5 ways to generate new consulting sales opportunities right now

Confidential© Equiteq 2016 equiteq.com

Growing equity, realizing value

Jason ParksDirector, Strategic Advisory ServicesPat WebbDirector, Strategic Advisory Services

5 ways to generate new consulting sales opportunities right now


Sustained growth in a consulting firm is the result of small, continual improvements made in the sales and marketing process


Of the 8 Levers of Equity Value, the Sales & Marketing Process is typically one of the most poorly performing along with the Market Proposition Lever

3

0

2

4

8

10

Market proposition

Intellectual property

Sales & marketing processes

Consultant loyalty

Management quality Sales & profit growth

Client relationships

Quality of fees

6

Confidential© Equiteq 2016 equiteq.com 4

Contents of today’s webinar

2. Getting clarity on targeting new prospects

3. Using secondary and primary research to fuel client discussions that open new opportunities

1. Harvesting more revenue from existing clients

4. Creating marketing content aligned with the buyer's journey to generate demand

5. Building momentum with structured campaigns

Key Takeaways and Questions


1. Harvesting more revenue from existing clients

5

Proportion of effort by service and client

Serv

ices

Clients

New

60% 20%

Test new IP, be very

intentional!20%

Current

Curre

nt

New

The easiest way to grow sales is to sell more of what you already do to existing clients

The next step is to sell existing services to new clients, along with new services to existing clients

Do not try to sell new services to people you do not know (unless you are a start-up, or unless you wish to test new IP with them) – it’s difficult!


1.1 Identifying current clients who have not yet bought the wide range of your existing services (the ‘white spaces’)

6

Service Client A Client B Client C Client D Total

Service Line 1 100 50 7 157

Service Line 2 40 100 30 13 183

Service Line 3 60 5 10 75

Service Line 4 25 25

Total 200 105 90 45


1.2 From the whitespace, create a sales opportunity plan, prioritize and plan outreach

Sales Opportunities Plan

Opportunity Customer Potential Value

Likelihood of Winning Action Responsible Complete by

date

Service Line 4 Client A 50K High Meet with CEO Jason March 1, 2017


Strategic

Body Shopping

2. Getting clarity on targeting (and contacting) new prospects

Moving up the value chain impacts margins, equity value and brand perception

Before we start chasing every car, it’s best to start by identifying your ideal client

Two steps:Define your ideal clientBuild an outbound sales campaign


2.1 Create your own list of 5 criteria for your target clients

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Some potential questions to consider (not an exhaustive list!) Question Criterion Relative

Importance

1 Which sector should the client focus on? Sector 30%

2Where should they be based or have a significant presence?

Geography 15%

3 How big should the client be?Size (Turnover $m)

25%

4At what level in a client's hierarchy do you want to have a relationship?

Contact level 15%

5 How important is it to build a lasting client engagement?

Client Loyalty 15%

What are the characteristics of your best client which you would most like replicated across your client base?

How can your proposition add the most value? Match your mission with your clients’ needs.

What client traits you would not like to see again in future clients?


2.2 Building a prospect list of the newly defined ideal clients

10

Five Key Steps

Proc

ess

Plan Build Develop Message ExecuteSelect

Select Relevant Companies

Gather Company & Contact Information Check Quality Load List onto

Company DatabaseIdentify Companies by Using LinkedIn

Populate a spreadsheet with company names

Use online tools in combination to collect information

Remove persons already present in database

Use relevant terms & filters within search function

CRM/Microsoft Excel Company WebsiteLinkedIn Business Plus

LinkedIn Business Plus

Data.com Prospector

Mailtester.com

Expl

anat

ion

Tool

s Identify key personnel and contact information

Identify key personnel and contact information

Identify key personnel and contact information

Verify that obtained email addresses are valid


3.0 Use secondary and primary research to fuel client discussions that open new opportunities

• Look at ‘Thought Leaders’ in the area, including the big consulting firms, specialists in the field and competitors

• Identify 3 hot trends and issues, quantifying them wherever possible, and quoting sources

Approach

• A one-page summary of the key issues, supported by a few slides of more detailed explanations for use in the UVP workshop

Output

Secondary research Primary research


4.0 Create marketing content aligned with the buyer's journey

Com

mitm

ent

Low

High

Identify problem or need

Research solutions

Establish buying criteria

Evaluate partners

Buy


5. With clients and insights in hand, it’s time to Build momentum with structured sales campaigns

13

No Sales Campaigns Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Status

1 Target List 1 Complete

2 Target List 2 Complete

3 Target List 3 Building

4 Target List 4 Planning


5.1 Combine review of sales campaign programs with pipeline data to get a crisp view of effectiveness

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Monthly discounted pipeline ($)

April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar -

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

Booked Hot (65%) Good (35%) Budget


Summary - 5 ways to generate new consulting sales opportunities right now

Get clarity on targeting new prospects

• Create your own list of 5 criteria for your target clients

• Create a prospect list of the newly defined ideal clients

• Follow-up all old leads from the past 24 months with a targeted one-month blitz

Use secondary and primary research to fuel client discussions that open new opportunities

• Leveraging your delivery and marketing team, conduct secondary research to identify the top 3 hot topics and trends in your target sector

• Conduct primary research interview with existing clients to validate these topics and trends and identify their most urgent pain points

Harvest more revenue from existing clients

• Identify current clients who have not yet bought the whole range of your existing services (the ‘white spaces’)

• From the whitespace, create a sales opportunity plan, prioritize and plan outreach

Create marketing content aligned with the buyer's journey to generate demand

• Understand the buyer’s journey and identify any gaps in content at each stage

• Prioritize and create content based on highest ROI (e.g. short articles, case studies, infographics, explainer videos and webinars)

Build momentum with structured sales campaigns

• Schedule & assign accountabilities for sales campaigns

• Integrate campaign performance and pipeline reporting into regular sales cadence


Question and answer


More resources

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