Introduction -- 01 Choosing your ground -- New business versus business development -- Where are you? -- Assessing the data -- 02 In a perfect world ... -- The 'perfect' client firm -- How does the client see you? -- 03 Locating your perfect clients -- Cultural fit - why it matters -- The sniper rifle approach -- Technology: a side note -- Being visible -- 04 Your brand: development and management -- What is a brand? -- The brand is you... -- Building your brand statement -- Hot buttons to brand promises -- Your role and the value in resolving pain or delivering dreams -- Linking brand promise and value delivery -- Brand and culture: similar but not the same -- Your USP -- Bringing it all together -- 05 Conversation is the new PowerPoint® -- Perceptions are critical and real (even if they may be incorrect) -- Conversation versus presentation -- Conversational tools -- The new PowerPoint® -- 06 The wiring diagram of the client firm: seeing the influence connections -- The primary buyer with the NABAC -- The various buying roles -- Mapping the client firm: a process -- Questions to clarify roles -- What drives the client? -- 07 Maximizing success in your meetings -- Meetings in general -- Avoiding problems with meetings -- Writing great proposals -- 08 Managing your delivery and the client's expectations -- Quality assurance (QA) -- Delivery, client ownership and CRM -- After-action reports and feedback loops -- Milestones -- Pulling the plug -- 09 Winning referrals and repeat business -- Five referral errors - and how to avoid them -- Internal versus external referrals -- Repeat business -- Planning and process -- Strategic account leadership (SAL) -- 10 Building systems into your business -- Business organization -- Checklists -- Time allocation -- Client relationships and contacts.

Corporate knowledge and documents -- Why bother with systems? -- 11 Putting it all together: a one-month implementation plan -- Action plan overview -- Action plan to-do list and timings -- Mapping things out -- The right people -- And finally... -- Further reading -- Resources -- Index.

When buying professional services, most clients will assume that you are competent in your field. They are therefore not hiring you primarily on the basis of your expertise, but on factors such as price and whether they want to do business with you. To minimize the issue of cost, you need to ensure that the benefits of working with you are clear to your customers. You need to move from transactional relationships towards partnership ones, and you need to identify the right prospects in the first place. The ability to ascertain, quickly and accurately, what drives your customer's decisions and to respond to their needs is critical in differentiating you from your competitors. If you can do these things well, you will win more business from both new and existing clients. This book gives you a repeatable and scalable methodology to achieve this.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2021. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.