Getting Started in Consulting, 4th Edition

Chapter 6 In the Buyer’s Office

I applied to only two colleges in high school. I was a terrific student with all kinds of accomplishments and offices held, and I was pretty arrogant. Rutgers accepted me, but Columbia required an interview and rejected me. And well they should have.

I absolutely bombed the interview, unprepared, inarticulate, and totally stunned.

Fortunately, Rutgers was and is a great university, and I received a wonderful education, but only because I had a second “buyer.” You won’t in most cases. You can’t afford to be a stumbling, bumbling me when you enter the buyer’s office.

Alanism

Not matter what anyone tells you, you only get to make one first impression.

So listen up: I’m about to save you a lot of time and grief, providing you pay attention.

Establishing Trust

This is a relationship business, and relationships are built on trust. Trust is the firm belief in the reliability and truth of someone, without qualification or hesitation.

You establish trust by being honest, candid, and conversational. You offer value (not methodology, but ideas) and actively listen to the buyer. You can establish trust—or at least its beginnings—in the first 10 or 15 minutes of a meeting with a prospect. Or, you may be unable to do so in several meetings. The difference depends on your discipline and focus.

We’ve already discussed the need for a peer mentality. Thus, ...