This is a cautionary tale.  The Big Mistake is easy to make. I had a client who was looking for a competent SEO expert.  He knew his web site wasn’t getting traffic in spite of his blogs and articles.  He interviewed over 20 experts, ranging from newly minted to decades of experience, from next to […]

Picture Oliver Twist with his empty gruel bowl, saying,  “Please, sir, can I have some more?” Or some Medieval Beggar or Village Idiot rattling a tin cup and whining “Alms for the Poor?” I call it the “Begging Bowl Mentality" and – if you’re a coach, consultant or independent professional – odds are you know […]

Are you tired of hearing the same objections?  Handling objections, over and over again? Are you starting to feel like its Déjà vu – all over again – except worse? Is it starting to feel like an endless cycle?  You ask for the commitment and wait for your prospective client to respond.  They open their […]

These are two questions I’m hearing often – from both prospective clients and peers: I don’t have enough prospects to speak with (weak pipeline or no pipeline). I’m having trouble closing (converting) the prospects I do speak with. Not having enough people to speak with is a marketing issue.  Having trouble converting is a very […]

How much do you charge?  Does it make you crazy when that’s the first question out of someone’s mouth? Not “How good are you?”  Not “Will your service/product really solve the problem?” Not even “How long will it take?” It drives most of us nuts! Does it make you feel any better to know you’re […]

Do you ever feel bullied or intimidated by prospects or clients? Have you had prospect conversations with people who just make you feel defensive, like nothing you say is ever good enough? It’s like they just keep pushing, using a tone of voice that makes you feel like an underling? Why does this happen, when […]

One of my European clients recently received an introduction to a senior executive from a major French corporation.  When my client called the executive to introduce himself he asked, “Do you mind if I speak with you in English?”  The executive replied frostily, in English, “If you don’t speak French, why should I want to […]

How many of your clients are no-shows – or cancel with less than 24-hours notice?  If this issue bedevils you, trust me – you’re not the Lone Ranger on this one.  The key to addressing this problem is to set a clear boundary up front, when you make the first appointment and/or when you take […]

The dreaded Sales Dry Spell.  It happens to virtually every coach or consultant. Experienced businesspeople know it as a fact of life.  Your business is just cruising along splendidly and all of a sudden, things get quiet.  Cue the spooky music, thunder and lightning.  Sales aren’t closing.  Nothing’s moving forward.  What happened?  You didn’t change anything.  […]

There was a question in one of my LinkedIn Groups recently. It was about how to protect clients from Black Sheep Consultants who were giving other consultants in their industries a bad reputation. The basic idea was that the Black Sheep were unscrupulous and slick salespeople who sold their clients on having them do the […]