Part II: A potential client is on the phone. Now what?

You’ve found a potential client and they are ready to talk details about what they need and what you can offer.

Treat the call like a job interview. Chances are they are screening several consultants for this contract, so your job is to stand out. You know all the basics of how to conduct yourself professionally on a phone interview, so we don’t need to go over things like speaking slowly and sounding confident.

Here are eight things you can do to wow the soon-to-be client on the other end of the phone:

1. Give out a freebie on the phone. You’ve done your homework by researching the school district and reading their strategic plan. Be prepared to offer them a preliminary idea or two.

2. Ask smart questions. Focus your questions on the big picture and make them think a little by asking tough questions. The response you want to hear from your smart question is “Hmm…we didn’t even think of that.� Consider a question like “How will you sustain this work after I leave?�

3. Show. Don’t tell. Right before the call, e-mail samples of final products you’ve delivered for previous clients. Walk them through the documents while you discuss why each piece was a success. This is 100 times more effective than telling them about a project you completed.

4. You are The One. You have a niche and they need your services. Be clear and let them know that no one else can do the job as well as you can.

5. Oops, you’re not The One. Half way into the call you might realize, however, that they are looking for someone with a different set of skills. As soon as you identify this, speak up – your honesty will be appreciated and they’ll keep you in mind for a future project that does match your skills.

6. Be a therapist… Spend more time listening than talking. When you ask your smart questions (see above), listen to the response and dig a little deeper with a follow up question.

7 …and a cheerleader. They might be looking for a consultant because there’s something wrong, a problem that needs to be fixed. It’s easy to get sucked into worry and negativity with your potential client, but now is the time to be supportive and optimistic. Down the line you might find that they need tough love – put that in your back pocket for later.

8. Don’t promise the moon. Manage their expectations by clearly defining the project and your role in it. If you promise too much, only bad things can happen. You’ll either work way too many hours and end up not making any money or they will be disappointed because in their eyes you didn’t deliver what you promised.

 

Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to this blog for Part III where I’ll share specifics about how to set expectations by developing a clear Project Description.