Use This Simple Framework To Get A Meeting With Anyone
In this latest unconventional consultant edition, I am going to hand you on a plate the solution to prospects not wanting to have a meeting with you or engage in a discussion with you about your services.
When I engage with clients they are very often fixated on low-level tactics such as how do we write a cold email to get a meeting with a senior C Level target for us.
Typically they are asking the wrong questions. And that's OK. Usually, they are very successful Consultants caught up in running their own businesses and can't 'see the wood for trees'.
One of the things we look at and implement - IF it is needed for that business, is a value-based meeting framework.
Instead of looking at the tactical approach, we look at the value they are creating for the person they want to meet with at that meeting. Not if they become a client but very specifically at that meeting.
And here's how to do it...
Oh, and if you thinking about what else you can use this for - it can be applied any time you have an audience of one or many.
Do you hold webinars? - try this model
Do you speak on stage? - try this model
On our planning sheets we firstly look at the main target characteristics:
Segment
Things like size, turnover, stage of growth, local/global/ etc
The last 3 projects we have won and what we learnt. What results did we create?
Then we have a 3 x 3 grid where we identify which one or two boxes we need to fill in:
Either 1 or 2 from the senior, manager or users category. This is important because it forms the frame of reference for the language and content structure. A CEO will not have the same attention span for functional content aimed at a technical user for example. At most the content should be framed at 2 of these at the risk of diluting the messaging. Most of our clients want to engage Senior and managers.
The second axis is their stage in the awareness funnel or if they are even in the awareness funnel at all. This matters because it will frame the lense of your languaging, main content and even if you need case studies or external research pieces.
Once you have filled in one or 2 boxes with the main thrust of your content relevant for the level and awareness stage we move on to the problem identifications section.
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION:
Pay careful attention to this. This will make you a lot of money. There is a framework that few people use to connect with a target audience that bridges their problems and your content.
Firstly: Identify 3 known problems that your audience will nod in agreement at and openly admit to. When you start with one or more of these you are stepping into the conversation in your prospects head. You are getting them to agree with you and you are building a bridge of trust with them. If you have true, revolutionary thought leadership - this is not the time to say it.
For most people, you have to give them proof that you are with them before you can move them.
Secondly: Here you address a problem they absolutely know about but aren't comfortable admitting to themselves or their business. Here, you are still with them and you are beginning to transition to leading them.
Thirdly: Introduce your thought leadership. This is your groundbreaking thinking that either addresses a problem they have right now that they aren't aware of or that they will potentially face in the future.
If you've done the early stages correctly then you now have their buy-in and you have earned the potential to lead them into this new realm of thinking.
BELIEFS:
This section is vitally important. Ultimately persuasion and selling are about changing beliefs.
You can't change something if you don't know what it is.
Here you should be taking your best, educated shot at articulating what your prospects currently believe about your topic or solution.
For example, many Consultants initially believe that outbound prospecting is ineffective for consultants. If I don't acknowledge and deal with this then I can never get them on board with my thought leadership if this is the area it covers.
So how do you deal with it?
The best way is to not use your point of view which is hit and miss in getting buy-in.
Instead, try this:
Show widely acknowledged (but old) research that shows why you think they believe the way they do i.e you are absolutely correct to have that belief
Now show how the world has changed
Now show new widely acknowledged and totally independent (to you or your company) research that supports your point of view i.e. you were right before and now you should adopt this thought process to still be right
FRAMEWORK
Then take that information and apply it to one of your standard content frameworks. Here's some of ours:
SPARKLING KEY MESSAGES:
And finally, develop your sparkling key messages about how you'll promote and get people to buy into the value of the value-based meeting you have now created:
Recap:
If you want to get people in a meeting then it is your responsibility to make sure you are designing that meeting to give value. The shortcut to do this is to follow proven frameworks.
This is one of ours. If you'd like a copy, leave a message in the comments below.
If you use a framework like this it is not unusual to double the number of ideal potential client first meetings within 24 hours with no additional inputs, costs or resources.
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Please put this into practice and let me know the results in the comments.
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If you want me to personally coach you on this strategy to make sure it gets done then schedule a coaching call here:Â https://consultingrevenue.com/coaching