Every time you contact a prospect and schedule an appointment, you are establishing a contract. The contract is defined by the issues you bring up, expectations you raise, and the points you make. The implicit deal you make with the prospect is to help him see his situation from a different perspective - see things he hasn't seen, learn things he didn't know - in return for his time and attention.
This means that you must give away some of your knowledge. You've been warned about giving away too much - providing free consulting. So, how much do you give away and how much do you withhold?
Extensive research and numerous studies conducted between January, 2010 and July, 2011, comprising 157 industries and professions, reveal 19.82% to be the answer. That amount of information can be given in the form of presentations, one-on-one consulting, research reports, or white papers.
OK, you got me. There has been no research . . . no studies. I fabricated the numbers. But, suppose 19.82% was the number. How would you measure 19.82% of your knowledge? And, if you could measure it, what would happen if you miscalculated by a few percentage points? Is a bit too much information better or worse than a bit too little?
It doesn't matter!
How much knowledge to give away is not the primary question. The more important question - the real question - is what to give away.
Give away concepts. Then, sell the implementation.
For instance, a concept for reducing associated production costs - handling and warehousing raw materials - is to coordinate the inventorying and ordering processes of those materials with projected production schedules to achieve just-in-time deliveries. Implementation is the IT services and software that ties the production, inventory, and ordering systems together.
A concept for a laboratory to reduce solvent purchase costs, disposal costs, and tedious recordkeeping requirements to meet EPA compliance issues, is on-site recycling of solvents. Implementation is the recycling equipment.
You plant the seed - the concept - and provide information to fire the prospect's imagination - which allows the seed to grow. Then, you sell the implementation.
Once you focus on the "what," doesn't the question of "How much?" still come up? Yes. And while there is no magic answer, there is a general guideline: don't skimp. All too often, salespeople, afraid of giving away too much (as if they knew how much was "too much"), give too little. They present fact and figures . . . features and benefits. But, they rarely divulge the underlying concepts which give real meaning to the fact, figures, features, and benefits.
Don't skimp. The more a prospect understands the concepts on which your product or service is based and (this is the important part, so pay attention) how they relate to his problems, concerns, challenges, or goals, the more inclined he will be to buy your implementation.
You might be thinking, "If I share my best ideas with prospects and reveal the underlying concepts of my product, won't prospects just steal the information and try to do it on their own or find another provider who charges less?" Some might. But, they aren't planning to do business with you in the first place. And, if you do a good job of qualifying the opportunity, you will find that out early enough to avoid wasting time on formal presentations that won't bear fruit.
Think of your ideas and product concepts as the compelling review that makes the reader want to buy the book, or the exciting movie trailer that drives the viewer to the box office. When you help the prospect view the implementation of your product or service as the solution to his problems or the pathway for the achievement of his goals, you've taken the first step in making a sale.
