DISCUSSION OF DISCOVERY continues our series on winning communications with client prospects and clients. With research and media analysis completed, you are ready for the transition from talking to selling.

For starters, ask how the CEO and Board of Directors expect to be apprised of pending risks and prevention steps. Such questions can directly generate deliverables on your end if, for example, that CEO or Board has asked in-house counsel to provide a larger dose of prophylactic analysis of operational or business units.

If so, you’ve immediately found the critical sweet spot and possibly uncovered a future service area. At that point you can discuss related strategies that you’ve successfully implemented for other clients. If your question about preventive law does not resonate, you simply move on to the next question rather than bog down trying to sell something the company does not want to buy.

Next time, we’ll have a specific list of questions which will not only demonstrate your skill and understanding of their business, but draw out answers that will help you sell.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 8:39 am and is filed under Closing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.