Seattle Business Coach: Priceless Negotiating Tactics to Win Clients

Aug. 11, 2012 - PRLog -- Sales opportunity costs – investing time and money in lengthy proposals to attract clients – are too high, says Seattle business coach Terry Corbell, who advises a much better alternative.

“If you’re in professional services or you’re in consulting, many times you’ve heard the phrase: ‘Give me a proposal’,” writes Mr. Corbell, a veteran business-performance consultant, at The Biz Coach, http://www.bizcoachinfo.com.

“You’ve responded to the requests for a proposal by spending several hours and investing valuable dollars in putting together a first-rate document,” he adds. “You’ve tediously explained your background and your approach – often to no avail.”  

Mr. Corbell says such proposals are only productive in two instances:

1. For a large firm that has the luxury of personnel dedicated to responding to requests for proposals.

2. You’re really tight with the prospect and you’re a cinch to get the deal.

“Otherwise, the sales opportunity costs are too high,” he asserts. “Yes, you think that many people will hire you off a detailed proposal. That’s true.”

But Mr. Corbell says many prospective clients are arrogantly tempted to think: “If that’s all it takes, I’ll do it myself.” So, the prospect goes solo in “borrowing” your ideas.

The bizcoach says there are two ramifications: “You lose a prospective client, and the client falters because invariably the execution is poor.”

He says it’s far more profitable to successfully brand yourself so you don’t have waste time competing against others. Pre-sell yourself with successful self-marketing.

“A widely acclaimed Los Angeles consultant and valued friend of mine, Joey Tamer, advocates using the ‘deal memo’ with prospects,” writes Mr. Corbell. (Ms. Tamer made her stellar reputation as a strategic consultant to technology and media, and she’s a frequent contributor on Mr. Corbell’s business-coaching portal, The Biz Coach.)

“The deal memo is an outline of proposed terms for providing services to a prospective client or products to a prospective customer, or both to a strategic ally,” she says. “It is a Hollywood term that has come into use in other industries.  It is a useful, short-form way of verifying what you have proposed or agreed in a meeting, before you move to a long-form proposal or contract.”

Why a deal memo?

“Too often I have seen people act as ‘vendors’ and provide a full outline of their strategies and tactics (as a proposal), only to have that valuable information ripped off and implemented without them.”

Her deal-memo format includes eight vital elements, which Mr. Corbell lists in his column, “Valuable Secrets for Profitable Deal-Making with Clients” at http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/archives/11328.

As the bizcoach, Mr. Corbell’s portal (www.bizcoachinfo.com) provides proven solutions for maximum profits in planning, operations, marketing / sales, finance, technology, public policy, human resources, and Wall Street.

Plus, it has informative news videos: The world, U.S., economy, markets, health and sports.

All columns and videos are free.

Seattle bizcoach Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. He also publishes performance-enhancing strategies at The Biz Coach: www.bizcoachinfo.com with proven solutions for maximum profits.