***** A Must Read for Any Business Owner
I finished reading the book on the plane enroute to see two existing and one potential client and found myself incorporating Harrison’s lesson during a sales pitch. It helped me keep the potential client focused on how we can help make their life easy rather than how we can do what their existing vendor does cheaper! I was able to keep the new client focused on our expertise and service – not our price.
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E-Book Available on Amazon US and Amazon Canada
Hard cover copy orders of six or more books are available upon request at
Cal (at) BeyondReferrals.com
***** Never Read Anything Like It
I have to say that this ranks up there in terms of business books that I would recommend to someone running an agency or consultancy. Most business books are dry and formulaic. This book is formulaic and you don’t mind because it’s an easy, enjoyable, educative read. I wish more business books took this approach.
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***** Essential reading for newbie consultants – ignore at your peril.
It’s not often you come across a fictional tale about a pair of management consultants – or management consulting for that matter – particularly one as chock full of valuable selling lessons as this book is.
But Cal Harrison CMC, well-known expert in professional services marketing in North America, has successfully woven much of his selling advice into a short and entertaining story – and it succeeds. Consultants and firms wondering about how best to differentiate themselves to consistently acquire good, premium-paying clients will find this book valuable.
Marketing folks understand the value of differentiation in selling – what makes a business different from the competition in the eyes of the buyer. So effective differentiators are among the most important tools in a firm’s business development armoury.But many consultants are not expert marketers and we have difficulty in creating clear and obvious differentiation in a market place full of savvy competitors. So we all differentiate ourselves the same way and we all look the same? Absolutely not – and there’s a clue.
Concerned about the time you waste responding to government RFPs (“Rarely Functional Processes” according to Harrison)? About the value of attending networking events? About what, and how, your buyers actually buy? About which points of differentiation are really important to your buyers? (Second clue – fewer than you might think!) Read this book and you won’t be.
Are things like price, “our people”, professional qualifications, customer service, number of awards received, third party endorsements or size of the firm especially valuable to buyers? Harrison tells you which are, which aren’t, and why. He also describes how a firm might choose its particular points of differentiation as well.
One of the characters in the story says “I don’t want a consultant, I want some good advice”. And there’s a third clue.
If you have attended one of Harrison’s business development seminars you probably know what your most effective differentiators are, and why. If you haven’t, pick up this book and find out.
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***** I Keep Re-Reading
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve picked up this book. I read the manuscript to offer a review and I’ve read it cover to cover twice since. I still find myself going back to it and re-reading some of the lessons – all this on a subject that I didn’t think I had much more to learn. You know the author’s done his job when he gets you to rethink your own long-held assumptions on a topic.
I love the business novel format. This really is The Goal for professionals. It’s easy to imagine how, in the hands of a less skilled writer, framing the lessons around a fictional consulting firm and its two principals could seem contrived and corny but Harrison writes like he’s been there. The story is engrossing and the lessons invaluable. I know the target is professionals but there are universal and timeless business lessons here for anyone who’s trying to carve out his place in a market.
Blair Enns, President, Win Without Pitching
*****Fantastic Read!
Fantastic book. A must read for any professional services firm!
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****Good Insight Into Positioning A Consulting Firm
Nice insight for positioning consulting firm. Good read for those who are new into consulting or strugling with market positioning.
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*****Find Your Mojo
Insightful, but written in a way that readers can easily relate to. Now if only we could kill the RFP for good…
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E-Book Available on Amazon US and Amazon Canada
Hard cover copy orders of six or more books are available upon request at
Cal (at) BeyondReferrals.com