Fellow Travelers
If you could ask a question of one of your peers, what would it be? We naturally seek assistance from those who are fellow travelers. Andi Baldwin seeks to find out what you would ask one of your peers in order to help you. The post Seeking Assistance from Fellow Travelers appeared first on How...
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The Seven Elements of Business Development
Clients aren’t sold services. They buy them based on their evaluation of seven criteria: Awareness, Understanding, Interest, Belief, Trust, Ability, and Readiness. All seven elements must be present before a client can buy. The post The Seven Elements of Business Development appeared first on How...
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The Customer Journey
Too often, we start the sales process from our point of view. Instead, start from your desired customer’s perspective. The post The Customer Journey appeared first on How Clients Buy.
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Outrageous Success
Ann Kieffaber recently retired from the healthcare practice at Accenture as a Managing Director. Before that, she worked for IBM. In both roles, she was charged with helping the largest healthcare organizations transform how they collect, understand and use data. Whenever she started an…
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The Lost Art of the Cold Call
In an age when computers are ubiquitous, it is easy to want to automate the selling of expert services. Software can have its place, but nothing replaces human contact. If you see someone you feel you can help, sometimes it just makes sense to just pick up the phone. The post The Lost Art of the...
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Three Legs of a Stool
When selling services to large organizations, there is never a single decision-maker. Individuals buy, but they exist within a buying ecosystem. Ann Kieffaber explains how understanding the sea in which your prospects swim is critical to engaging with them and helping them achieve their goals.…
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Servant Leadership
Leadership is not just Braveheart-come-follow-me. It’s also a healthy dose of listening to those one wants to lead. The post Servant Leadership appeared first on How Clients Buy.
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How Selling Expert Services is Different
Tom McMakin believes that selling expert services is different than selling a product. I'm convinced he's right. Marketers of products are generally able to rely on what Doug Hall calls "kitchen logic" to tie features to benefits. Marketers of expert services, on the other hand, must bolster…
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A Tasting Flight
The biggest challenge Dave Bayless sees in his own and others’ professional services practices is the tendency to be “intentionally vague.” The post A Tasting Flight appeared first on How Clients Buy.
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On Making Friends Across the Organization
John Nord refers to the process of selling across an organization as "farming." It's a term that connotes stewardship and sustainability. The post On Making Friends Across the Organization appeared first on How Clients Buy.
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How Selling Expert Services is Like a Game of Baseball
Matt Ulrich tracks professional services business development like it's baseball. “The game is pretty simple. You’re at bat and the trick is to round the bases. Think of BD baseball as a series of bases you are trying to cross.” The post How Selling Expert Services is Like a Game of Baseball...
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Using Peer Forums to Develop Relationships
Expertise is better demonstrated than described. Likewise, trust is earned, not demanded. In this podcast episode, Jacob Parks explains how to use peer forums to demonstrate expertise and cultivate trust among current and prospective professional services clients. The post Using Peer Forums to...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does How Clients Buy have?
How Clients Buy currently has 28 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Podcast brought to you by PROFITABLE IDEAS® Exchange
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How Clients Buy has 28 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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How Clients Buy is created and hosted by Profitable Ideas Exchange.
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