The biggest concern I have heard raised by people over the years is ‘I struggle to ask for the business.’ Most people seem to have enough going on, seem to have enough meetings, but really struggle to get down to the underlying purpose of the interaction, i.e., meeting an identified need with a valuable service. They talk about feelings of embarrassment, of sensitivity, when reaching the point of the commercial end of the conversation.

In my coaching, I always ask if people value the advice they give, and on almost 100% of the occasions professionals do indeed see value in what they deliver. In fact, they’re proud of their work. So why be embarrassed about asking if that value can be of benefit to the person who has generously come to meet you and therefore, you can assume, has a need either now or in the future? In a commercial market, let’s assume that you both know the reason you’re meeting is to explore the likelihood of that value meeting their needs.

So how do you ask? Specifically, how should you put it?

Of course, the answer to that is more complex than I can properly respond to in a few paragraphs…but…

Today's BD tip:

What if you asked them how they choose their providers? What issues do they go to external providers for? What remains in-house? When they do go to the market seeking external support, how do they choose who to ask? And when they ask, what criteria do they use to separate the offers?

Would that be a professional and acceptable way to engage in the conversation about the overlap between their need/s and your value? Try it once or twice, and see what territory you open up.

[First published on LinkedIn Sep 15, 2016 under the title ' The first week of Christmas - Finding a way to ask for the business']