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Week 8: We call
them to explain we are
shortly going on
holiday, and would like
to make plans. They
explain that in their
absence, someone else
has started talking to
another company, and
there is a meeting with
them next week.
Week 10: We are
back from holiday, and
we call them to ask how
the meeting went. They
explain they are now
waiting on some input
from the other supplier,
and they ask us to
clarify one or two
details from our
proposal document.
Decision promised week
after next.
Week 13: Still
no news, so we call back
to see what progress has
been made. They explain
that they are doing a
small bit of preparation
work with the other
supplier, but that we
are still “very much in
the frame.”
And so, it goes on.
Obviously every story is | |
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| | different, and there
would be many airs and
variations on this one.
Whatever the
variations, there are
four key missed
opportunities in the
above sequence, all of
which had already
occurred by the end
of the third week.
Before reading
further, can you spot
what they are? Please
resist the temptation to
keep reading … you will
get more value out of
this article if you can
go back and find the
four key missed
opportunities.
(Hint: check against
the “three shifts”
described at the
beginning of this
article.)
Whether things go
well, or go badly, we
often find that this
goes right back to how
things started in the
first place. This is no
exception:
1. Of course it makes
sense to pre-qualify
enquiries. Nevertheless
the first missed | |
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| | opportunity happened
right at the beginning
of the first call: the
crucial question is
what prompted them to
get in touch (now)? In
other words, what’s
happening now in their
world that means they
want to make a change?
This is where all the
value lies … not in the
content of the work.
2. The second
missed opportunity
flows from the first one
above: the supplier
could just as easily
have met several
decision-influencers in
his Week 2 visit. Apart
from a bit of
scheduling, all this
would have taken is a
brief explanation (at
the outset) as to why
this was important. Even
if this would have taken
another week or two to
schedule, it would have
been more valuable that
the 10 weeks of chasing
that followed his
proposal.
3. In the meeting
with the client, the
supplier started
discussing possible
solutions. This is the
third missed | |
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| | opportunity. We all
love our
problem-solving, but we
should not be doing
“solutions” at this
stage … until budget has
been discussed. Once a
client can see a
solution, our value
starts to diminish –
even before we quote a
fee. Value-centred
dialogue follows a
strict sequence: Value >
Budget > Fee >
Agreement.
4. By sending in a
proposal, we have cut
ourselves off from
further dialogue. There
is now no reason for a
call, other than “Well,
have you decided?”. This
is the fourth missed
opportunity and
together with the first
three, it is now
peripheral how we handle
things from here on.
This approach (known
as value-centred
dialogue) has more
steps than the
conventional approach
but over a shorter
period of time.
Along with that, it is
more effective because
the steps are smaller,
more influencers are | |
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| | involved, the budget is
seen in the context of
value, and we are
building common ground.
The supplier is
respected for taking the
time to explore context
rather than diving in
with offers and pushing
for a swift decision.
A value-centred
strategy anticipates
barriers to
decision-making, and
either goes around
them or dissolves
them before
encountering them and
then having to deal with
them.
There is a whole
mindset-change needed
for the new order in
which we live. This is
more than a
strategy-change; it
involves a totally
different approach to
how we value ourselves
and our services.
Related link:
John Niland will be
leading a workshop in
London on Oct 6th --
New Ways to Engage.
For more details, email
john@success121.com. | |
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