ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that the most natural and effective relationship during the sales and business development process is rooted in mutual trust. Consultants are as exposed to general sales literature as are other business professionals. One of the assumptions uncritically taken by consultants from the non-consulting world of sales is the approach to "handling objections". Typically "objection handling" is voiced similarly to "snake-handling", that is an inherently dangerous under-taking, with a few proprietary "tips and tricks" designed to foil the dangerous attempts of the snake to bite the handler. Repeat business for consulting firms is vastly more profitable than new-client business, because the cost of sales is multiples higher with new clients. One of the most profitable sources of new sales for a consulting firm is a variation on repeat business – cross-selling, or the sale of existing or new services to an existing or new client buyer within an existing-client organization.
