For all clients, substitution risk (the risk that your new provider is in fact no better than your incumbent) is very real. That’s not good for us change agents.
Their challenge is that you can’t ‘try’ professionals before you ‘buy’ them. After all, it’s not like turning up at a car dealer and doing a test drive. So, conservative buying becomes the norm and is your enemy as a seller of professional services.
So how can we reduce substitution risk and give the client an opportunity to ‘try before they buy’?
The answer is to share as much of your insight and intellectual property as you feel comfortable doing (and probably more besides). The more you share, the more likely you are to be appointed.
Insight to action
An effective way to do this when pitching for work is to provide an issues and solutions section, a project plan and other analysis that demonstrates your thinking about the client’s situation. This tells them that this is the good stuff they are going to get if they appoint you.
It also allows you to show you know your stuff, are thinking in the right way and are in fact already on the journey as an adviser.
Nervous about sharing the crown jewels?
Think of it this way. Unless you are lucky or the proven favourite, if you don’t share your insight with your client at this early stage of your relationship your chances of winning the mandate are low. If you do share your intellectual property, you stand a chance.
And does it work? In one of the firms I worked with, I did some analysis of the win rates for projects which included an issues and solutions section. The win rate was some 20 percentage points higher than those that did not.
