How to Profit from Initial Consultations"I'd love to work with you, but..." How many times have you heard these words? As a professional service provider looking to grow your business, isn't it sometimes frustrating to hold an initial session with someone who you'd love to work with but potential client has a whole list of reasons why s/he would love to work with you, but...?
As in, "I'd love to, but.."-"I can't afford it." Or "I'm not sure if it will work for me." Or "I'm going to try to work on it by myself and will get back to you."
Here are some tips and strategies for overcoming dreaded "I'd love to work with you, but..." syndrome. These are gleaned from my own personal experience in building my coaching business, as well as tips & strategies I learned in SalesCoachTraining.com program. I'm happy to share these with you because I really believe it is much easier to run your business when you can afford to do so because you have enough clients who pay you well.
So, there are 10 steps to consider:
1) From beginning, make sure your potential client has a need for your service and can afford it. I can't tell you how many times professionals hold a free consult, and then find out, after 30-45 minutes is over that potential client can't afford service. It might sound a bit severe, but if you're in business to make money, you need to make certain you're spending your time in most profitable ways.
2) Consider cutting down length of your initial consultations. When I first started out, I used to offer full initial sessions of 45 minutes or more. Now I offer 10-15 minute sessions. Within this time frame I can tell if prospective client and I are a good match. If client doesn't sign up I won't feel bad or annoyed since I didn't invest a great deal of time in consult. If you are having trouble converting initial consults into paying clients, it may be because you're "giving away" too much at beginning and client is not left wanting more.
3) Frame call. At start of call, gently instruct client that at end of allotted time, they will be called upon to make a choice about next action. Help client recognize that you are happy to assist them in making a decision and that you aren't tied to outcome of their decision. The simple words, "I'm here to help you make best decision for you and I'm not tied to any particular outcome." have gone a long way to create trust rapidly and easily.