Family Business Consulting
Sales Assessment Results by Blake Elsner
23
Needs Improvement
10 questions
Maximum score: 100
Completed in
Let's cut to the chase: your performance here is underwhelming, and an average score of 2.3 is a glaring red flag. Your responses are vague, lack clarity, and essentially sidestep the critical concerns of your prospects. You’re missing the mark on understanding their needs and addressing their specific pain points. Instead of offering tailored solutions, you're throwing around buzzwords and analogies that don’t resonate. This isn’t about impressing with jargon; it’s about providing real value.
The consistent pattern in your answers is a failure to engage prospects with follow-up questions that could uncover deeper insights into their challenges. You also struggle with creating a compelling value proposition that connects your services to the client's unique situation. A more strategic approach would involve a clear articulation of how your consulting services can deliver ROI, especially in tight budgets and uncertain times.
To turn this around, I suggest you dive deep into studying Solution Selling and the AIDA Model. These techniques will help you focus on identifying pain points and guiding your prospects through a structured buying journey.
Here’s your coaching moment: remember that people don’t buy solutions; they buy outcomes. You need to paint a vivid picture of how your expertise transforms their business landscape, not just a series of vague steps that leave them scratching their heads. Get specific, get engaged, and start building those connections. Your prospects need to feel like you truly understand them—and right now, they don’t.
Question Breakdown
1.
0
/ 10Question:
"Given the current economic climate, how can we justify an investment in consulting services when there are pressing operational needs?"
Answer:
Culture is a driving factor inside of an economic climate. Without the proper foundation you won’t be able to build walls.
Feedback:
The response fails to directly address the prospect's concern about justifying an investment in consulting services amidst pressing operational needs. It lacks clarity and does not provide a concrete solution or rationale that aligns with the prospect's situation. Additionally, it does not ask any follow-up questions to uncover more about the client's specific operational challenges or their budget considerations. A more effective approach would involve acknowledging the economic climate, discussing the long-term value of consulting in strengthening operational foundations, and how investments can lead to improved efficiency and resilience.
Overall, the answer is vague and does not demonstrate an understanding of the client's perspective or needs.
2.
2
/ 10Question:
"We've had previous consulting initiatives that didn't yield the expected ROI; how can we be sure this will be different?"
Answer:
With the ability to use CIA techniques to gain as much possible information from everyone within leadership to the lowest paid employee. Everyone plays a role, everyone deserves to feel valued. It’s just a matter of how you go about doing it. Case by case, each individual is wired completely different than the next.
Feedback:
The response is unclear and does not effectively address the client's concern about previous consulting initiatives that failed to deliver ROI. It lacks specifics on how you plan to ensure better outcomes this time around. Merely mentioning 'CIA techniques' is vague and does not provide a concrete action plan or rationale that aligns with the client's past experiences. Additionally, there are no follow-up questions to further explore their expectations or any metrics that would demonstrate the value you could provide. A more effective approach would directly acknowledge their past disappointments, offer a tailored strategy to address their unique circumstances, and perhaps share success stories from similar clients to build credibility.
3.
2
/ 10Question:
"Our fiscal year-end is approaching, and I’m concerned about budget allocation; can we afford this in the short term?"
Answer:
Yes, increasing the morale within the business trickles into the longterm strategy. Less turnover. Boosted Morale is not a hard thing to do within a business, it’s just a matter of getting inside that individuals kitchen.
Feedback:
The response does not directly address the prospect's concern about budget allocation and affordability in the short term. Instead of focusing on morale, which is somewhat off-topic, the salesperson should have acknowledged the fiscal year-end urgency and offered insights on how the consulting services could be a valuable investment even with budget constraints. Furthermore, the idea of getting 'inside that individual's kitchen' is vague and lacks clarity. A more effective answer would involve discussing potential cost-saving measures, ROI expectations, or flexible financing options that align with the client's budgetary concerns, while also exploring further the prospect's specific financial situation through thoughtful questions.
Overall, the answer lacks relevance to the objection and does not demonstrate a clear, solution-focused approach.
4.
4
/ 10Question:
"With multiple stakeholders involved, what’s your strategy to ensure everyone aligns with the proposed changes?"
Answer:
One by one. Everyone to be heard with no repercussions, shame or guilt.
Feedback:
The response provides a somewhat simplistic strategy of addressing stakeholders 'one by one,' which lacks a comprehensive plan for managing alignment among multiple stakeholders. While it emphasizes the importance of creating a safe space for open communication, it does not demonstrate a clear process or framework for how you would facilitate discussions, gather feedback, or ensure consensus among diverse interests. A more effective response would include specific methods such as structured meetings, stakeholder engagement techniques, or tools for collaboration that can help in aligning everyone effectively. Additionally, asking follow-up questions to explore the stakeholders' specific concerns or preferences could enhance the understanding of their needs and build rapport.
Overall, while the intention to create a safe environment is commendable, the answer lacks depth and detail necessary for a robust stakeholder management strategy.
5.
2
/ 10Question:
"We have limited resources right now; how can we realistically implement your recommendations while managing existing commitments?"
Answer:
Think of it like Roller Coaster tycoon if you can remember you would go and hire clowns, janitors, mechanics etc. They drop into the tycoon and immediately get to work changing the culture in the park. With this it’s a similar approach. Picking up the trash. Getting it out to the curb and off to the dump. It has no time to stick around a business.
Feedback:
This response uses an analogy that may not resonate with the prospect and fails to directly address their concern about limited resources. Instead of providing a clear strategy for implementation within existing commitments, it offers a vague metaphor that lacks concrete details on how to achieve the proposed changes. A more effective approach would involve discussing specific steps for resource management, prioritization of recommendations, or phased implementation that aligns with the client's current capabilities. Additionally, asking follow-up questions to better understand their specific constraints could enhance the response.
6.
3
/ 10Question:
"The proposed fees seem high compared to other firms; what unique value do you bring that justifies this cost?"
Answer:
Established Podcast, multiple social media outlets with high traffic. Multiple assessments created by me, for different industries to get into the minds of everyone.
Feedback:
The response does not effectively address the client's concern about the perceived high fees compared to competitors. While mentioning an established podcast and social media presence suggests credibility, it lacks a clear articulation of the unique value or specific outcomes that justify the premium cost. Instead of listing general achievements, the salesperson should focus on how these elements directly translate into better results for the client, such as enhanced expertise, better engagement, or tailored insights that lead to measurable improvements.
Additionally, the response does not explore the prospect's specific needs or concerns about the cost, missing an opportunity for deeper understanding and engagement. Incorporating a follow-up question about their budget expectations or experiences with previous consultants could foster a more collaborative discussion and ultimately validate the investment.
Overall, the answer lacks a tailored, solution-oriented approach that connects the value proposition to the client's specific situation, which is crucial in the family business consulting space.
7.
4
/ 10Question:
"Given our timeline constraints, can your team guarantee that the implementation will be completed without disrupting our daily operations?"
Answer:
Yes this is why it’s one on one for the most part, you give everyone their time and voice to then come back with a game plan.
Feedback:
The response acknowledges the prospect's concern about timeline constraints and disruption, but it lacks specificity and a clear commitment regarding the guarantee of implementation without disruption. While the idea of one-on-one interactions is a positive approach to ensuring engagement, it does not directly address the operational impact or the timeline for implementation. A more effective response would include a structured plan outlining how your team will manage the implementation process, minimize disruption, and meet the timeline constraints. Additionally, asking clarifying questions about their specific concerns or operational challenges could demonstrate a more collaborative approach and strengthen the response.
8.
2
/ 10Question:
"Can you clarify how your services will scale with our evolving needs, especially if we decide to expand our family business in the future?"
Answer:
Culture within is always changing day by day, even with proper core values one bad apple can ruin the bunch. Everyone has to buy into the system.
Feedback:
The response fails to address the prospect's request for clarification on how services will scale with their evolving needs, particularly regarding future expansion. While it touches on the importance of culture and core values, it does not provide any concrete information or actionable insights about scalability or how your consulting services can adapt as the family business grows. A more effective response would outline specific strategies for scalability, such as customizable service packages, ongoing support, or methodologies for adapting to changing business conditions. Additionally, engaging the prospect with follow-up questions about their growth plans or challenges they anticipate could foster a more collaborative discussion.
Overall, the answer lacks relevance and specificity, and does not effectively convey the adaptability of your services.
9.
2
/ 10Question:
"Our decision-making process can be lengthy due to the number of stakeholders; how do you suggest we expedite this while ensuring thorough consideration?"
Answer:
A good vetting process. You have to know that any great investment has the chance to turn negative fast.
Feedback:
The response acknowledges the importance of a vetting process but fails to provide clarity or actionable steps on how to expedite the decision-making process among multiple stakeholders. While cautioning against potential negative outcomes is prudent, it does not directly address the prospect's concern about the length of their decision-making process. A more effective answer would include specific strategies, such as establishing a clear communication plan, setting timelines for stakeholder feedback, or using decision matrices to facilitate quicker consensus. Additionally, asking questions to uncover the specific stakeholders involved and their concerns could demonstrate a more collaborative approach and deepen the understanding of their needs.
10.
2
/ 10Question:
"I'm not convinced that your approach addresses our specific compliance needs; how do you plan to tailor your solutions to fit our unique regulatory landscape?"
Answer:
Identify, leverage, implement, monitor. RINSE AND REPEAT.
Feedback:
The response is overly simplistic and lacks depth in addressing the prospect's concern about compliance needs. While providing a framework, the terms 'identify, leverage, implement, monitor' are vague and do not explain how these actions specifically relate to tailoring solutions for the client's unique regulatory landscape. Additionally, there is no indication of how you would ensure these steps align with the specific compliance requirements faced by the family business. A more effective approach would include concrete examples of how you have successfully navigated compliance issues in the past, or specific methodologies that demonstrate your understanding of their regulatory environment. Asking follow-up questions to further explore their specific compliance concerns would also enhance rapport and understanding.