Information Technology Consultants and Professionals: How to Avoid Being Seen as Just Another Salesperson

Here are tips for information technology professionals to meet with prospects without being seen as an annoying salesperson:

1. Don't make cold calls. An unsolicited phone call is the easiest tip-off to a prospect that you are a salesperson. How do you react when strangers call you by phone? Instead, develop an information- and trust-based marketing plan that influences prospects to CALL YOU. You do this by offering educational, valuable information that helps your target market address key problems and opportunities related to your area of expertise. You offer this information in any number of ways: seminars, your web site, newsletters, audio programs, videos, articles, and publications.

2. Only give your business card to a prospect if asked. Otherwise, you will be perceived as somebody with something to sell.

3. For business prospects, do research prior to any meeting. Learn everything you can about the prospect's organization and situation.

4. Consider getting videotaped to see how you really come across in meetings. I have videotaped a number of IT professionals in mock prospect meetings, and the experience is almost always illuminating!

5. Make sure that during meetings with prospects, 75% of your sentences are questions. Ask questions to understand the prospect's situation, what it is costing him or her, how long they have had the problem, what else they have tried, what will happen if they don't do anything, and numerous other questions to help you thoroughly understand the issues.

6. Listen closely, with your undivided attention. Turn off your cell phone and pager, and eliminate any interruptions. Otherwise, you give your prospect the impression that they are not important now, and will not be important if they hire you.

7. Try to adapt your style to the prospect's style in order to build rapport and make them feel comfortable. Sense their mood, how fast or slow they talk, whether they focus on business or technical issues, and their body language.

8. Make eye contact. Don't look down, or at other things in the room.

9. Empathize by stepping into the prospect's shoes. Nothing is more powerful than to be able to reflect back the prospect's frustration with his or her problem. Similarly, instead of saying, "Here is what you should do…." say, "If I were in your shoes, I would…"

10. Focus on specific business results, not technology. Your prospect wants a result that will help his or her situation. Technology is a means to that end. If you focus on the result the prospect wants to achieve, then you can have an open and honest discussion about whether you can get that result.

11. Do not make the prospect feel stupid. For instance, if the client is not tech-savvy, don't use jargon. One client of mine developed an IT glossary to give to prospects, which was a great way to make them feel comfortable.

12. Once you understand the client's situation, offer your experience of the problem, suggest solutions, and show how you have helped others in similar situations before. Try to create a sense of urgency by explaining what it will cost the client if they don't act quickly. Do all of this in a way that educates and informs the client, without any gimmicks or tricks.

13. Make a business case to persuade the prospect to hire you. One consulting firm I worked with guaranteed clients a tenfold return on their fees. Show the client how much they can save or earn by hiring you. Show the client the risks of doing nothing, compared to the benefits of hiring you.

14. Invite questions, and answer them professionally, without getting defensive. Don't argue with the client about the question or concern. Tell them their point is a good one, and answer by providing the truth. Prospects will ALWAYS ask questions, sometimes to object but more often just because they are making a big decision and want to be completely sure that they are making the right choice. They may need you to repeat a point they didn't understand earlier, or they may simply need to hear what you had to say again for reassurance.

15. Show the prospect that you are completely committed to his or her success, and that you really want to be hired. Create a sense of team by explaining what "we" can do together. Listen closely. Empathize. Give examples of others you have helped. Tell the prospect that you want to work with him or her. Your enthusiasm might be infectious.

16. Don't use fancy sales closing techniques. Any sales training course you take (except mine) teach gimmicky formulas like the "double reverse close" or the "ABC three-step close." Your clients are too savvy for this garbage. If you use these techniques, they will immediately recognize you as an inauthentic, untrustworthy hawker of questionable services and products. Instead, let the prospect make up his or her own mind about what to do. For instance, don't ask the client, "When should we start?" or "As you can see, I can solve your problem; just sign this contract." Instead, put the decision in their hands by saying, "From the information I've provided, I sincerely hope that you understand the importance of acting now."

17. Don't accept a sale unless you can deliver, want to do the work, and the work will advance your business. Closing a bad deal for the sake of a deal is a recipe for disaster. I worked with a client who won a contract with a major metropolitan county health system. My client knew that the county was highly political, and that the project would stretch every resource he had in his small firm. But he was blinded by the size of the contract. Within three months, the county made the client the scapegoat for all of their problems, and his firm's name was posted in all the local papers. Six months later, he had to lay off half his staff because he had no work. Be willing to say "no."

18. Follow up. If the prospect hires you, thank him or her and provide reassurance that they made an excellent decision. Send a thank you note soon after. If the prospect doesn't hire you, politely remind him or her of the potential costs of not moving forward quickly, suggest rapid action, and let him or her know that you are always available for additional questions or advice.