Got Ghosted by Prospects? Right. Here’s How 1-Man Consultants Prevent Dropouts.
Spoiler Alert: Don’t wait for the follow-up. You will get dinged.
Whoever tells you they have never been ghosted by prospects is lying. There, I said it.
Because that is a fact of life. Leads, prospects, customers, and especially high-ticket consulting clients ghost us. And that happens despite our best effort to serve.
It is a bigger problem when ghosting happens at the beginning of the consulting sales process. Prospects need tender loving care.
Tread lightly. And you must give prospects reasons to want to have lunch with you.
Again and again.
Treat Your Prospects Like a Blind Date Participant
… and more.
Take note. Never ever treat your prospects like idiots. They do know a little about you and your 1-Man consulting practice.
Hey folks, remember the internet?
This is the reason you must tread lightly. You want to find out what exactly prospects know about you.
- Is it the complex engagement you completed?
- Is it the consulting services you provide?
- Is it the industry knowledge you have?
Get into your first prospects meeting, face-to-face or online, like a curious teenager on a blind date. Be respectful. Put up your best behavior.
Above all else, ask what they know about you.
I am not kidding when I say this. I am always surprised by their responses.
One female prospect, many months ago, told me that Angeline (my ex-colleague) recommended me 5 years back. What she said shocked me.
“I heard that you have a reputation for following through. That is what I seek in consultants.”
And that was it for our 1st lunch appointment.
The Typical Consulting Sales Cycle
I assume you have 3 meetings with prospects to move them from a state of uncertainty to a state of consulting sales certainty.
- 1st Meeting — The Meet & Greet
- 2nd Meeting — In-depth discussion
- 3rd Meeting — The sales closure and initiation of engagement
You may take 2 meetings for in-depth discussions and 2 catchups to close the sale. That adds up to a total of 5 discussions.
That is fine.
The length of the consulting sales process depends on the industry you are in and the services you render.
The Focus of the 1st Meeting with Prospects
You never get a second chance to make a great first impression. Within a few seconds, with just a glance, people have judged level of success, experience, intelligence… Although these evaluations happen in an instant, they can last for years
― Olivia Fox Cabane
Oliver is right. No one is exempted from 1st impression judgment. Not even the brightest 1-Man consultants.
Thus, you must demonstrate that you are sharp. And no, you do not do that by excessive talking.
You do these 3things.
- You ask questions
- You shut up
- You listen
These are the questions you need to ask.
- Why are we speaking?
- What consulting services interest you?
- How can we move on from here?
These are forward-looking questions. Your prospects’ answers, no matter what they say, will carry you to the next meeting.
“I am looking to digitalize my plant operations, and I see you have such experiences on LinkedIn. Therefore, I am here.”
Intention + understanding what they found out about you = Opportunity
“If you can tell me what industry you are in, I can customize a product demonstration to show you how it works and the Returns-of-Investment you will get. How is that?”
The 2nd Meeting — Demonstrate Our Ability to Take Them Forward by 2 Years
1-Man consultants share one thing in common. We look to the future.
And our prospects are trying to be future-oriented. However, they have their knees deep in current practices and operational constraints.
Show how they can break out of their operational cocoon and evolve into the future in the second meeting. And with ease.
It will lead us to a commercial discussion where prospects become ready to buy our consulting services.
This is a critical juncture. Go slow to go fast. What do I mean?
When prospects ask you for the price of your consulting services — Do not give it to them. Not at this stage.
Why so?
Because it may scare them off.
This is what you must do to keep the prospects in the conversation.
- Share your commercial model — Monthly subscription, 1-time, etc
- Ask them for their working budget, and you respond accordingly
Show them that you can bring them to the future with ease, followed by explaining the components of your offer. You do this to help them size up the budget.
Plus, going slow at this stage helps them understand how your commercial model works. Remember, they are in a position to secure a pool of money from their Chief Financial Officer (C.F.O.). Not you.
Yes. At this stage, focus on the prospect and the C.F.O. standing behind them.
The invisible C.F.O. can break your consulting deal without you knowing.
That is life, folks.
The 3rd Meeting — Add Some Sugar to the Coffee
How you present your proposal matters more than the proposal options themselves.
You need time to think and walk through your presentation flow. I mean it. This is the stage where many prospects turn into ghosts.
The 3rd meeting is like a cup of Americano. It is bitter because you are yanking money out of their pockets. They hem and haw. Sweat beads on their cheeks form rivers of perspiration.
You need to pass them sachets of sugar. By ‘sugar’, I mean the persuasive words we use during the proposal presentation.
Avoid saying discount. Instead, say I will put money back into your pocket if you sign with me today.
Forget saying the cost of purchase. Say Seeding investment with expected future R.O.I. of X%.
Do not say Option 1, Option 2, and Option 3. Use Lite Pack, Standard Pack, and Premium Package.
This is not the stage for jabs. You need 800-pound left hook punches. Everything you articulate in the 3rd meeting must be delivered to your consulting prospects with an impact.
When you sound convincing, your prospects will be convinced.
Parting Keynote
There are too many ghosts around you? Yeah, I get that.
We learn. In fact, 1-Man consultants must invest time and energy into the sales conversion process.
We have a skillset bias. We think our skillset sells.
That is inaccurate. Our ability to sell sells.
We must keep the consulting sales funnel watertight. Every meeting must be designed to bring our prospect to the next stage.
Remember this.
A high dropout rate = Wasted effort = No consulting deals
That is not an outcome we desire, is it not?
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
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