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Chapter One:
Why Service Providers Don't Sell More Business

Excerpted from: The "I HATE Selling" Book
by Allan S. Boress, CPA, CFE

Most service providers close about 20 percent of the business opportunities they get, but they really could be closing 90 percent or more. These service providers are losing this new business due to their ignorance, inertia, and inaction.

Most professionals don't understand selling, although they may think they do. In order for you to become more effective at selling professional services, let's take a look at what holds professional service providers back from selling more work. These explanations reflect input from discussions with thousands of consultants, attorneys, engineers, architects, designers, accountants, and other professionals over the last fourteen years.

"I Have No Time to Sell"

Chances are that answer spilled right out of your mouth! After all, who's got time to sell? We're supposed to be billable - that's how many of us are compensated. When I first got started in public accounting, my boss wanted me to be charged out 110 percent of the time.

Indeed, lack of spare time in one's work day is the foremost justification for not bringing in more work. And it is a valid reason. After all, professionals aren't salespeople. Salespeople are supposed to be spending all of their time selling and servicing their customers. We have work that must get finished.

Of course, the lack of time does give those not inclined to sell a handy excuse. In fact, there are some very busy professionals who do find the time to sell, even during their busiest time of the year, because they really want to.

There is a part of every work day that is an absolutely perfect time to sell more business: lunchtime! For important psychological reasons that I'll get into later, lunch is one part of the day that is usually spent alone or with one's partners or staff. Even during our busiest days, we usually find time to eat. Why not invest some of those lunchtimes with clients, referral sources, prospective clients? Not every day, perhaps. Consider utilizing four-to-twelve lunches (or breakfasts or dinners) a month to sell more business. Chances are it'll be four-to-twelve times more than the great majority of your competition.

"Personal Marketing Skills Aren't Required for Partnership or Advancement in My Firm"

Even in today's competitive environment, there are still some firms that promote staff who don't have the slightest disposition to bring in business. In those cases, what the firm often winds up with are staff members earning partnership salaries without bearing the burden of contributing new lifeblood to the firm.

Be careful about the message you are sending to your staff. Are they abundantly aware that in order to attain partnership or ownership they will have to prove that they can bring in business? Don't wait for them to be motivated to do so once they are made partners. By then it could be too late.

"I Don't Like Selling"

No fooling? Maybe that's one reason you became a consultant, engineer or dentist. If you loved selling, chances are you would have pursued a career in sales.

I hate selling. In this book you'll find a different way to sell, one that won't turn you into a "salesperson" and has been custom-designed for professional service providers.

"I Don't Know How to Sell Myself Effectively"

We professionals tend to be quite risk-averse by nature and only embark on those pursuits we feel confident about. My goal is to give you the skills to be much more confident about your ability to sell more effectively, immediately upon finishing this book.

"There is No Novocain for the Pain of Failure"

Are you fond of failure? As professionals, we're not allowed to fail - or we could wind up getting sued.

Unfortunately, the message of "No failure allowed" usually permeates the firm at every level, for every function, including bringing in business. Professionals won't take risks where there is a likely possibility they will be condemned for failure.

In selling professional services, one must fail to succeed. The more you fail, the more business you will sell. So, failure to bring in business must be allowed, and even actively promoted, to give professionals the freedom to succeed at selling.

"I Assume My Clients Know What They Need and Will Ask for It When They're Ready"

Many of us are reluctant to approach our clients about what we feel they need for fear of damaging the relationship. This fear is not without basis; people, in general, do not like being "sold".

However, by not approaching clients for additional work, we leave them wide-open to interlopers - outsiders who sometimes wind up getting the kind of work we could do just as well. For instance, your client may consult with an outsider as to what computer system to buy, yet who knows the client's records and systems better than you?

By not being forthcoming with our clients when we should be, we are opening the door also to outsiders who have their own coterie of professionals they like working with. They can, and often will, introduce competitors to our clients.

In addition, when we're not proactive about suggesting other services, our clients' businesses may not be as healthy and successful as they should be. Maybe our clients would be less concerned about fees if they made more money, too. We must be proactive to be successful. Don't assume your clients know what they need; presume that they need what you think they do, and work from there.

"I Have No Set Action Plan"

Professionals like to create lists; we need systems and action plans. Without a list of activities to follow, we generally stall and do little or nothing.

Imagine trying to accomplish a consulting engagement, a jury trial, or any type of professional service without a plan of action; the job probably wouldn't run as smoothly or be as successful as it could be. The same holds true for accomplishing a personal sales plan.

Set goals for the number of face-to-face contacts you will have every week with clients, prospective clients, and referral sources. Start with three a week. At the end of a year, you will have had over 150 opportunities you might not have otherwise had.

"I'm Not Held Accountable"

In one regard, we professionals are like children. Unless we're held accountable by our firms, little business will be developed except by those who are good at it and therefore enjoy it.

Those firms that have the highest participation by the partnership and staff in bringing in business are either blessed with a collection of people who are good at selling or their people actively hold each other accountable for bringing in work. Some firms tie compensation directly to the amount of new business brought in.

"There is No Support or Recognition from the Firm"

Most service providers aren't motivated to change their behavior by money unless it represents a very material part of the total compensation package. Firms have tried, and often failed, to motivate (usually staff) through bonuses or awards.

Fortunately, the professions generally afford us a comfortable means of support. One important way to motivate staff and partners is psychologically. Make business developers the heroes of the firm. Shower attention and admiration on them. Publicize their efforts generously.

"There Are No Firm-Wide Goals"

If your firm doesn't have a set goal for growth or new business brought in, any expansion will be by accident. People like to participate in team efforts where everyone is on the same wavelength. They need to know what is expected and wanted of them.

One of my clients, a regional engineering firm, had stagnated for years, but the principals couldn't figure out why. We discovered the problem was that everyone was doing their own thing - the principals had never taken the time to organize the firm's business development efforts or to set goals for the next few years.

Once that was done, the goals were broken down per principal (partner), and each had a personal marketing plan-of-action to help reach the goals. The firm goals for each year were publicized to everyone in the firm and constantly reinforced through all of the in-house newsletters and at principal and staff meetings. In addition, each person carried his own goal written on a piece of paper in his wallet so he could refer to it constantly.

After only nine months, the firm had reached its first-year goal of a 16 percent increase in business over the previous year. This happened because everyone was on the same path: a shared goal that was constantly emphasized to the entire staff created the momentum, drive, and strategies necessary to increase business.

"The Firm Leaders Do Not Participate"

Sometimes, firms bring me in to work only with their staff to bring in more business. The partners aren't interested; they consider business-development to be beneath them.

Forget it! That approach doesn't work; partners must lead the way. Staff will follow the lead of the managing partner and partnership as to bringing in business. If the partners do it and it is well-publicized (and expected), others will as well. If the partners don't, nothing much will happen.

Diagnosis and Rx: Schedule a Daily Business Development Workout

In this chapter we have looked at eleven reasons why professionals don't sell more work:

1. They have no time to sell.

2. Personal marketing skills aren't required for partnership or advancement.

3. They don't like selling.

4. They don't know how to sell themselves effectively.

5. The firm doesn't provide any "novocain" for those who fail.

6. They presume clients know what they need and will ask for it when they're ready.

7. The firm has no set action plan.

8. They are not held accountable.

9. There is no support or recognition by the firm.

10. There are no firm-wide goals.

11. The firm leaders do not participate.

Perhaps I've missed some. The point is that these are not acceptable reasons for failing to sell more business. These are simply "excuses" that may be holding you (and others in your firm) back. You must forget these, if you want to succeed.

Your Sales Prescription: The "I Hate Selling" Action Plan

Even with your busy schedule, you must create the time to sell new business by meeting clients, prospective clients, and referral sources for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Set appointments today for the next four weeks. Do not be afraid to set these kinds of appointments for far in the future - your most precious asset is time and you need to plan these meetings.

Technical skills are not enough anymore; to succeed in the long run, you have to bring in new business. Become committed, starting today, to being as proficient at selling as you are in your technical and professional skills.

You don't have to like selling, you just have to do it. So, stop complaining and start doing! Your selling skills will improve dramatically with the tactics learned in this book.

Believe it or not, as a professional, you already have the skills you need to be a great salesperson; you merely need to apply these skills to business development.

In trying to sell more business, you will fail; nobody sells everybody. The sooner you accept this, the easier it becomes to brush off rejection and move on to the next prospect.

Don't assume your clients know what services they need and will ask for them accordingly; rather presume that you know what they need and make sure to discuss your recommendations with your clients.

Just as you would create a plan for completing a job, use the same concept to create a systematic acton plan to bring in business. Make a list right now of people you should be talking to: prospective clients, existing clients, and referral sources.

Make sure your associates and your firm hold people accountable for bringing in more business. People who generate business should be well compensated and lauded as heroes in the office.

Set firm-wide and individual goals. Publicize these goals to all staff members and emphasize what each individual must do to achieve these goals.

Partners and principals must lead the way in emphasizing and carrying out business-development efforts, because staff will only follow these leaders. If the partners aren't involved in bringing in more business, nothing much will happen.

Allan S. Boress, CPA, CFE is one of America s most sought after speakers and trainers on the subject of personal marketing, systematic selling and client retention. He is the author of the "I Hate Selling Tapes" available on his web site.