A quick guide to Win Without Pitching, by Blair Enns. How these principles can help you as an indie consulting brand, get better fit deals —and be more profitable in the way.
We Will Specialize
Niching down. Category creation. Positioning. Own a unique position that will enable to make you stand out and be seen as the go-to expert. That only comes with a deep expertise.
We Will Replace Presentations With Conversations
Listen and talk. Dig in. Probe. Leave the rush of a great presentation and big reveal to focus on collaboration. "The goal is to be free of our own need to present".
We Will Diagnose Before We Prescribe
Your prospect might be wrong. You need to do your homework and assess if they're on the right track. You're the expert (and have perspective). It's our responsibility to start at the beginning. Don't prescribe without first fully diagnosing the client’s challenge.
We Will Rethink What it Means to Sell
How we approach selling. Selling is leadership and change management. We'll reframe selling into an act of facilitation. We'll see if both client and us are a good fit, and then facilitate the next steps —to work together or to send them to another provider. We are to serve.
We Will Do With Words What We Used to Do With Paper
Your proposals are what you just talked about with the prospect. Putting it in black and white is just a formality.
We Will Be Selective
You're not for everyone. And that's ok. We'll look for right fits, the ones we can actually best help. "By saying no we will give credibility to our yes".