What Can You Do if You're Not A Natural-Born Seller?

“I'm always amazed when consultants tell me they don't like (or want) to sell. Some seem to think the whole sales thing is completely beneath them. Then there are others who say they aren't good at selling. My reaction to both views is, you're kidding, right? You may be the guru in your field, but that won't put a dime in the bank if you can't sell.” Michael McLaughlin

Michael McLaughlin

My first question, "I suck at sales, now what?" A number of executives in the 40's, 50's, and beyond, who've lost their jobs as a result of the recession, will never find a job at the level and income they achieved before the economy imploded. For many of these folks, professional , project based consulting is the best avenue for them to pursue. The only real option available to take advantage of their experience, and maintain an executive level income. One of the most difficult transitions many executives face: developing a sales mindset.

Welcome to a Success Strategies Channel podcast on TotalPicture Radio with Peter Clayton reporting. Our guest today on TPR is Michael McLaughlin, founder of MindShare Consulting LLC. This is part one of a two-part podcast focused on the professional sales process: Connect, Collaborate, and Connect. Part 2 of our interview will air February 12th.

22 Min:

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Michael McLaughlin is the founder of MindShare Consulting LLC, a firm that helps professional services organizations design innovative strategies to reach more clients, land profitable work, and build resilient businesses.

He’s the author of Winning the Professional Services Sale, which offers professional service providers, business development managers, and firm leaders new strategies to identify, qualify, and close any services sale. McLaughlin is also the coauthor of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, the first book to apply the principles of Guerrilla Marketing to the business of consulting and professional services.

For the past eight years, McLaughlin has publishedManagement Consulting News, a monthly newsletter which delivers leading-edge ideas to thousands of professionals around the world. He also publishes a second monthly newsletter, The Guerrilla Consultant, which extends the concepts and strategies in his first book.

McLaughlin published two books: Winning the Professional Services Sale, which offers new strategies to identify, qualify, and close any services sale, and Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants (in collaboration with Jay Conrad Levinson), which was the first book to apply the principles of Guerrilla Marketing to the business of consulting and professional services.

For the past eight years, his company has published Management Consulting News, a monthly newsletter that delivers practical ideas to thousands of professionals around the world. And he writes another monthly newsletter, The Guerrilla Consultant, which extends the concepts and strategies in my first book.

Before founding MindShare Consulting, I was a partner with Deloitte Consulting, where I worked for more than two decades managing consulting projects, developing long-term client relationships, and building profitable consulting practices.

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