All because I asked for the business.
In April of this year, I wrapped up the final session with a client I’d worked with for six months. And in that time, we did the following:
✳️ Created a 3-year strategic growth map with clear actions
✳️ Revised the value proposition.
✳️ Revamped her fees and started to implement value-based fees.
✳️ Changed her approach to meetings as she was now better placed to ask questions that uncovered the deeper
challenges her potential clients were facing and the risk involved in not taking action
✳️ We created a framework that convincingly demonstrated how her consultancy could provide the solution clients
needed compared to their competition.
✳️ She started to include options in her proposals, and to use her words, her fees had ‘increased significantly.’
✳️ She was working more ON the business and less IN it
So, during our final meeting, I suggested that we have a review meeting in 3 months to review progress.
Her response was, “I was thrilled when you suggested it because I was thinking, “I’m alone.’ Once this session is complete, I’ll be alone! And so there was a moment of panic for me. To me, this was a no-brainer.”
Here’s the thing – you may be hesitating over making a suggestion that could help your client, but for many reasons (mostly in your mind), you choose to refrain from mentioning it or asking for the business.
But you don’t know what is going on in their mind.
We had our first review session last week, and once again, she said, “I’m so glad you asked me. It is now a fixture in my business development.”
It’s important to remind ourselves of the value we’re adding.
Sometimes we’re in the hamster wheel finishing work with one client and then off to find a new client and more business and revenue could be right under our nose.
These meetings are now a fixture for the next 12 months as the next review session has already been booked, all because I had asked.
