I just read about a new trend in legal billings.

Some attorneys are moving away from their traditional model of charging for their time and moving toward a negotiated fee that reflects what the attorney will accept and the client will pay.

In legal circles, this is radical.

In business, this is normal.

Years ago, while studying for my CLU / ChFC, I learned that a 'fair' price is "what a willing buyer and a willing selling can agree upon".

Today, that equitable understanding has come home to roost in the legal profession. (reference this article: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/07/05/billable_hours.ART_ART_07-05-08_C8_K4AL9BH.html?sid=101)

Think about the value YOU offer your clients . . . if you help a client seize an opportunity or avoid a disaster . . . should they pay you a fee based on some arcane hourly rate or an 'equitable' fee that reflects the honest value the client receives?

I can tell you . . . the 'honest value' fee is the answer.

I have a friend who once took 10 minutes to give her client advice that, literally, saved them over a million dollars! I said, "Don't tell me you charged an hourly rate". She said, "Oh my G _ _ , I did. But I won't do that again in the future!".

Apparently, more lawyers are finding this to be true, too.

POINT:
Charge a FAIR price for the value you provide . . . your clients will be happy to pay it and you'll be far more profitable, too!

In an article in RainToday, author Michael McLaughlin discusses the value of offering an assessment service as a means to differentiating you in the marketplace of 'Me-too' consultants.

I couldn't agree more! In fact, I love this guy!

McLaughlin is 'real' . . . at least, he's living in the real world based on his article. Here are three 'truths' I see in the article I am compelled to share with you . . .

Point 1: Unpaid Consulting
McLaughlin says "Never do anything for free" as it devalues your service. I would add that a prospective client who agrees to do anything for 'free' isn't really invested in the project or outcome. A nominal fee is a key 'qualifier' of which prospects are really interested in the outcomes you can offer.

Point 2: "Clients pay for insight, not (just) methodology"
Spot on! If a computer can do the work you do, you SHOULD be out of work. Actually, this is an opportunity for you to reveal how you make sense of discrepancies . . . that the client either missed or doesn't appreciate the significance of addressing!

Point 3: "Start small, stay long"
An assessment service is like going on a date with a prospective client. If the first one goes well, then both sides have a solid basis for taking more involved and involving steps together over time.

Overall, Mr. McLaughlin offers some cogent and coherent advice that is going to make anyone who acts upon it . . . better for it.

Nice article! Check it out:

http://www.raintoday.com/pages/3825_the_one_service_every_consultant_should_offer.cfm?broadcastID=1169&linkID=21052&ID=32914

This is a cute one.

I just got an email from a salesperson for an extremely large, renowned international company asking (very nicely!) what my current level of interest in using their service is, if any. She goes on to challenge me by asking if she should just "remove me from her database".

OK, here's the joke.

I have been a client of this firm since last October! Happily so, too.

Apparently, while the 'move' to ask me to "________ or get off the pot" is one I personally admire, it isn't appropriate. Not here, anyway.

Why?

First, because it isn't necessary -- I AM a client.

Second, it reflects a gross ignorance of her knowledge of who I am and where I'm at vis a vis buying her company's service.

While I applaud the attempt to follow-up, I think her company just gave me a 'behavioral message' that I'm considered a 'number' and not a 'valued relationship' to them.

Lesson:
If you make the effort to contact a prospect, have a SYSTEM in place to stay top-of-mind with them.

And make sure that system allows you to know WHO you're cultivating and WHERE they are in their buying-cycle.

If you don't, you'll either lose business opportunities you should be closing and/or you'll come off like someone who doesn't value your business relationships.

Opportunity:
If you're reading this post and it's setting off some alarms . . . here's something you may like to know. I have just entered into a strategic alliance with a firm that specializes in designing, installing, training and supporting smaller firms and professional practices to have a system to treat people as people, not numbers and cultivate the value they offer your firm . . . as long as you keep-in-touch and stay-in-mind.

Interested?

Call me: Bill Doerr, CCO / SellMore Marketing, LLC: 860-798-6964

I just watched a commercial.

For a product called Orajel. It's a topical anaesthetic for your teeth.

What struck me was the sheer brilliance of the 'on-the-mark' message it focused on and didn't stray from . . . "Put it on and the pain goes away".

David Olgivy, the legendary advertising man, once said, "What's written on the back of the creative brief should be what you say or show to your reader or listener".

Orajel's copywriters understood -- and practiced this same truth.

"Put it on and your pain is gone". Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Take a lesson here . . . find THE essence of the 'beneficial difference' you create in your client's life . . . and state it succinctly and simply.

There's power in simplicity that focuses on your beneficial difference.

Today was a telling day.

Two lessons.

First, "Being There Really IS Important!"

Second, "Keeping In Touch Really IS Important"

Allow me to explain.

Last fall we had our home stained. As part of the work, we had a lot of our trim replaced. But, not all of it. In fact, not even most of it.

We told the contractor, "Let's do the rest in the spring". He agreed.

Well, it's now summer. Spring came. Spring went. We never heard from the contractor.

Enter a new contact who is, of course, a contractor.

"Can you do trim?", I asked. "Of course!". "Good. Call my wife and let's get this project underway."

I am disappointed. The first contractor had a 'signed check' waiting to be picked up. Why he didn't FOLLOW-UP, I don't know.

Bottom line: Failing to follow-up was costly.

Lesson: Keep your promises. Especially your 'promise' to keep-in-touch and stay-in-mind. Past clients are already sold on you. Don't blow a good thing. And if you need help, get a client cultivation system in place to make sure you do.

I recently had the joy (I'm not kidding!) of spending time with a young mom and her 3 year old daughter. Mom was a prospective client. The daughter was not.

During our meeting, the little girl was as inquisitive as little kinds are want to be. She was constantly asking, "Why?".

"Why did you wear THAT dress today, Momma?"
"Why are we in THIS restaurant, Momma?"
"why are we meeting THIS man, Momma?"

You get the idea. Non-stop questions. All to find MEANING. All to help her MAKE SENSE of the choices her mother had made.

Prospects are a lot like that, too. They want to understand 'WHY' they should do things -- including doing business with you!

Are you giving them a clear, coherent and compelling message as an answer?

Is that 'answer' reflected in EVERY touch-point a prospective client might have with you and your business -- and remember, often times what you DO (behavior) speaks so loudly a prospect isn't listening what you SAY (rhetoric) in your pretty marketing materials.

If not, it's time to think about how you can. And then, DO something about it.

Just a thought . . . to help you stand-out from the crowd so no one has to ask, "Why you?". They'll know. And you'll both be better for it.

I just spoke with a client who has suffered a loss . . . of confidence and credibility in a vendor. Who, by the way, is also a client.

As a business advisor, clients often ask for a referral to another vendor.

For whatever reason, the vendor I introduced to my client, when asked a question, gave an incorrect answer.

Unfortunately, the vendor didn't say, "I don't know". As a result, the prospect now thinks this vendor is someone who can't be trusted.

And, by association, I've been dragged into question for having made the referral to someone who would say 'anything' vs. "I don't know".

There's been a serious loss of credibility. For everyone. It could've been avoided. If someone had the guts to admit they don't know something.

The lesson:
Pride goes before the fall . . . from grace. Learn to embrace your limitations. Acknowledge your ignorance. It will build your credibility and . . . your revenues, too!

I'm behind a truck in traffic this morning and I see these words in HUGE letters on the back of the truck:

"If there's ANY delay, it's YOU that we'll pay!"

The company is Ben Franklin Plumbing. Their tagline is: The Punctual Plumber™.

In communicating with their marketplace, there's a great lesson here:
1. They offer to manage a customer's risk with an on-time guarantee
2. In doing that, they also differentiate themselves from competitors
3. They distill their 'hook' into a tagline that's equally memorable: "The Punctual Plumber™" that also reinforces their position and USP

In your business, choosing a strategy for differentiating yourself from the 'others' in your field is key.

Once you do though, you'll find that all kinds of opportunities seem to arise to leverage your position and give you a distinct competitive advantage in your marketplace.

So Ben Franklin Plumbing . . . I salute you for an obvious and successful effort to 'think it through' and come up with a 'winning' position for your business. Good Show!

I just spoke with a colleague about creating a 'guarantee' for a client. Interesting call I must say!

Seems the issue is this: if a client wants a 'guarantee' from an advisor or coach . . . what should that guarantee be?

Personally, I don't like being held accountable for what someone (other than myself) must do -- but might not -- in order to produce the result on which some 'guarantee' is being made.

On the other hand, offering a 'guarantee' of some kind -- is an excellent strategy to differentiate yourself and your service. So, what do you do?

My solution: Understand the INPUT / OUTPUT concept. Also understand the QUANTITY / QUALITY concept. Apply both to create a guarantee that YOU can offer safely and your MARKET will find attractive.

INPUT / OUTPUT:
The idea is that output -- results, if you will -- is dependent on input. Usually defined as 'initiating behavior'.

QUANTITY / QUALITY:
The idea here is that a result is a FUNCTION of both the quantity of initiating behavior and the quality of the skill used in performing it.

In the 'old' days, we referred to this as the 'How Much (quantity) and What Kind (quality)' program. If you do 'X' behaviors --say, "Talk with 10 people" with 'Y' level of ability or skill -- say, "You make an appointment with every 5 people you talk with" THEN . . . "You can expect "2 appointments". That's a predictable result and THAT . . . is the basis of a good guarantee: an attractive result for your client and a manageable one for you!

So where's the guarantee?

The guarantee could be this: "You WILL make 5 appointments, IF . . . you talk with 25 people". You can add a timeframe to that . . . 'over the course of a week' or 'per day' or . . . etc.

The RISK . . . of fulfilling the guarantee rests on both the client and the advisor.

The client's risk is that he or she won't do the behavior or INPUT.

The advisor's risk is that he or she won't be able to develop the client's skill level (a quality issue) to the point where the quantity of behavior will produce the results expected and 'guaranteed'.

In that case, you can either offer to: 1) return the client's money if the expectations are missed, or 2) continue to work with the client (to develop their skill level) until the results -- guaranteed by you and expected by your client -- are achieved.

The notion of using a 'guarantee' is a powerful strategy that allays prospects' concern about hiring you. It also differentiates you in the marketplace of consultants and advisors who like to quote their 'hourly fee' but loathe giving the client even a semblance of the guarantee they're seeking.

If you'll apply this insight into crafting a guarantee that will help you manage the risk of offering a decent guarantee to your prospects . . . it will help you STAND OUT in your marketplace as the competitive advisor I know you can be.

Best wishes until next time!

I was giving a presentation when someone asked me, "OK, I understand it's important to target a market . . . how do I do that effectively?"

I loved the vulnerability and courage it took for her to share that question. Here's what I told her:

"The best market to target is probably right under your nose! Check out your 'best clients' from the past and you'll see segments worth developing in the future."

First, look for their COMMON CONNECTIONS. You may sell to an individual but you market to a group of them. So they must show you some evidence of how they connect -- even if you didn't exist.

Second, look to your 'best clients' in the past and make notes about them . . . write up a NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION using their individual bits of information until you see some kind of a coherent picture emerging from the initial 'fog'.

Third, create a PROFILE of the kind of person you're likely to find is a member of these markets or 'segments' using such elements as:
1. Demographics (age, sex, political affiliation, etc.)
2. Psychographics (risk-takers, value vs. price oriented, etc.)
3. Geographics (lives / works / plays in . . . , etc.)

Finally . . . consider two (2) additional factors for selecting people to cultivate in each of the segments you've decided to pursue:
1. Ability / Willingness to REFER you to others
2. Ability / Willingness to do business that is PROFITABLE

That's a good way to begin to do your marketing by design, not accident.

Hope you gain something from this as well.