The Secrets of Selling Consulting Services to Big Companies

Why do some consultants generate leads and win project work with ease, while others wait for an eternity just to get a response to an e-mail or a voicemail sent to a prospective client? Jill Konrath, sales strategist and author of the new book, “Selling to Big Companies,” answers these questions and more in an exclusive interview in the January 2006 issue of Management Consulting News.

Konrath discusses the difficulty in gaining access to corporate decision-makers. “While it's tough to gain access to decision makers in big companies today, it's not impossible,” She notes. “It takes tailored approaches to targeted accounts, multi-touch account entry campaigns, and a focus on business results and the difference you can make.”

Two of the pieces of advice Konrath offers to consultants who want to sell into large companies are: make an obvious difference for your clients and prepare ahead of time so you can create a customized approach.

Konrath also reveals that industry functions are of the best places to find corporate decision-makers, since they so rarely attend public organization or chamber of commerce meetings. “These typically cost more to attend and are usually out of town. But that's about the only chance to find these people in open settings,” she says.

In addition to this exclusive interview with Konrath, the January 2006 issue of Management Consulting News includes:

•The Best Kept Secret of the Selling World, by Jeff Thull
•Memo to Strategy and Operations Consultants
•The Thinkers 50: 2005's Top Business Gurus
•New and noteworthy books, and more

The January 2006 issue of Management Consulting News may be read online at http://www.managementconsultingnews.com/2006/newsletter_jan_06.htm. Subscriptions are complimentary.

About Management Consulting News – published since 2002, Management Consulting News is a monthly online newsletter with interviews, articles, and news for consultants worldwide. The editor of Management Consulting News, Michael W. McLaughlin, is a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and co-author of the book Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants (Wiley, 2005). For more information see http://www.managementconsultingnews.com.