How to Build Trust With Pain Questions Put to Prospective Clients

A good diagnosis is the result of asking the right questions. When you meet with prospective clients, you need to monopolize the listening, not the talking. Professionals and consultants must ask pain probe questions to uncover problems and budget. Not only is it polite to talk about money at this point, it is essential.

By all means you should set the ground rules for the meeting, and the ground rules are mutually agreed upon by both the prospect client and the professional or consultant. In its most basic form, it’s critical to determine the following before the meeting gets too far along:·

• The time allotted for the meeting·
• What each party’s expectations for a successful meeting would be·
• What will happen at the end of the meeting if there is or is not a fit

Meeting agreements are an effective tactic for giving the professional or consultant control of the selling process, while permitting the prospective client to control the content. They help lower the prospect’s fear of being sold something they don’t want and are an excellent tool for building trust and rapport.

How to Get New Clients To Sign Up With the Right Questions

Are you struggling to attract enough new clients? By learning to ask the right questions and listen, you can increase new client sign up rates dramatically.

Questions should be your secret weapon. Questions persuade more powerfully than any form of verbal communications. Are you regularly practicing the right use of questions? If not, then you are making one of the three biggest mistakes that professionals and consultants make trying to attract clients.

Questions allow you to fully understand the prospect’s pain. Pain is the difference between what prospects have and what they want, and as such can be classified as pain (things are bad and need fixing). You need to ask open-ended questions to know the following:
· Does the prospect’s motivation come from a problem that needs to be addressed today (pain), a problem that might arise in the future (fear), or simply an interest in getting more information?
· How does the problem impact the organization?
· How does the problem personally impact the prospect?
· How committed is the prospect to taking action to fix the problem?

How to Get More Clients in August

Welcome to the dog days of August. Typically people slow down during this hot and sometimes humid month. What is your strategy to win clients and influence referrals right now? One of my mentors is the speaker Michael Gerber, author of the underground best-selling book The E-Myth (which I recommend highly). His book is about what is wrong with almost every small business and what to do to fix it. Michael is always talking about your COD. Pardon my language, but that stands for your Crap Out Date. In other words, game over. His point is not to procrastinate, to do it now, because once you reach your COD you won’t have any more opportunities. That reminds me of what I heard another speaker say last year. He said do all you can when you are alive because the dead cannot see, hear, feel or taste. But they do smell. Hi, this is Henry DeVries, founder of the New Client Marketing Institute. One of my favorite books about overcoming procrastination is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, a best-seller since it was released in 1937. Someone suggested to me the title really should be Think, Act and Grow Rich. You have to take action to get results. If you don’t want to be frustrated because you don’t have enough qualified prospects to fill your pipeline, then take action. If you don’t be worried because you won’t have enough revenues to pay all the bills, then take action. If you lost a big client and you are concerned about how to replace them, then take action. My hope for all the readers of this blog is that you take strides now to put the strategies we teach into action. Don’t wait until everything is perfect. Perfect is the enemy of done. And getting things done and moving on to do more things is what you need to do to win clients. But what strategy should you follow? One of the most important things I advocate you do right now is really understand the pain of your clients (Chris Stiehl and I wrote a book on that subject called Painkiller Marketing). Then research really great information on the best ways to solve those pains. Next educate these potential clients through a variety of sources like articles on your Web site, special reports, speeches, seminars, white papers, blogs, podcasts and the rest. One of the most powerful psychological triggers is pain. When delivering your message, focus on the old aspirin vs. vitamins truism (you will always have an easier time selling the aspirin than the vitamin). Tell prospects what they will lose by not taking your advice. According to Dr. Robert Cialdini in The Power of Persuasion (a third book I highly recommend), you need to tell people more than what they stand to gain. You need to tell them what benefits they will lose if they don’t choose what you offer. People are more motivated by that idea. Using pain is not about hype or manipulation. There is a proven process for marketing with integrity and getting a 400% to 2000% return on your marketing investment. To attract new clients, the best approach is the Educating Expert Model that demonstrates your expertise by giving away valuable information through writing and speaking. You talk about pain to get attention, but you offer solid medication in the form of best practice advice. In addition, you can increase closing rates up to 50% to 100% by discovering and rehearsing the right questions to ask prospective clients about their pain. Once you understand their frustrations, worries and concerns, it is amazing how smoothly the rest of the conversation goes.

How the Best Professionals and Consultants Generate Clients

How the Most Successful
Professionals and Consultants
Attract All the Clients They Need


The number one challenge for professionals and consultants is creating new clients. However, many professionals and consultants feel marketing is too time consuming, expensive or undignified. Even if they try a marketing or business development program, most professionals and consultants are frustrated by a lack of results. They even worry if marketing would ever work for them.

According to a researcher from the Harvard Business School, the typical sales and marketing hype that works for retailers and manufacturers is not only a waste of time and money for professionals and consultants, it actually makes them less attractive to prospective clients (Maister, 1992, Managing the Professional Service Firm).

However, research has proven there is a better way. There is a proven process for marketing with integrity and getting an up to 400% to 2000% return on your marketing investment. At the New Client Marketing Institute we call it the Educating Expert Model, and the most successful professional service and consulting firms use it to get more clients than they can handle. The findings of our 8-year, $2 million research study about how the most successful professional and consulting firms use this model were published in the book, Client Seduction.

To attract new clients, the best approach is to demonstrate your expertise by giving away valuable information through writing and speaking. Research shows independent professionals, management and technical consultants, corporate trainers, executive or personal coaches, marketing and creative firms, and HR and recruiting consultants can fill a pipeline with qualified prospects in as little as 30 days by offering advice to prospects on how to overcome their most pressing problems (DeVries and Bryson, 2005, Client Seduction). You will leave the conference with a step-by-step action plan on how to do this.

How many new clients would you have to generate to make this investment of time and money pay off for you? Here is another question. What is the lifetime value of a client to you?

Unfortunately, many professionals and consultants who learn this truth find the idea of writing and speaking too daunting and even mysterious. Most feel this is only for a select few, but that is a miscalculated view. In the beginning, it is not unusual to wonder how these other professionals and consultants get in front of audiences and get their how-to advice in print.

The good news is there exists a body of knowledge that some have discovered to grow their professional and consulting practices. As an example, management consulting firms like McKinsey & Co. pioneered the approach and have it down to a science (Bartlett, June 1996, “McKinsey & Co., Harvard Business Review). This is a growing trend. In 1991 a random survey of the top 1,000 U.S. law firms found that 89 percent held at least one client seminar per year. In 1999, 94 percent of law firms were regularly holding seminars. Lawyers at the top 1,000 firms ranked seminars as the most effective tool for cross-selling and gaining new clients (Source: FGI Research, 1999).

What should you do to increase revenues? First, understand that generating leads is an investment and should be measured like any other investment. Next, quit wasting money on ineffective means like brochures, advertising and sponsorships. The best marketing investment you can make is to get help creating informative Web sites, hosting persuasive seminars, booking speaking engagements, and getting published as a newsletter columnist and eventually book author.

Rather than creating a brochure, start by writing how-to articles for a blog or to be posted on Web sites. Those articles turn into speeches and seminars. Eventually, you gather the articles and publish a book through a strategy called print on demand self publishing (we’ve done it under 90 days and for less than a $1,000 for clients). Does it work? Here are a list of business best-seller titles by professionals and consultants that started out self-published (Source: Southwest Airlines Spirit, March 2005):

§ The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson: picked up by William Morrow & Co.

§ In Search of Excellence, by Tom Peters (of McKinsey & Co.): in its first year, sold more than 25,000 copies directly to consumers—then Warner sold 10 million more.

§ Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, by Weiss Roberts: sold half a million copies before being picked up by Warner.

Understanding the psychology of clients also provides critical evidence of the validity of the get published approach. Professional services and consulting are what economists sometimes call “credence” goods, in that purchasers must place great faith in those who sell the services (Bloom, October 1984, “ Effective Marketing for Professional Services,” Harvard Business Review). What does the research say about client choice, satisfaction and dissatisfaction of professionals and consultants? Here are the five ways prospects judge you (Aaker, 1995, Strategic Market Management) and my views of how the Educating Expert Model is the perfect fit:
1. Competence. Knowledge and skill of the professional or consultant and their ability to convey trust and confidence (you demonstrate and prove your expert knowledge by speaking and writing)
2. Tangibles. Appearance of physical facilities, communication materials, equipment and personnel (you do this by the appearance of your Web site, book and how-to handouts)
3. Empathy. Caring, individualized attention that a firm provides its clients (educating people to solve problems before they hire you proves you care)
4. Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service (when you promise to give people things like special reports and white papers, do it promptly)
5. Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately (prospective clients will judge you on how organized your seminars, speeches and Web site are)

Even if you believe in the Educating Expert Model, how do you find time to do it and still get client and admin work done? No professional or consultant ever believes they have too much time on their hands. Nothing worth happening in business ever just happens. The answer is to buy out the time for marketing. You need to be involved, but you should not do this all on your own. Trial and error is too expensive of a learning method. Wouldn’t it be better if someone helped you who knows the tricks and shortcuts? We can show you how to leverage your time and get others to do most of the work for you, even if you are a solo practitioner.

How much should you invest in marketing? That depends on your business goals, but here are some norms. Law firms generally spend about 2 percent of their gross revenues on marketing, and the average expenditure is about $136,000. Marketing costs for accounting firms average about 7 percent to 10 percent of gross revenue (Source: The New York Times, November 15, 2001). The typical architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firm spent a record 5.3 percent of their net service revenue on marketing (Source: ZweigWhite's 2003 Marketing Survey of A/E/P & Environmental Consulting Firms).

Here are some of the key benefits of following the Educating Expert Model:

§ Allows your message to be heard above the noise of all the other professionals and consultants

§ Systematizes your marketing with a proactive, monthly approach that is simple and affordable to implement

§ Makes it easier for your clients and business advocates to refer potential clients to you

§ Creates multiple streams of income because prospects actually pay for you to market to them

§ Increases closing rates up to 50% to 100% by discovering and rehearsing the right questions to ask prospective clients

§ Produces all-help, no-hype marketing you actually feel proud to communicate

§ Quits wasting money on ineffective tactics like brochures, sponsorships and cold-calling

§ Leverages your time so you get more results in less time

You Are Invited to Attend Our Two-Day Clientology College
Learn How to Use Your Expertise to Woo and Win Clients

Friday October 17 and Saturday October 18, 2008
9:30 am to 5:30 pm both days
Near the Orange County, CA airport at the
Sandler Sales Training Center
2091 Business Center Drive, Suite 230
Irvine, CA 92612
Tuition: $395 before August 31
for up to three individuals from the same firm
$495 if you register September 1 to 30
$595 if you register October 1 to 15

The New Client Marketing Institute teaches these techniques to independent professionals, management and technical consultants, corporate trainers, executive or personal coaches, marketing and creative firms, and HR and recruiting consultants who are struggling to attract enough clients. We have a 15-year track record of measurably improving revenues for professional service firms and service businesses. Through one-on-one brainstorming, small group practice sessions and in-house marketing retreats we share more than 1,000 pragmatic strategies and tactics.

(If you are flying in there are many great hotels to stay at in the area. The Irvine Airport Hilton and Atrium Hotels are the closest. Attractions like Disneyland, Downtown Disney and Newport Beach are nearby.)

At the conference our faculty of experts will work with you one-on-one to determine what is best for you. We’ve had very good results guiding professionals and consultants to increase revenues through more new clients, more fee income per client and more money from past clients. Here are just a few concrete examples:

§ Through an informational Web site and electronic newsletter we helped create, one management consultant client added an additional $100,000 in revenue from speaking engagements and sales of information products within 2 years
§ In 45 days one client who is a consultant to the home building industry was able to launch a Web site and education expert campaign that helped him double his business in a year
§ Using one strategy alone a Web marketing consultant client was able to double his income and add $100,000 of revenue in one year through just one strategy
§ By switching over to the model, a marketing services client was able to receive a 2000% return on investment its new marketing campaign that featured how-to advice seminars and articles form senior executives
§ When an IT consulting company gave up cold calling and switched to our model, the quality of their leads dramatically improved and closed deals quickly increased by 25%
§ Using these strategies of seminars and getting published, a law firm client has grown in a few years from a regional practice to a national firm
§ A well established regional accounting firm client reported they were able to accomplish more in 6 months with our methods than they had in three years on their own
§ An advertising agency used the strategy to double revenues from $4.5 to $9.6 million in five years and earn a spot in the Ad Age 500
§ With the model a 100-year-old financial services firm was able to double awareness and create 100,000 qualified leads per year for its advisors


In closing, I leave you with this thought:

How will they hire you unless they trust you?

How, in turn, will they trust a person they have not heard?

How, in turn, will they hear without someone to speak?

How, in turn, will you speak unless you have a solution?

How, in turn, will you have a solution unless you understand their problems?

How will you understand their problems unless you listen?

Please know this: the universe rewards activity. Start by asking clients about their pains. Gather information on how to solve those worries, frustrations and concerns. Be the expert who educates people on how they compare to their peers and the best ways to overcome their obstacles. The more prospects you inform how to solve their problems in general, the more will hire you for the specifics. In the words of motivational speaker Zig Ziglar: “You can get whatever you want in life if you just help enough people get what they want.”

Conference Faculty
(subject to change)

Clientologist and new client generation expert Henry DeVries is a best-selling author, a member of the marketing faculty of UC San Diego Extension, and founder of the New Client Marketing Institute. His life highlights include appointments at two universities, completing specialized studies at the Harvard Business School on leading professional service firms, earning his MBA while serving as president of an Ad Age 500 advertising and public relations agency, and coming within one question of winning $13,000 on the TV game show Jeopardy! In his talks Henry reveals the results of his $1 million research study, which are more than 1,000 pragmatic strategies to achieve marketing returns of 400% to 2,000%. His research findings are covered in his books Self-Marketing Secrets, Client Seduction and Pain Killer Marketing (with Chris Stiehl.) For more information visit www.newclientmarketing.com

Money-making mindset expert Marilyn August is a business advisor, wealth coach and the founder of Wealth & Wisdom Seminars, a company devoted to dramatically increasing productivity by changing the way professionals, sales people and business owners think about money. She is an author, consultant and popular speaker on mind over money topics. Her books are the Journey to Wealth and Wisdom and Wealthy U: Seven Sacred Wealth and Wisdom Lessons. For more information visit www.wealthyu.com

Business development psychology expert Scott Bailey is the founder and president of BMC, Inc., a training and sales force development firm founded in 1994 with an affiliation with Sandler Training. He champions honest, no-nonsense consultative sales and management techniques that get results while preserving the individual team member’s self-respect. He has coached and developed thousands of sales professionals, professional service providers, and hundreds of owners of small to mid-market companies. Scott earned his MBA while working as a senior sales specialist for 20 years in the medical field for a leading manufacturer in the industry. For more information visit www.baileymarketing.sandler.com

Prospecting networking expert Rhonda L. Sher -- creator of the Two Minute Networker™ concept -- is a nationally-recognized expert in person-to-person business networking. Rhonda is passionate about helping entrepreneurs, small business owners and sales professionals learn the effective networking techniques that can fill their pipelines with qualified prospects, double their referrals and ultimately allow them to enjoy more income for less effort. Rhonda is the expert at teaching others how to “take the work out of networking.” Her book, The Two Minute Networker, was a result of her “hands-on” experience in sales and marketing. For more information visit www.twominutenetworker.com

Voice of the client expert Chris Stiehl is a Baldridge Award winning market research professional, author and member of the marketing faculty at UC San Diego Extension. He has over 30 years experience working in and for Fortune 500 companies such as Cisco, Palm and Johnson & Johnson. His resume includes Eli Lilly and Company, Wyle Laboratories, Polaroid Corporation, Cadillac Division of General Motors, and Pacific Gas & Electric Company. He is the author of Pain Killer Marketing (with Henry DeVries). For more information visit www.stiehlworks.com

Persuasive presentations expert Chris Witt works with business leaders — CEOs, presidents, executives, owners, and senior managers — who want to speak in a way that advances their organization's success. He also works with high-level technical professionals — senior scientists, engineers, and programmers — who want to present sophisticated material in a way that non-technical audiences can understand and use. He is the author of Real Leaders Don't Do PowerPoint: How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas, to be released in 2009. Chris combines a background in education, counseling, and ministry with advanced training in public speaking, communications, and emotional intelligence. For more information visit www.wittcomm.com

How To Register
Call 800-514-4467 and speak to Henry DeVries to make sure space is available. You can pre-pay your tuition with a credit card or check. If you have questions you can call or email Henry at henry@newclientmarketing.com

© 2008 by New Client Marketing Institute. All rights reserved.

Interesting Move at Chrysler

Our book outlines a key point for business, especially in tough economic times: learn how to listen. We have done research on "pain" headlines versus "benefit" headlines for the same product or service - pain outsells benefits by 19 to 1! Businesses need to learn how to listen for customers' pains, and solve them. That is what our book, our classes and our practice is about: learning how to listen to customers and what to do with the data once you have it.

We are not alone in this belief. A recent survey indicated that as many as 75% of senior executives NEVER talk to a customer. That scared me. Cars.com reported that Chrysler's CEO Bob Nardelli launched a new program to get feedback about his company's cars. According to the report, Nardelli and 300 of his executives are going to call one customer a day, each and every day, until they're satisfied that any problems their customers have with their products are solved. They believe that if you're happy with your car, you'll tell people about it. If you're unhappy, you're going to tell a lot more people. Nardelli wants his executives to feel the pain of their customers directly and deal with it.The cynic in me wonders if this is just a gimmick to make Chrysler customers feel better about a product that may not be that great. I prefer to believe this is a genuine effort to fix perceived or real problems with Chrysler's products, and Nardelli is trying a lead-by-example approach to ensuring quality. I suppose only time, and Chrysler owners, will tell. In any case, his executives will be more sensitized to customer needs and their problems. We hope that Chrysler has a way to organize and prioritize these data, rather than to just collect a laundry list of problems to be fixed.

2008 has been hailed in some circles as "The Year of the Customer." If this is so, businesses need to learn how to listen, in our view. A company can gain over $50,000 worth of market research for $5,000 or less by learning how to listen to customers and organize their input.

How the attract all the customers you need

Start by asking customers about their pains. Gather information on how to solve those worries and concerns. Be the expert who educates people on how they compare to their peers and the best ways to overcome their obstacles. The more prospects you inform how to solve their problems in general, the more will hire you for the specifics (PKM, 27).

How do you get started as a guru?

How do you get started as a guru? First, understand that generating new clients is an investment and should be measured like any other investment. Next, quit wasting money on ineffective means like brochures, advertising, and sponsorships. Rather than creating a brochure, start by writing “how-to” articles. Those articles turn into speeches and seminars. The best marketing investment you can make is to get help creating informative Web sites, hosting persuasive seminars, booking speaking engagements, and getting published as a newsletter columnist and eventually, a book author. (P.25-PKM)