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PM Forum - Nottingham
Make small talk to win big business
I've never been one for small talk, but according to Nick Davies, managing director of the Really Great Training Company, trainer, raconteur, stand up comic and one time Barrister it's the secret to success when selling professional services. So next time you're in front of a hot new business prospect, forget the PowerPoint and the formal business presentation full of jargon, reach into your pocket for pictures of your children and launch into small talk. Ask them how their weekend was; did they see that great programme on BBC One last night? In fact anything to avoid formality. Uncomfortable with this approach? Well I suspect so were most of the audience at the recent East Midlands PM Forum meeting hosted by Ernst & Young in Nottingham. However by the end of Nick's hour long extremely entertaining presentation I think he had convinced us that this "touchy feely" approach was worth a try.
It was not difficult to be convinced by this charismatic Mancunian whose demeanour and obvious intelligence allowed him to entertain us with his "small talk" and anecdotes gathered over the past 22 years. Top tips included...making notes on the back of business cards, remembering birthdays, children's names, wedding anniversaries, etc. Setting a date to meet at the networking event, not waiting until you're back in the office (the assumptive close). Don't stalk your prospects, only leave two voice-mails once you've emailed or written to them. Never "beg" for business, move on to the next hot prospect and revisit in 12 months. Final tip, developing new business is like a courtship, don't go for a kiss straight away, spend some time getting to know each other. The "kiss" in business is the equivalent of asking for the order.
But should this informal approach with new prospects not be your cup of tea, Nick also advised us of a number of other techniques that help to retain clients and build long lasting relationships. for example...do something every day that moves your business forward; go out and visit your clients, don't just hide behind email; look for cross-selling opportunities for other departments in your fir; never take your foot off the gas and build a pipeline of prospects; build up trust and always do things when you say you will, broken promises lose business.
Many of these things are really simple, but how many of us get caught up in the business of the day and forget that clients are real people too with real issues that they'd like to talk about as a friend not just as a business associate? Perhaps it's a man thing, could it be that women are more comfortable making small talk? "Try it you might like" says Nick as he relates yet another tale of how he gained a large contract simply by being a nice guy to do business with. His final piece of advice was: "Remember, people do business with people, not just firms, if you work for a large credible firm the job is half done by the power of the brand, the rest is up to you". The only question remaining at the end of the presentation (but I guess you had to be there) was, just what is the "Duke of Wellington close"?
Alan Boyden
BCS PR
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