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What's one of the most common BD mistake we can easily fix?
Someone asked me this in a GrowBIG training session recently.
My quick take: trying to go too far, too fast.
It's easy to fall in love with our solutions. Trying to get the Yes, the deal signed.
But it's much better to fall in love with the client's problem.
The specific mistake we can make?
Trying to "close" too soon.
Larger deals and earlier stage relationships take time.
Going too fast means we're trying to get to Conclusion.
What's better?
Cliffhangers.
Think of your favorite TV show.
My wife Becky and I loved Ted Lasso. (New season coming in July!)
Every show had an amazing Cliffhanger.
A zinger at the end that made you want to watch the next epsiode.
Becky and I would start talking: What do you think will happen?
We couldn't wait to watch the next episode.
That's the power of Cliffhangers. Great TV shows have them. Great novels have them.
And great ongoing conversations have them.
Cliffhangers give us something to look forward to.
Why do we love Cliffhangers?
Curiosity.
(Science: Curiosity is one of the few intrinsic motivators, meaning we don't need a reward to want to keep going. We even remember more when we're curious!)
Here's how Cliffhangers fit into BD meetings.
Do you look forward to future meetings where you already know what will happen?
Probably not.
You look forward to meetings where you're not sure what will happen.
So do your clients.
We humans love curiosity. It's enjoyable. We're dialed in.
So let's give it to our clients. They'll love it.
End each BD meeting with a Cliffhanger.
"I'm not sure what our report out will show next Tuesday, but I know it'll be interesting!"
"I can't wait for you to meet Rafat. I just know you two are going to find some interesting things in common and stay in touch a long time."
"I haven't seen the final report yet, but the process James was mapping out looked like it was going to save a ton of time."
Let's face it. We all have our share of boring meetings. Let's not do that to our clients.
Just like a great TV series or novel, let's give them something to look forward to between meetings.
You'll find your clients will say Yes more often when they're curious.
And they'll be excited to see you.
People are loving our new shorter podcast episodes in Season Two. Last week our guest was best-selling author Mike Michalowicz. So fun!
My favorite episode last week was this one, where Mike and I talk about why focusing on business development is so important.
This could be a great episode to forward around to get an entire team focused on BD.
Subscribe or follow here to check the podcast episodes out next week:
Because...
Next week is best-selling author David Burkus!
We dig into his newest book Leading From Anywhere and decode how to be successful in a virtual world -- both internally and externally.
David had some GREAT insights.
We even talk about our favorite super heroes...
(Aren't you at least a little curious?)
I've always been curious about curiosity.
Curiosity impacts us more than we realize, both personally and professionally.
How can you design your meeting sequences to dial up curiosity?
How can you better communicate curiosity to your clients?
How can you frame up your next meeting specifically so that everyone's looking forward to it?
Many times, the goal of a BD meeting is to get another one.
Your secret weapon that everyone will love? Curiosity.
The Best BD Meetings End In Cliffhangers, Not Conclusions
Mo