How to Explain Your Consulting Services: Talk to a Five Year Old

 

 

Let’s talk about explaining your services in the best way possible, so your clients understand what you are trying to convey and get excited about it. The best way to go is to explain it to them as if you were talking to a five year old. You must keep in mind the distractions your client faces and work around them in order to get your point across. You must also understand when it is time to accept your client’s decision and move on. Use this article to create a roadmap of how to best explain your services and products to your clients.

Client is distracted. Just like a five year old our client is distracted and has a lot of things going on. They have their own priorities before you showed up. They have other important things to take care of, besides talking to you. For this reason you have to make sure that you get their attention quickly. You will not have a lot of time to talk to your client, so be brief. You may have a full hour for your meeting, but you will only have their attention for the first few minutes. Make the most of those first few minutes. Be brief, be powerful, be strong and grab their attention quickly.

Simplify the concept. In much the same way as a five year old who has not learned big words yet, your client may not know the concepts you use in your everyday vocabulary. They may have heard them before, but they haven’t mastered them. In order to keep things simple, save the fancy vocabulary and only communicate the essentials. Only tell them what they need to know in order to make an intelligent decision. Also, as you simplify the concept, tell them what the first couple of steps are and then tell them how the engagement will end. This way they clearly understand what they need to do to get started and what to expect from the relationship.

Remember the client has to make their own decision. Just like a five year old who doesn’t want to go somewhere, the client can be a heavy weight. You cannot carry or manipulate them so you need them to make their own decision. Use the notes below to encourage your client to make a decision in their own best interest.

Don’t force: Do not force your client to do anything that they don’t want to do.

Don’t beg: Do not beg them. If they don’t see it in their best interest, don’t oversell it.

Be careful of incentives: Whatever you promise a five year old, ice cream, fun times, etc you better keep that promise or you are going to have pain. It is the same way with your clients; whatever promise you make you better own up to that promise.

Don’t whine: If they say “no”, then the answer is no. If they say “yes”, take the “yes” and keep moving. There is no need to whine and provide additional information on why things are the way they are. Your client doesn’t care and that five year old doesn’t care.

At some point… stop asking: There is a point in the conversation where you understand if that client has interest or not. Once you have a sense of that, stop talking. Even if there is more to say, that client or that five year old has already decided.

Five year olds will do anything that sounds fun. A five year old will do anything that sounds fun and your clients are the same way. If they know that interacting with you is going to be a pleasurable experience, it is easier for them to commit.

Be excited. Be exciting: When you communicate with your client be excited and be exciting. Actually have interest in what you are offering to them because you believe in it. Make that interaction with the client a pleasurable and fun experience.

Be benefit driven: Itemize the benefits and explain them all upfront. We want to make this into something your client or that five year old really wants to join in on.

Be straight forward: There is no need for long, flowery stories. If they get something, then tell them that they get it. If they don’t get something, then tell them that they don’t get it. The simpler the better.

Have fun without them: Make sure your client knows you are going to have fun with this experience separate from their choice to come with you or not. Your client needs to know you are not waiting on them.

This article is all about helping you better explain your services in a completely different way than most consultants. Break it down like you’re talking to five year old. Remember what you have to do and how you have to behave in order to get a five year old excited. Treat your clients the same way. It’s not about being condescending; it’s just about being as real and as natural as you can. Clients will pick up on your sincerity the same way children do. Give them as much honest, natural, and wonderful energy as you can and see what happens when your clients respond.

What tip do you have for explaining your consulting services?

3 Comments

  1. Jay Rosenberg on June 14, 2013 at 11:15 pm

    Hi, Alzay,
    Very thoughtful, clever post. I built an ad agency based on understanding the personallty types of my prospects, We learned four types and how to “speed read” their type on the telephone or at the first meeting. When we knew the type we knew their expectations.
    At the end of the pitching, the meetings, the presentations… the decisons are made. It’s funny, but it’s real: Even for the multi million dollar engagements, the decision is simply who the client likes best. They even say it!! We chose Olgilvy and Mather cause we liked them best.
    So if you can spot their personality type early on the courship can go well.Because people like people like themselves.
    All the best,
    Jay
    .

    • Coveted Consultant on June 15, 2013 at 3:54 pm

      @Jay I’m glad you appreciated the post. Isn’t if funny how “simple” client interactions are when you boil them down? You’re right, clients are people too and they want to be comfortable with the consultants they choose to hire.

  2. RAVI K S on June 18, 2013 at 5:57 am

    I REALLY APPRECIATE UR EFFORT ON BRINGING OUT A NICE TIPPICULT ARTICLE IN EASY MANNER SO AS TO ENABLE TO EASILY UNDERSTAND BY THE 5 YEAR OLD CHILD. AS YOU HAVE RIGHTLY MENTIONED “IF YOU DONT ATTRACT THE CUSTOMER, THE CUSTOMER’S ATTENTION WILL BE NATURALLY DISTRACTED” .THANKS A LOT
    YOURS
    K S RAVI

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