|
I’m thrilled when I get a call from one of my coaching clients to tell me they’ve landed a huge corporate client. They’ve worked hard and implemented the strategies we worked on together to close the deal with the corporate decision-maker. However, after giving them my hearty congratulations I share a cautionary tale.
If you don’t want to get blindsided by a corporate client and be left right where you started, you may want to read about what happened to one of my colleagues and what you can do to prevent it from happening to you.
Years ago, this colleague was doing great work with one well-known company. This company made up around 80% of her corporate business. While it was good to see her building an evergreen client, suddenly the top person who was hiring her over and over again was fired from the organization. She was blindsided and quickly went from being an insider to a complete outsider. Because she relied heavily on this one client, it negatively impacted her revenue.
Since then, I’ve seen this same thing happen with my clients who work as corporate consultants. They can get so narrowly focused on one client or one particular project, they aren’t taking time to see the 360 view, including other potential clients they could easily bring into their sales funnel. No one likes to be blindsided, so below I share a few strategies I’ve used to help me ensure long-term relationships (with no surprises) with my corporate clients.
Five strategies you should always use when working with corporate clients:
- Build relationships throughout the organization. The more people you personally know within the company the better. You don’t want your entire relationship with this corporate client contingent on just one relationship. They could quit, get fired, go on family leave, grow tired of you… it’s just too risky! When I am working with a corporate senior client, I always ask for their organizational chart for insider access. Get to know who is who, and see if you can meet other department heads that might benefit from the same type of training or coaching. You can also ask if you can be added to the company’s service provider list so anyone in the company can find you!
- Measure success using their yardstick. Early in the prospecting stage, you need to ask your corporate client how they will measure success metrics along the way. You want to use the language they do to describe what success looks like so start conversations about their goals and aspirations. Ask powerful questions to help them see areas that need attention to meet those goals. When you understand how they will be measuring the progress of your corporate project, discuss progress and review opportunities for improvement. Many consultants don’t ask these the right questions and then they’re blindsided when the corporate buyer doesn’t feel they made progress or improvement by hiring them so it’s a one-and-done project.
- Saturate the organization with your expertise. Too many consultants don’t ask the client how their service is going to improve the company’s key performance indicators. The more aligned you are with these indicators, the easier it is to offer additional services, whether it be executive coaching, professional development training or consulting work. Consider offering a brainstorming session to ask your clients how your service is helping the organization and who else within the organization should be involved in this solution. For example, if you are providing a seminar on communication skills to one division, wouldn’t every division benefit from this training? I find the more you can saturate the organization with your expertise, the better results they attain and the more indispensable I become.
- Schedule regular update sessions to review progress. Checking in regularly is key so you know when you need to change your approach, methodology, or pitch another project. For example, I check in every two to three months when I’m working on an executive coaching project, not only with the person I’m coaching but their boss and others around them. It’s also a good idea to schedule a consulting wrap-up session with your corporate client to ask them for their insights as well as provide them with your insights and what you see is next for them. There’s no reason to be blindsided when you have a front-row seat at this company. Pay attention to challenges that surface when you’re working with them, when they fall within your expertise, present solutions!
- Leverage your corporate connection to find new prospects. Finally, the most obvious strategy is not to keep all your eggs in one basket. Even if you’re busy, keep feeding your pipeline with new prospects. Leverage your relationship with this corporate client to connect with other potential clients. For example, ask your corporate client what venues they attend to learn and network such as professional leadership conferences or local expert groups. Ask for an introduction from them to speak at these venues to connect with their peers. If you are giving a speech to a room full of buyers you can easily hit the jackpot with new leads.
You probably noticed that all of these strategies require you to be very proactive. You can’t just coast along with your corporate clients, if you do, you’ll be blindsided when you least expect it.
Sarah’s Predictable Results Insights
If you’re working in corporate, ask yourself:
- How many people do I have a working relationship within the organization?
- Am I proactively listening and sharing solutions that will help them meet key performance indicators?
- What am I doing to keep my pipeline full with other corporate prospects?
|
