Winning the Professional Services Sale: Unconventional Strategies to Reach More Clients, Land Profitable Work, and Maintain Your Sanity

by Michael W. McLaughlin

Book Overview

An innovative approach to winning more profitable sales in the growing professional services industry

In recent years, professional services providers have had to rethink their sales methods and adapt to profound changes in the way clients buy services. In response, Winning the Professional Services Sale argues for fundamental changes in the seller's mindset and sales strategies. Rather than pressing the sale, salespeople must help...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470455853
• ISBN13: 9780470455852
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Getting new clients is more complicated than it used to be

"If there ever was a time when professional services sellers needed new strategies and tools, this is it." So says Michael McLaughlin in this book. He says that today's services sellers must be active in the market, offering ideas and solutions that generate client demand, and then they must be able to put together a winning sales strategy to satisfy that demand. The book provides a detailed analysis of the sequence of events involved in a successful strategy for selling professional services. The sales process is no longer a matter of the seller just presenting its credentials; the seller must now attempt to gain strategic insights into any problem which the client may be facing, and craft a customised solution which provides a demonstrable and measurable advantage to the client. Most professional services providers have been trained in how to provide their particular professional service; they have not been trained in how to undertake a strategic assessment of a client's business and come up with ideas that add quantifiable value. Accordingly, selling their services is intimidating for them. This book provides a very helpful step-by-step guide to success in the professional services sales process.

I think this could be the #1 sales book for 2009

A very valuable book and at the front of my line to be the sales book for 2009 IMHO. There is just too much great stuff in this book to summarize for you. The author published with Jay Levinson Guerilla Marketing for Consultants, which I also found very useful. The core (book jacket) is rather than pressing the sale, salespeople must help clients buy-the way that works best for each client. Only by fully understanding a sale from every angle, including its impact on the client's business and career, can salespeople thrive in the new era of the service economy. He really makes the point that selling is getting harder all the time, and the pro salesman must always search for and learn new things. I really liked hearing his comments on long term clients expecting more from you over time as well as expecting you to be always getting faster at doing it.

An easy read that teaches you a lot

I picked this book up to read on a flight home. I have been consulting for over 30 years and quickly found this to be one of the most insightful books written about selling consulting services. I usually skim a book's introduction, but I read this one twice... it lays out a precise framework that McLaughlin will then build around in the rest of the book. His basic Connect - Collaborate - Commit framework succinctly nails how the nature of professional services sales has changed. He consistently takes conventional wisdom and changes how you think about it. The value of this book is how McLaughlin gets you clearly focused on not only what is important, but how to do each step. Even if you don't immediately read the entire book, each "Sanity Check" tip box is worth reading as soon as you get a copy. These are practical, immediately implementable tips that will quickly improve how you interact with your potential clients. Kudos to Michael McLaughlin for a great business book that cuts through the jargon and gives you perspectives that you can actually apply. P.S. You also have to love anyone who can paraphrase a Ricky Ricardo / Lucille Ball quote and work it into a business book (page 36)!

Practical value added advice

Anyone who markets consulting or professional services knows that far too often we start selling before we fully understand the client's true needs. Part of the reason why we do this is because we fail to follow a plan for building brand new client relationships. Winning The Professional Services Sale walks you through an elegantly simple process for selling services without being overtly "salesy" in the process. Whether you're new to marketing services or an experienced pro, you'll find true value in this book.

A Must Read for Consulting Professionals

Having led and sold numerous consulting engagements, I have found Winning the Professional Services Sales an invaluable resource to not only reinforce concepts that I use, but to also introduce ideas and steps that I had not considered. McLaughlin lays out a framework and then provides real life examples from his many experiences on what to do today, not what worked a few years ago, and why. The book is compelling, moves from topic to topic and it is clear that Michael McLaughlin has "been there and done that." If you sell, deliver or are even thinking of buying professional services, I highly recommend this book and I believe without question, that your next sales pursuit will be stronger than the last.