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

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

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!