Selling professional services
A prospective client needs to understand the problem, the proposed work and the people who will deliver it. Training should help your team explore those questions and decide when an opportunity is ready for a proposal.
What the training can cover
- Qualification before a proposal: need, decision process, alternatives and timing.
- Discovery: asking questions that clarify the client's situation.
- Value and fees: explaining what the work will address and what is included.
- Proposals: setting out the client's requirements, scope and next steps.
- Introducing other services when they are relevant to a client.
- Following up and keeping opportunity records current.
Format and follow-up
Discuss the group, their experience and the situations they face. The programme can then combine instruction with practice on relevant scenarios. Agree any follow-up coaching or manager-led reviews as part of the scope.
Adapting the training to your firm
Accounting and advisory
For accounting and advisory teams, examples might involve exploring a client's need for additional advice or scoping an engagement.
Legal teams
Examples might involve deciding whether to pursue a pitch and preparing for the meeting. The examples and terminology need to reflect your practice.
Insurance and financial services
There is a separate page for insurance and financial-services training.
What to measure
Agree what participants should do differently after the programme. Check those behaviours in subsequent client work, alongside measures such as proposal conversion and opportunity progression. Results will also depend on the work available and how the firm supports the changes.
Fees and timing
Fees are quoted after a discovery call. The proposal sets out the work, the people involved, the timing and the fee. Any ongoing support is agreed separately.
Questions about the programme
Can we focus on one practice group?
Yes. Explain the group's work and development needs when discussing the scope.
Can the training suit people who do not have a sales role?
The material can focus on the client conversations, proposals and introductions that are already part of their work.
Is follow-up coaching included?
The proposal should state which workshops and follow-up sessions are included. Agree this before the programme starts.
Discuss a training programme
Email Christopher with a short description of your business and what you need help with. Arrange a conversation.