Dear Friends & Colleagues:

My new book – How To Win Client Business – is currently is trucks in route to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and independent book sellers all across the U.S.!

I’ve been tracking my order from Wiley and the pallet of books is currently sitting in a warehouse in Cincinnati, OH. Alas, it appears that none of us are spared the COVID-19 induced disruptions and delays in the global supply-chain. Despite the delays, I am still told by Wiley that the hardback and Kindle version will be available at Amazon by October 26!  The Audiobook will be ready by the holidays.

To celebrate the launch of the book, I’m sharing an excerpt from my new book each week. This works out pretty conveniently to roughly 6 months – as there are 26 chapters. Last week I shared a sneak peek at Chapter 1 – you can check it out by clicking here.

This week’s peek is from Chapter 2: How Clients Buy: Understanding The Client’s Buying Decision Journey. This chapter is a brief synopsis of my first book co-authored with Tom McMakin – How Clients Buy: A Practical Guide to Business Development for Consulting and Professional Services.

Without further delay, here’s this week’s excerpt of Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy it!

Doug

********************************************************************************************************

Chapter 2: How Clients Buy 

Understanding The Client’s Buying Decision Journey

I was having dinner recently with my good friend John Senaldi, who lives

in the Bay Area. As we enjoyed a glass of 12-year-old Talisker, it occurred to us

that it had been 30 years since we worked together at GE Aerospace in Syracuse,

New York. We were in our early 20s at the time.

After catching up on our kids and other small talk, our conversation drifted

to our professional lives. John had spent most of his career in medical technology.

By any measure, he had a very successful career leading to the CEO position at a

tech company he helped turn around and sell.

John had recently transitioned from corporate life to the role of executive

coach and strategic advisor. He now leveraged his considerable experience in

helping CEOs navigate through difficult business issues.

“How’s your new consulting practice going?” I asked.

“Well, I gotta admit, it’s been a bit of a transition to the new role as coach and

advisor,” John replied. “The hardest part for me is learning how to market my services

to prospective clients.”

“Tell me about your successes this past year,” I prompted.

John replied, “It took a while, but I have managed to land two really good clients.

I’m helping a couple of CEOs with issues I’m familiar with. I’m having a great

time, and I feel like I’m making a difference.”

“Where’d the clients come from?” I asked.

“Well,” John paused, “my first two clients were people I had known for a

while…. I worked with them previously. They knew me and felt that I could help

them grow their businesses.”

I smiled to myself, knowing John’s story well. Many professionals I speak with

have similar stories of how they got their first clients. I always make a point of

asking rainmakers where their most recent clients came from. No two client stories

are identical, but they have some interesting things in common.

If we are to become successful rainmakers, we have to build authentic relationships

with those we wish to serve. Our clients have to know us, they have to respect

our professional abilities, and they have to trust that we are honest. And, in the

absence of this, we have to be strongly recommended by someone the prospective

client respects and trusts.

If this is true, what do we have to do as professionals to get to know people,

and have others respect and trust us? There’s a lot to unpack there. And, we’ll get to

that soon, but the first step is to learn to think like a client. We have to understand

the client’s buying decision journey. The five rainmaker skills that we’ll learn are

built upon the foundation of the client’s buying decision journey. In understanding

how clients buy, we’ll begin to see why these rainmaker skills work.

********************************************************************************************************

Click here to order your advance copy of my new book, How To Win Client Business, today!