STEP 1
Think Right-Side Up
(Prepare Yourself to Succeed)
When we thought the sun revolved around the earth, our vision was limited to a tiny planet. Then, a startling reversal of perspective opened up a universe of possibilities.
Your journey to unlimited clients and financial freedom starts with a similar, fundamental change in your frame of reference. And it turns out your opportunities are boundless.
Right-Side Up Thinking
This book is all about YOU and your practice. About YOU winning a steady stream of new clients, month in and month out. About You learning six steps that will take you from wherever you are today to being a happier, more confident, wealthier consultant. Thatâs incredibly ironic, given your first lesson on the path to Nirvana:
Consulting isnât about YOU. Itâs about THEM.
If you put this book down now, after only learningâand fully adoptingâthat one concept, youâll walk away a far more successful consultant. (But please, keep reading!)
As normal, healthy human beings,* our world view looks like an upside down pyramid. In fact, it looks like the one on the next page. Most of our world view is dominated by a tiny group of one: itâs only us. Thatâs where we focus the majority of our thoughts. Then we spread our attention to the slightly larger groups comprising our family and friends. If we broaden our outlook further, we attend to acquaintances and other connections. Even though those are much broader populations, they tend to be obscured by the people closest to us. The rest of the world is way off there in the murky distance.
Itâs natural to think about yourself first. In fact, Iâm glad you do, because thinking about yourself is what motivated you to pick up this book!
But from the perspective of attracting clients, that pyramid is upside down. To kick your business development into overdrive, invert your pyramid, and adopt Right-Side Up thinking. Put them first.
The Power of Right-Side Up Thinking
Letâs look at a conversation between a fictional consultant named Bob and the equally fictional prospect youâre going to be winning a project from throughout this bookâYuri Yusimi.
BOB: âHi, uh, Mr. Yusimi. Iâm Bob Jenkins from TopNotch Consulting.â
YURI YUSIMI: âGood to meet you, Bob. What is it you guys do?â
BOB: âWe help companies grow. I see youâre with Sereus Dough, Inc. Weâve helped many companies just like Sereus improve their operations and profitability. We have access to some of the worldâs leading experts in all areas of manufacturing, and weâve developed a breakthrough process called 9-T testing to identify exactly how to increase margins. I think Sereus Dough would be a great client. Hereâs my card. Can I give you a call to follow up?â
YURI YUSIMI: âUh, thanks. Well, I have your card. Let me reach out if I think thereâs something we can do together.â
Pretty bad, right? You know thereâs virtually no chance Yusimi will call Bob. Ever. You could probably count a dozen different mistakes Bob made. But the one underlying, fundamental challenge Bob has is his mindset. Heâs thinking about himself. As a result, heâs talking all about himself. B-o-r-i-n-g. Also, irrelevant. Thatâs upside down thinking at work.
Right-Side Up thinking flips your focus from YOU to THEM.
Amazingly, this simple switch will be your key to winning new business, growing your consulting practice, boosting your confidence, and, ultimately, securing your financial freedom. If youâre willing to act on Right-Side Up thinking, youâll become an irresistible resource to your clients and your prospects.
Since successful business development revolves around this core idea, youâll see it come up over and over again throughout this book. It affects everything you do as a consultant. Perhaps most importantly, Right-Side Up thinking will change how (and when) you think about yourself. And youâre going to love the results.
The following table summarizes the difference between Right-Side Up thinking and typical âconsultant-thinkâ.
Table1-1
YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK |
| Typical Consultant-Think | Right-Side Up Thinking |
Mindset | Worry about what prospects think about you | Worry about what prospects think about themselves |
Outreach Approach | Approaches youâre comfortable with | Approaches they pay attention to |
Marketing Materials | Your capabilities, your approaches, your offerings, your background | Their situation, their problems, their aspirations, their potential wins |
Conversations | Your offering, getting business for you | Their world, helping them improve their lives |
Offering | Your capabilities, your skill sets, your experience | Their needs, their wants |
Every aspect of Right-Side Up thinking in Table 1-1 will be explored and expanded upon in the following chapters, so youâll have everything you need to make it work for you.
Right-Side Up thinking isnât rocket science. Itâs just common sense. But itâs also the linchpin of your business development. If you embrace it, youâll be ahead of the game for the rest of your consulting life. If you reject it, youâll struggle.
How to Adopt Right-Side Up Thinking Instantly
Take a look at the opening line of your emails to prospects. Do they start with âIâ language or with âYouâ language? Emails that start with âIâ are less likely to engage a prospect, no matter how valuable or thoughtful the content may be.
A typical follow-up email might begin this way: âHi Mr. Yusimi. I enjoyed meeting you yesterday.â
Whoâs that email talking about? You! Does Yusimi care whether you enjoyed meeting him? Not really.
A simple shift makes the email feel a bit clunkier to you, but infinitely more interesting to Yusimi: âHi Mr. Yusimi. You were a pleasure to meet yesterdayâŠâ
Now, whoâs the email about? Yusimi! Itâs a subtle difference, but it provides a big clue about your thinking. (And yes, I know your high school English teacher would pour red ink all over that opening line. Well, we ainât in English class.)
Move on to the body of your emails. What do you see? Are you talking about you or about him? Are you talking about what you want and what you have to offer, or are you talking about Mr. Yusimiâs needs, his goals, and his situation?
Letâs shift gears and examine your overall marketing communications. Does your marketing display typical consultant-think or is it overflowing with Right-Side Up thinking? How much âIâ language fills your speeches and articles? Your answers will clue you in on your mindset. Chances are, you need to flip your thinking Right-Side Up.
âHold on there, buckaroo,â you may be muttering (if you believe consultants from Connecticut are cowboys, that is). âDonât stories about me make things more personal for prospects and allow me to create a deeper, more personal connection?â Good point. Personal stories are important. But itâs a matter of balance and intention.
Think of it like a cocktail conversation. Your host starts talking about his recent trip to Italy, and Bob from TopNotch listens politely until the first pause, and then interjects, âThatâs great. That sounds just like my trip to Greece. I spoke to the Athenian Association of Feta Makers and⊠blah blah blah⊠itâs all about me.â (Well, Bob doesnât say that exactly, but thatâs what it sounds like.)
In contrast, because youâre a master of Right-Side Up thinking, you listen attentively to your host (or Bob) for a good while before contributing anything. âThat sounds great,â you say. âYour adventure reminds me of my trip to France. The managerial style there was surprising. What did you think of the senior executives you met in Italy?â Just like that, youâve shared something personal, connected to the other person, and kept the focus exactly where he wants it: on him.
Your business conversations and marketing work exactly the same way. Even during a speech, which tends to be a monologue rather than a dialogue, your stories can briefly reveal an endearing slice of yourself, then quickly revert to what it means for your audience. Why? Because even though your story is about you, the message ...