Andrew Sobel, Author at Andrew Sobel - Page 27 of 49
Dealing with Client Unresponsiveness
Do these laments sound familiar? “I had three or four good discussions with a prospective client about doing some work with his company, and now he doesn’t return my phone calls or emails.” “They have our proposal but I haven’t heard a thing back from them. I’ve called and left several messages but gotten no response.” Advisors and other service providers are rarely satisfied with the level of responsiveness from the executives they are trying to sell to. But in the last few years the unresponsiveness seems to have grown into an epidemic. I’ve been a consultant for 32 years, and it’s the worst I’ve seen. Why is this happening? And how should you react?
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Is the Trusted Advisor Still Trusted?
“The market has changed dramatically,” a senior partner at a major law firm recently told me. “I’m beginning to wonder if clients even want a trusted advisor anymore. Much of the time it just comes down to price. It’s discouraging.” Another client of mine, a senior executive in a large global consulting firm, echoed this sentiment: “Selling cycles are much longer that they used to be. Procurement is usually involved, and they can be brutal at squeezing down the price. Sometimes, after you invest a great deal to educate the prospective client, they just decide to do it themselves.” Since 2008, many business professionals are feeling pummeled by intense price competition and ever-harsher client demands. They are asking: Is becoming a client’s “trusted advisor” an antiquated aspiration in a world where clients seem mainly concerned with getting the lowest price? Is it still relevant when procurement routinely comes between you and your executive clients? Do relationships, in short, really matter anymore?
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Is the Trusted Advisor Still Trusted?
Is the Trusted Advisor Still Trusted? Eight Strategies to Stay Relevant in Today's Markets.
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Strong–and Weak–Questions to Win the Sale
Not all questions are created equal. I recently wrote two short ebooks, distributed through my publisher John Wiley & Sons, which go into very specific detail about thoughtful questions you can use at every stage of the sales and client development process (Power Questions to Win the Sale and Power Questions to Build Clients for Life). Here are my reflections about "strong" and "weak" questions that you can use in your business development efforts.
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Strong–and Weak–Questions to Win the Sale
By Andrew Sobel Advice abounds on "asking good questions" during the sales process. I believe much of it is confusing or even misleading. My clients and readers have enjoyed Power Questions, but have asked for more detailed guidance about the use of questions specifically in sales and business development. In response, I have published a short […]
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How to Become More Empathetic
How empathetic are you? Empathy is a fundamental quality of great trusted advisors, and it’s worth engaging in a moment of self-reflection to see if and how you can improve your empathy. Here are nine ways you can improve your empathy. In this post, I share the first five:
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How Useful Is Your Account Planning?
Does your organization have a client account planning process? If so, let me ask you some questions about it:
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How to Broaden Your Client Relationships
How do you broaden your client’s perception of your capabilities? This is a complex problem. Clients tend to pigeonhole their providers and put them in little boxes. Often, they are not even familiar with all of what you can offer. .
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