0:00:00 - Betsy Jordyn
Why do some consultants and coaches land the strategic, bigger, higher impact, higher paying client engagements? Well, let me tell you what it's not. It's not better sales or contracting skills. In this episode, I'm going to share with you the mindset and strategies that they have. So and welcome to the Consulting Matters podcast. This is the show for purpose-driven consultants and coaches who are ready to own the power of what they do and position themselves for the clients, the impact, the income that they're ready for.
I'm your host, Betsy Jordyn. I'm a business mentor and a brand messaging and positioning strategist. You can find out all that I do to help my clients make more money and a bigger difference on my website at BetsyJordyn.com. Don't forget Jordyn with a Y. So let's get into what we're talking about today.
So what do you think about when I say the words contracting, proposals, pricing? So for many consultants and coaches, this is part of the growing your business aspect that you just want to avoid, skip over or just hand off to someone else. You know the idea of packaging what you do into offers and setting fees can feel awkward and trigger like money fears and imposter syndrome, like big time, especially when you're trying to venture into new spaces, when you wanna move beyond the service provider transactional type of contracts and get into the more strategic, transformational client partnerships. So, if you can relate, pay close attention to this episode, where I'm gonna share with you how you can use those very skills that make you such an amazing consultant or coach like your active listening, being able to bring order to chaos and relationship building to make some shifts to your approach to landing clients, from sales and contracting to what I call partnership setup, for greater impact and income. So pop in your ear pods and get ready to take some notes, because today I'm continuing on my series that I started on the last show in terms of how do you go from service provider to strategic partner. So last week's focus was all around the differences between the two so that you can make an intentional, conscious choice about what works best for you. So if you missed the episode, definitely go back and listen in. But this week's focus is all about, if you've decided that you really do want to make the move from service provider to strategic partner, how do you do that and how you do. This is what I say is all about making shifts to your approach to landing clients, which what I call partnership setup. So this is an approach that I've been honing for literally over 30 years, ever since my early days as an internal OD consultant back at Disney.
So here's the thing that I realized very, very quickly as an internal consultant that, even though I had a formal role and formal accountabilities, leaders were not automatically going to hand me the strategic work that I wanted or put me in the role that I wanted. I had to position myself for this. So this meant that I needed to change their awareness of, like, when do you reach out for me? You know, when do you reach out to me for help? But mostly how I responded when they came to me with the request for tactics and I think you're going to know exactly what I experienced, because you probably have experienced this before Like, they come to me, where, hey, can you like facilitate this meeting or can you design a workshop or something along those lines, I had to learn how to pivot them from those types of tactics to a conversation around their bigger goals. And so when I was able to do that, I was able to take charge of my positioning, and this is how I wound up advising the Disney executives on massive transformation projects.
So later, when I launched my own consulting business, I grew it fast, not because I just got like a million leads, you know, or I just became some sort of marketing guru. It's because I knew exactly what to do with those leads, because of this partnership setup approach. So when people started asking me like, hey, how did you grow your business so fast? Like I really worked on deconstructing this process and I really focused on this when I formally ended my consulting business and I pivoted my business to go all in on helping other consultants and coaches and I needed this process to be in a formal, repeatable way that others can learn. So that's what I did and so what I had to do is really formalize it.
So let me just like give you a bottom line difference between partnership setup and sales and contracting, so you know what we're talking about here. So sales is about getting clients to buy, like your set offer. So let's say, if you have a product service coaching program, you have something that's sort of set that you want them to buy. That's sales. Contracting is more about how do you respond to a client's request for tactics with a formal agreement or statement of work that basically outlines services in exchange for fees. Partnership setup is different. It's all about taking charge of the process and using your relationship skills to move the conversation from wants to needs so that you can align your consulting or coaching against your client's biggest, most strategic goals and you, as their trusted partner, guide and advisor on how they go about achieving those goals. So that's what partnership setup is all about. And when you make the shift from sales and contracting to partnership setup, everything changes. Yes, the tangible wins are real, like your impact, and your income rise immediately.
So Katie Anderson shared on episode 126 of the podcast here around how this approach helped her make more money and create more impact while actually working less. But I could tell you a million other stories of my other clients who have achieved similar types of results. So, for example, I worked with Peggy and Hillary and I helped them move from one-off design projects to landing more strategic brand engagements with their clients. Lisa is my poster child, so she did amazing work. So she came to me for help when she was in that place where she was chasing, like the low, lower paying workshops and coaching programs and she was hoping to be able to get her next contract to be her first $10,000 contract and by applying this approach she was able to position herself more strategically. And not only was she able to way exceed that, her contract wound up being for $250,000 for this particular client, so that represented what like a 10X of that type of thing. She three-timed her annual salary.
So there's lots of tangible wins. So there's lots of benefits for you from just the tangible side, from your business. But there's also a deeper truth that's going on here, and what's really at stake is also your impact, and it's also about the essence of your role as a consultant or coach. So the thing is about clients when they reach out to consultants and coaches. Yes, there's some of them who are going to reach out for help when they just want, like, expertise on demand, but a some of them who are going to reach out for help when they just want, like, expertise on demand, but a lot of them they don't even have words for what they're looking for. But they need help navigating complexity, ambiguity, transformation to new levels of a success, like somewhere they've never been before, and so they're looking for someone to guide them into this new world that they're trying to get to, but they don't always have the words to say, hey, I really need this type of strategic partner.
So partnership setup allows you to step into that type of role. You know where you are the mentor to the hero or the heroine, as they are moving into something bigger and new, and so that's a really important type of positioning you want to think about in general. But just think about where we are right now in the economy, in the political times, where we have clients who are out there who really really need help in these times of complexity, a lot of ambiguity, and that they're also in this place where they're hesitant to invest. So partnership setup is also an approach where you can really position yourself with more credibility as you're somebody who is not just an expense to be managed, but someone who delivers a powerful return. So there's a lot that's at stake with how you land your clients. So partnership setup isn't just a better way to land those clients, but it's also how you live out your purpose as a consultant or coach. So that's why this is really important and I really hope you're excited and you're nodding your head like, yes, that's exactly what I want.
And also I just want to tell you one thing real quick before we jump into the episode. I want to tell you all about my brand new group coaching program that I'm super excited about. So I'm calling it the Impact and Income Accelerator and what I'm creating is an action learning container for mastering this partnership setup. So my goal is to give you the skills, the strategies and the community to help you grow in this particular area. So I'm just very excited about it. I've been looking for a way to recreate some of the stuff I did before sabbatical, where I work with my clients in a group. I missed that opportunity to work with a group of people and form community. So if you are looking for other purpose-driven consultants and coaches who really want to hold the values around creating welcoming workplaces and people-centered organizations, this is the place for you. So head on over to Jordyn forward slash accelerator for all the details, and I'm offering some early bird pricing. So without that's all out there, I'm going to stop talking about that, even though I'm super excited about it.
Let's get into the show. So let me tell you step by step. So let's say you've decided current state, I'm in the service provider by accident trap. I want more of the transformational work. I'm not quite sure how to get it. On the other side is you are really stepping into your power as a strategic partner, a transformational consultant or coach. You are advising your clients on those bigger picture issues. So those are the anchor points.
The rest of this episode is all around. How do you get there? How do you go from service provider to strategic partner? And the first step is recognizing that what you're embarking on is a legit, real change. So the first step is to recognize that we're not talking about just some tweaks to your contracting or sales approach. I'm not going to give you some sort of like way to look at your pricing in some new way, because in order for you to step into your power as a strategic partner, it really begs a change in your identity. So you're looking at yourself from somebody who delivers and does you know, or delivering and doing, to influencing and guiding. It's a different way of looking at even where your power comes from. You know your power is no longer positional authority or power from service. It's from advising and guiding. So this is a pretty big change, right? And we're all change catalysts here.
If you want to step into that transformational role, you'd know already about what change requires. So growth does require change. But the reality is our brains are wired to resist it. So when you start trying to move into this new positioning, your brain is going to push back because it's new. So the scarcity fears are going to kick in. They're going to be like oh my gosh, you know, if I don't do exactly what a client asked for, I won't land the work, you know. So all the fear of the unknown will kick in. So all of that is normal, that's all happening. So, before we even talk about the tactics of partnership setup, we need to make room for partnership setup and we need to create the urgency. You need to create your own burning platform. So that means telling the truth to yourself around what's not working today and what's it costing you.
So the thing about service provider is it is a natural first stage of what happens when we leave our jobs and we start our consulting or coaching business. And for some people that is the path. For others it's just not working anymore. It no longer serves. It served back in the day. It doesn't serve anymore. So what we need to do first is really clarify like what's going on today and why is it not working for you.
You know the service provider by accident trap doesn't look the same for everyone, you know. For some people it's chasing those coaching packages, like I mentioned with Lisa. You know where she was chasing coaching packages and smaller paying workshops. For others they're getting big contracts, you know. But labor intensive delivery, you know, it almost makes you feel like you're an employee. Or maybe it's subcontracting for someone else's clients because it feels safer than landing your own, you know. Or perhaps it's that you're just new to consulting or coaching. So you're just saying yes to everything. You know everything and anything, because you just don't know how to package what you do and you don't know how to land work. So whatever version of the service provider by trap, let me say that again. So whatever the service provider by trap, let me say that again. So whatever the service provider accidental trap looks like for you, if you're feeling frustrated, underpaid and without the influence you want, that's where you're at.
But we really need to get clear and face what's going on today. So I want you to take a moment and really think about the process of what happens when you are landing work. So the minute somebody expresses interest in working with you, who is that person and what do you do with them. So think about, like, who typically reaches out to you? You know so. Who books those intro calls, who books the free strategy sessions? You know who's the one who says, hey, let's meet. I want to talk a little bit more Like who is that person and what do you do to turn that interest into a signed contract? Or what other people might say is conversations into contracts or client engagements, like what do you do? How do you get them from? Hey, I'm really interested in learning more about what you do to hey, let's get started. The work has begun. You know what are you doing. And then how's that process working for you? You know how's it working as it relates to your close rate, or your cycle time to your close rate. How are you doing with your fees? You know it's not even just the fees that you're charging, but how are you charging for it.
But then also look at the work that you're doing. You know, is the work that you're doing creating the impact that you really want? Are you positioned to influence your clients in the way that you want? You know. So if you're somebody who is coming in, like, let's say, you're a lean person and you're coming in and people are asking you like, hey, we're on these three-day events, you know, where you're doing a bunch of workshops. So what you're really trying to do is like trying to create a culture change, you know, and influence leaders to think about their leadership style in a different way. You know, moving from command and control to more of an empowering type of thing. You know, are you getting the influence you need? Are you being able to influence the leaders to support that type of change? You know, or if you are working, let's say, with individuals as private clients, like, are you in a position right now to be able to lead them to a bigger change? Like, are you just doing like one-off type of things? Like, for example, let's say you're somebody who does maybe like fractional CFO type of work and you're winding up doing a lot of bookkeeping for these startup companies because they just don't bring it in-house, but what you really want to do is provide the strategic guidance to help these startups, like, turn into these thriving enterprises.
So what's your process doing right now and how is it helping or hindering you from getting to where you really want to go? So that's the first step. So, once you get clear on what's it like today, then the second half is to really paint the vision. So, remember we know about change is that we really need pain and vision to make the move when we're looking at something that is very different from where we are today. And the thing about vision that I think is really cool is it really does support our brains, like our brains are motivated, like once we see the vision for the future, like we're really motivated to create it. So what I want you to start picturing is something different, because if all you picture once you land a client are tactical deliverables, one-off workshops or labor-intensive projects, guess what? That's what you're going to keep getting.
So instead, you need to create a vision for your future in terms of what you see is the strategic work you want and the role you want to have with your clients. So the strategic work is tied to your clients and being able to see beyond the requests. You know, not the asks, but the but the. What the real wants are behind the asks, because the reality is clients, when it comes to transformational work, never will ask you what for what they really need. You know, I have this mantra. It may be a bad one, but it's like I really believe, like the clients never write when they come to you for those initial requests, you know they're going to come to you with these wants, like a workshop or coaching hours, a project plan or deliverable.
And this is something I say to my clients all the time, especially when it comes to training. That's their favorite go to, and I would say all the time is training is often necessary, rarely sufficient, you know. So a lot of these things that they're asking you for may play a part in a bigger solution, but they're rarely sufficient to create the type of change that they want to create in their leadership or their careers or their organizations or businesses or lives. And so this is where your vision comes in is that if you can see beyond the asks and beyond the wants to the needs, you can see, like the possibilities, the future state that they can't see yet, and so you could hold that picture for them until they could see it for themselves. So when you could think beyond the request to like why do they want it? So they're asking you for a coaching program or a workshop meeting, facilitation, project management, et cetera, et cetera, like what is it that it's going to actually create? Like, how do you take those breadcrumbs and move it from, yeah, if they have that, whose behaviors are going to change, you know, and if those behaviors are going to change, like, what difference will it make on the business? Because that's really where the goals live. And then really understanding for them, for them in their standpoint, like what's really at stake for them, you know, what is the need beyond the want? You know, and what do you see that's possible for them that they can't see for themselves?
Like, for example, I was working with Amy and Amy has a coaching, counseling type of practice. So she works with women who are in emotionally abusive relationships, in emotionally abusive relationships, and so she sees for them something different that is not just that they're gonna make a decision around what they can do about those relationships, but she could see that this is a catalyst for them actually coming into greater wholeness. And so when she's talking to her clients, like she's really talking about, like that possible vision you know I mentioned lean like there's a lot of times that you see something that's possible for your clients that they can't see, like what is the power of a people-centered learning organization? They don't see it, but you have to be able to see it for them so you can ask them the right questions to go towards that end. You know, when I work with my clients and they're coming to me for messaging and positioning, you know it's like, yes, you do need to get better at coming up with the right words to connect with your clients, but what is it that you really want on the other end, like, what you're really trying to do is repackage your career the best of your career, your strengths, your passions and you want to turn it into a thriving business where you can make money, make a difference and do the coaching, consulting or coaching that you love. Like. You want all of those things and I see it and I see the roadmap to getting you there. So, in order for you to position yourself as a strategic partner and align your expertise to their bigger picture goal, you have to see it, and sometimes they don't have the words for it, but if you can see it and you could ask the right questions to lead them to be able to articulate that, and then the second part of this vision is also your role. So I want you to imagine a world where your relationship with your client is no longer tied to hours, tasks and deliverables. What does this look like? You know, I just want you to imagine yourself working with your clients in a world that is not tied to hours, tasks and deliverables. So I want you to picture clearly in your mind like what does this ideal engagement look like?
I mentioned like Peggy and Hillary. What's really cool about them is that they have this graphic design type of firm, you know, or a branding firm, whichever way you want to look at it, but they have really unique expertise. The two of them bring together so they could help the clients from their strategy to the visual branding to the website. But they also have interior design skill sets. You know where they could take the visual branding and go all the way to the workplace, and so there's a consistency of that overall experience, which creates more value for your clients. You know one of the things if you have ever seen the backdrop of my office that I use now in my podcast and you go back to where I was a year ago, you could see their work and how it played out, because they helped me create the visual space. So being able to partner with a client in that level creates more value and therefore creates higher income.
So I want you to picture this ideal engagement. Think about what are you getting paid for and how are you getting paid? So, instead of these one-off workshops, just imagine, picture this full color detail in your head of like. What would it look like to influence leaders to create more welcoming, people-centered workplaces and shift those styles to be less command and control and more empowering Like. Just picture you being that influential guide where you're no longer doing but you're influencing. Or, instead of cranking out deliverables or providing expertise on demand, you know, imagine now you're this trusted advisor who helps your clients go into that next level of growth as a leader or an organization. Or, instead of selling coaching hours, you're providing a coaching solution where you're empowering your clients with a total, total solution, with the strategy, skills, tools and the mindset to achieve their goals and thrive once they get there. You know. So that's the bigger picture.
And so when you picture this bigger engagement, you know, I want you to imagine at the end of this engagement, what do you want your clients to say about what they were able to create or achieve as a direct result of working with you? The clearer you get on this vision, the more your brain will work with you to move towards that, and so this vision is what makes the steps of partnership setup actually work and also will help you overcome. There is going to be a learning curve that goes along with partnership setup, so the clearer you are. That, hey, in step one I mentioned, is like be clear on what's not working today, what money, what influence, opportunities are being left on the table, and then picture the vision. What will you be able to create? I just want you to picture what life will be like when you can charge for the value that you create, when you can make more value with each of your clients. I just want you to picture this in terms of your impact and income, but also your lifestyle, like part of the benefits of partnership setup is that you make the most of every client, your opportunity that you have, which means you need less clients, which means you reduce your marketing pressure, which means you have more time back in your life, and so there's a lot of benefits that go along with this. But then also partnership setup it's completely in alignment with our values as consultants and coaches. It uses our skills.
So imagine you're doing this type of setup process where you're not just changing tactics, but you're reimagining who you are and the work you're here to do, and your approach to landing clients is all in alignment with that. So got that clear. Is the vision exciting? Have I painted it for you? Are you starting to see it for yourself? Because if so, then we are ready to move on to step three, and step three is to go slow to go fast with partnership setup.
So partnership setup to me it's reframes, like where you picture landing work into your overall like approach of building your business. You know, so most people look at, like what people call sales or even contracting is it's almost like the second half of marketing. You know, like this is all part of like the getting clients type of part of the process. But I believe it's different. I think that how you land work is actually the first step of your client engagement and it's literally the most important part of the entire part of growing your business. Your client engagement, everything that you do, you know the way that you land work shapes not just the agreement but the relationship with your clients and, ultimately, the results. So do this right. It changes everything, and so that's why partnership setup is a very intentional process. So this isn't about like hammering out deliverables or fees. It's building shared agreement on both the work and the relationships so that you can create the conditions with your clients where you can make the biggest impact, where your expertise will be used. Peter Block was on the show several episodes ago and that is what he talked a lot about is it's about our expertise being used and also the importance of consultants and coaches to see that relationships is the delivery mechanism of our expertise, and so partnership setup creates the conditions for that to happen.
So how this works on a more tactical level is there's three distinct phases. What I tell my clients all the time is like we need to settle down and really think about the processes of setting up your partnerships with your clients in three distinct phases and go slow to go fast in each one, like you do each part of the process with excellence. Then you move on and it begins with the first step, which is the discovery meeting. So the discovery meeting could be also known as your free intro call, free coaching call, free strategy session. You know it could be like, hey, let's just meet and have coffee to talk a little bit more about what you do. The discovery meeting is the very first conversation once a client shows interest in working with you when somebody says, hey, I'm really interested in learning more, or they book an intro call, whatever it is, marketing's work is done. We are now starting the first phase of our client engagement.
But the goal of the discovery meeting is contrary to what you may believe is it's not to sell, solve or coach. If you are focusing on selling, you're going to wind up being more of a service provider. You know, if you are trying to solve something with your clients like, you're still going to be actually again the service provider or coaching like. You just don't want to do that. You really want to focus on what I would call directional agreement. This is where you and your client get on the exact same page, or on what is it that they're really trying to achieve, like what's their real goal, what's the value of achieving that goal? And then getting clarity on why they need someone like you in the first place, like why are they looking to hire a consultant or coach like you and what's the incremental value that you could bring. So the most important part of the discovery meeting that makes or breaks your entire partnership setup process that makes or breaks your entire client engagement is where you pivot them from the wants to the needs. So there's a real art and science to this whole part of the process. I have a discovery meeting script on my website. So if you want to head on over to my website, if you could look under go to Jordyn and look under free resources you'll see my discovery meeting script.
But what you really want to do is you want to move away from like, hey, could you design this workshop for me or can you lead this meeting, and you want to move them from that. You would say, oh my gosh, that's so great. I'm really glad that you want that. But instead of asking them a bunch of questions like who's going to be at the workshop? You know, what do you want them to learn? You would say something different where you say let's back up and let's talk about what's going on in the business or what's going on in your career, what's going on in your leadership, that you would want this because you want to get them to articulate, not more about the solution. You want to move them off the solution as fast as possible and start talking about what their real goals are, because every single request will ultimately create some sort of result somewhere down the road, and so you need to follow the breadcrumbs.
So if they say I want a workshop on, let's say, conflict resolution, they want to follow the breadcrumbs. So if they say I want a workshop on, let's say, conflict resolution, you know they want to solve conflicts on the production floor. You would say, instead of saying how many people do you want to be in there, what do you want them to learn, you would say let's back up, because then you can start moving them. This is what I did with Lisa and I helped her with her client. This is how I helped Lisa move her $10,000 request to a $250,000 contract is, instead of talking about, like, the conflicts on the production floor, it moved into a conversation where like, well, why do you really need that? What's going on? If the conflicts were resolved, what difference would it make to the business? And what was going on with the business is there were a lot of product defects that were leading to a particular customer their biggest customer being at risk, that they were going to go somewhere else.
So what started as a conflict resolution training turned into how do we retain the biggest customer and keep this business viable, a much more significant strategic frame. If you could see it from that standpoint, so anytime you can move a client from these wants to needs, you could put the strategic frame. If you could see it from that standpoint, so anytime you can move a client from these wants to needs, you could put the strategic frame. And that's what makes them say, oh my gosh, like I have a bigger goal that I'm trying to achieve and now I really want your help in moving me towards that goal. You know. So, using that fractional CFO, if their goal is just like, all right, I'll do some bookkeeping, you know, but you move the conversation, say, hey, we're a tech startup and we are really needing to take this like, get us out of this hit or miss results and get us on a path for sustainability and scale, and we need the funding in order to make that happen. And some of it includes getting control over our finances, some of it is has to do with taxes and maybe something has to do with investor relations and getting more investors or something along those lines. You put the strategic frame. Now you could bring more to the table.
So I'm going to have another whole episode just on the discovery meeting. I could talk about the discovery meeting all day long. I think it's the most important part of the process and it's a lot of fun. Like, I'm this weird person where, you know, I love the discovery meeting but I also love proposal writing almost as much as I love the discovery meeting, which goes to the second phase. So the thing about proposal writing is it's not that you're putting this contract together with a bunch of legalese. What you want to do is create a proposal. That's a conversation tool, you know. So what you wanted to be able to include in your proposal is that you want to capture, like, what was discussed in the discovery meeting or what you got from this directional agreement. So what is it they want to achieve, why it matters, you know, and what the value outcome they're looking for from you.
And then what you do in your proposal is you give them an idea of their success solution. So when your client is moving into this new realm, you know they are dealing with the fear of the unknown. So your success solution could be a framework. It could be a step-by-step process, it could be a cycle. It could be like a little picture of different puzzle pieces of what they all need in order to get to where they want to go. It's like to me that's the gift that you provide your clients, because you help them overcome the fear of the unknown because there's a solution. It establishes credibility and it provides an anchor for your options.
But the options are the most important. So clients need options, you know, and they need different ways that they could partner with you. You know it moves the conversation from if we're going to work together to how. But it's important with your options is that you frame them according to ROI. You put your pricing against the ROI. You show the value Instead of saying I'm going to do this task, this task, this task it's, this is what you're going to get in the solution, and then these features are going to create these behaviors and these behaviors will create these benefits and this benefit. To get these benefits, this is the investment to get it. So it's about the ROI. Framing of your options is providing multiple options and it's describing it in a way that shows the client like, oh my gosh, there's all these different ways that this person can help me with a success solution. This is really powerful.
But your proposal writing is not enough. So one thing I will tell you here I'll probably tell you somewhere else in another podcast in this series is you never, never, never send your proposal. You always present your proposal because what you want to do is what's in the third step or phase of partnership setup is close the deal. And so what this is about is the conversation for co-creation. So what I tell my clients all the time when, if you got an intro call with me and we're talking about how I could partner with you on your brand messaging and positioning, it's like I know you have a particular starting point, you have a learning style everybody's different and so what I would say is like hey, you know, this is just my starting point that I thought about, but our goal here is to co-create the exact right solution for you, you know.
So the thing about partnership is that it's not that that makes it fundamentally different than sales or contracting. Sales is all about you defining the work. You know, contracting is your clients defining the work. In partnership setup, it's that you and your client together are co-creating the work. You're defining it together, and so that's what closing the deal is. It's a conversation where you let your clients have a voice in the solution that they are creating. You get to negotiate it, but then also closing the deals, also looking at the relational side, like how you're going to work together as partners.
You know, one of the things that I always do as the first thing whenever I start working with clients is we begin with our contracted agreements, or what we need from one another. So I'll always say, like you know, you've worked with other business mentors and people like me. You know what do you need from me personally to make this relationship a success? And then I will tell them my wants. You know, like what is it that I need in order to provide what I promised to them? So we're on the same page around the work agreements and the partnership agreement. So again, of all these three, the discovery meeting is the most important because unless you get the client to pivot from wants to needs, you're not going to be able to put the proposal together that's really set up in that more strategic way. It'll be really hard for you to create any sort of fee options, like you could do some flat fees, but it's going to be hard to look at your setting fees that are more values-based until you get the client to articulate the needs.
But let me tell you another aspect of partnership setup and why it's more powerful than sales or contracting. So it's a go slow to go fast process and it's by design. Because one thing I really believe in all of these years of being a consultant and mentoring other consultants and coaches is that clients are not just making one decision. They're not just deciding like, hey, is whatever this person putting in front of me like the right thing? They're making lots of decisions all at once. When they're looking to hire a consultant or coach like you, they're trying to decide like, hey, do I have a problem and is it worth solving? And if yes, it's worth solving, can I solve it myself or do I actually need outside support, you know? Or if I do need outside support, are you the right person for me? And then, if yes, does the solution you're putting in front of me give me confidence that it will work and will deliver an ROI? So if you rush this process, you skip their decision making.
I firmly believe that this is why proposals stall clients ghost Like this is. Why it is is because there's all these other decisions. But with partnership setup, where you slow it down, you give clients the space to make all these decisions with confidence. And so the thing about a partnership setup process and proposal and the whole thing is, it's not just about building trust in you Like, yes, you want to be able to establish your credibility, but, more importantly, especially when it comes to changes that they're trying to create in their businesses and their careers and their lives, they're building trust in themselves that they can do this, that they can make this change. So they need to be able to know, like, yes, this is the right person, but yes, I believe I can make these changes in my behaviors and create the results that I'm looking for. So what makes them say yes is it's the yes to themselves, yes to the work and yes to you. So when you go slow at the start, everything moves faster later. So go slow to go fast is a real thing.
So I want you to take a moment and just process for yourself. You know I just shared with you, you know, my partnership setup approach, why I think it's better. But you know, maybe it doesn't resonate with you. You know, maybe your approach feels more in alignment with the way that you operate, and that's totally fine. So I want you to be honest with yourself, to say you know, do you want to keep more of the sales and contracting approach as your model, or is this partnership setup something that you really want to explore, because you do feel like it's more in alignment with your values and the impact and income you want to make? And, as I outlined those three phases, is there one of them that you feel more confident in today? You know that you can just like, really build on, like, if you are really great at writing proposals, you know, like, let's build on that, you know. Or are you really good at discovery meetings? Like, where is it that you're better at so that we can build the other ones?
And then, if you were able to implement this type of process, going back again to the vision idea, is, I really think that the vision will drive, you know, as much as the pain will, like, you know, get us moving. You know, but I think vision of what's possible is also a big part of it, because it's almost like FOMO of what's in the future. You know, fear of missing out of what's possible. So I just want you to picture, like, what if every engagement you landed was using this process, like I just want you to picture your impact, your income, your influence and how would it shift. So that's step three. So step one is all about really getting clear on the current state, how you feel about it, what's working, what's not. Second step is really clarifying your desired future state and painting it with full color detail. The third step is to then start working on implementing a partnership setup approach. And now we're at the fourth step, and that is really about replacing the.
I should already know how to do this myth with the beginner's mind. I don't know, you can't see it on a podcast, but I'm doing like the quotes, you know, like I should already know how to do this myth. So one thing I've seen over the past 15 years or so that I've been trying to teach this process to other consultants and coaches is everybody gets stuck on this one part, and it's really the pivot and the discovery meeting. You know that I've mentioned before that this is the most important part, like moving a client from wants to needs and getting them to articulate their real goal, and the value of achieving those goals is the moment of truth. You know, like this one thing, this one pivot, shapes everything that follows. And if you miss it or you don't do it well, you could accidentally slip into that service provider mode. But if you nail it, you set the foundation for partnership. But there's a lot of reasons why it's hard. It is hard is that there is definitely an art to it and a relationship aspect.
In order to move a client from wants to needs, you need to be able to get permission for that. You know you can't just like take over the conversation, and the way you do that is intentional use of framing and empathy. So framing and empathy is where a client might say, hey, I want this workshop and I want to be able to really improve the service skills of my sales team, or something like that. You give a receipt, you know. So what I heard you say is you really want to create a training to improve the sales skills, I mean the service skills of your sales team. Did I get that right? Is there more? You know. So you're giving them a receipt and then they'll bow their heads and say yes, and then they'll continue to give more information. And then when the popcorn stops popping, you know when they are giving you all the information. Then you can say you know, that is really interesting, really powerful.
But before I get into that, I want to back up and talk about what's going on in the business. Why do you want to create these skills in your sales team? What service skills? What does that look like? What's the behavior? What's the impact on the business? You want to get all of that, and so there's a skill around like deep, active listening, and so I'm very excited for my next episode on the Consulting Matters podcast, where I'm gonna be welcoming my very first mentor, dr Rick Bommelje, and he is an expert in listening, and so he's gonna give you more insight in a proven framework for how to use listening as a source of credibility and influence, and he's going to tell you how to master that skill.
Other thing about Rick he's the one who gave me that really, really important nugget that has transformed my career. He's the one who told me early on that it was up to me to position myself for the strategic work and the role that I wanted, so it was really a big honor to have him on the show. I'm really excited for you to hear from him. I got super emotional. I feel like I'm sort of in this mode on the podcast where I'm celebrating all the influences that have brought me to where I am. You know, if you listen to the episode with Peter Block, you'll hear that I had that same type of appreciation for that influence, and I call him Dr Balmage. He told me to call him Rick because I still feel like I'm that 29-year-old who met him all those years ago, even though I'm not. You're going to love this episode. You definitely don't want to miss it.
The second reason why it's really hard to nail the pivot is we're just so stuck on our own expertise and methodology so we really struggle with connecting the dots between what we do and the outcomes our clients care about. You know, there's some of it is like, being this knowledgeable business communicator is something that Katie Anderson uses in her catalyst model, which is something that all of us who are trying to create results from influence should understand. But it's just really hard for us to come by this Like it's. Having that business acumen is one thing, like okay, I could see what a P&L looks like, I can see what business outcomes are. Like, yeah, we have that information, but how do we connect the dots between our methodology? Or even how do we get beyond our methodology to connect the dots between you. Know this is what I do, these are the behaviors that I change, and when these behaviors change, this is the results on the business, and then when these business results change, this is the ROI. When you could do that, then that's a second part of that pivot to be able to get the client to articulate what they really want in those outcome type terms. So that's really hard for us. Consistently across the board, everybody struggles with it. If you struggle with that strategic framing and positioning from that standpoint, don't worry, you're so not alone. But I'm also super excited to bring on the show in two weeks from now, jack Phillips.
So Jack actually taught a workshop when I was a brand new consultant at Disney on the ROI methodology, and so when I was at Disney I was on the hook. We were held accountable that we had to measure at least two of our projects to an ROI level. So we had to be able to be able to demonstrate that whatever we did with our clients created this return on investment. And so, because I knew I was going to be on the hook, that really changed my approach to when a client came and asked for help. You know some of it is I knew I wanted to position myself in a more strategic way. But the other part is is I knew I had to align what I did to business outcomes because I was going to be on the hook for measuring it. So Jack was instrumental in that mindset. So when I'm really thinking about that pivot and what that pivot looks like, it's a really a combination of what I learned from Rick and what I learned from Jack, and so Jack's going to be on the show. You're going to love Jack.
I have become a total ROI nerd. I just I can't keep talking about the ROI because I think it's such a game changer. I think an ROI mindset is a game changer in terms of really understanding our value added contribution. Being able to talk about our work on ROI is really important in general, but it's really important right now in this crazy culture that we're in, like this crazy economy, where we have clients who really really need us but they're super skittish about working with us, and so if we could frame what we do in more ROI, we could help them over that hump and get the support they actually need. They actually need. But also, from our standpoint, it just grounds us in credibility in a deeper level, you know.
So after I had I interviewed Jack, I started to figure out, well, how do I apply this ROI to everything I do? Like I literally start dreaming an ROI. And so when I looked at my programs and how I was even framing what seems like very squishy, like brand positioning and messaging, and I tried to connect that to the business outcomes, it was like, oh my gosh, I deliver such a massive ROI and I can credibly prove it with the money. I feel really proud of myself and I feel really proud of my work because it's grounded in this credibility, and so I'm going to stop talking about ROI. I will continue to talk about it when I have Jack on the show, but this is a big part of it. So we struggle with this pivot because there's this art part that goes along with the framing and the empathy and how do we get the permission to move our clients. And then there's also this like the science part of how do we talk about what we do in more outcome type of terms and how do we connect the dots.
And then the third reason is these skills are very new to us, you know, and without a structure container to master these skills, it's going to be super easy to revert what we know and what's familiar. Know and what's familiar. So if you think about, like, the processes for sales or contracting, it's very familiar because it looks a lot like what we did when we were landing a job or negotiating salaries, or maybe if we were internal consultants and then we went out and started an external consulting practice. Like we know all about writing statements of work. So the thing is about these skills. So there's a lot of you know, business acumen. There's this framing and empathy. These are like really advanced consulting skills and it's hard to do this when you're in front of real live clients and when you feel like there's so much on the line, like I know.
When I was mastering this when I was a consultant at Disney, what made the difference is how my leader really supported our learning and mastery of this. So he set up the container where we were not just getting the training but we had scripts and we practiced them literally every Friday from 3.30 to 5. We all thought my leader was crazy, like he just drove us crazy. He ran us like we're an external consulting department. When we were an internal consulting department, we would whine and moan about it. But then when I left Disney to start my own business and I started landing clients right away that were decent size, like, I needed to send them like a big you know, maybe not a bouquet of flowers, because he's a man and he might not enjoy it, but a big thank you, you know, because I wouldn't have been able to do that without it. But it was the practice, practice, practice, practice. So then when I was able to present what I wanted to do or move my executive clients you know who at Disney we weren't, they were just, they were high demanding clients, like not in a bad way, they had high standards. And so when me and my colleagues and when we were in front of our executive clients, we were ready because we practice, practice, practice. And so that's why I'm super excited about this group coaching program that I'm launching is I mimicked a lot of this in the way I designed this program, because I designed it to be part learning but then part practice, and I created it to be a safe learning place where you can master the skills, make mistakes and get this mindset without that myth of like.
I should already know how to do this. I cannot emphasize this enough. Why would you? You know, why would anybody? These are a lot of different skills Like this, the kind of work that you're looking for, this transformational work, this influence work.
It's not an org chart, you know. It's not a posted on a posted job, it's not going to be in an RFP, you know. So you're creating a partnership role that your client didn't even know how to ask for it, and so this last step maybe could be the first step. You know I could go either way. You know I could be talked into both is that you need to replace the I sure I knew how to do this myth with the beginner's mind, you know, with open receptivity for learning, and I think that's the real game changer and I've seen this between the clients who've really mastered this and the ones who struggled is that they are okay with not knowing or trying something new. You know so it accelerates the mastery because you're okay with starting something new.
But I think that there's another thing that it does for you as well is that for a lot of us, when we leave our jobs to start our businesses, there's something that happens, you know, like something like not always great to our roles. You know, either we get laid off, there's a reorg or there's some sort of intolerable job redefinition, and so we get into this rush for results and so we might skip over like mastering these skills because it's like, ah, you know, like I, just I need to do something different because that part's so uncomfortable. When you slow down and you really learn this process of positioning yourself in this more strategic way, you really come into your own as a consultant, coach and business owner, and so you complete the transition that you might not have completed because of, maybe, how you got into consulting or coaching in the first place. I think that there's a lot of us who recreate our career and our businesses because we sort of have unfinished business, you know, with our previous career. So the thing is is that when you take on this process and you master it, you learn how to lead without positional authority. You learn how to create results from influence and not positional authority. You know you learn how to do something different where you're not an employee anymore who's landing jobs, you're a business owner who's offering strategic partnerships.
So it's really that going slow to go fast is part of it, but also letting go of the I should already know this myth and take the beginner's mind and be open. It accelerates the mastery and the transformation in so many other ways. So ask yourself this is reflection time Do you really think you should already know how to land strategic, high impact, high income partnerships? And why should you know it if you haven't gotten any training on it? If you haven, if you haven't been developed like, what reasonable, rational reason you know, is there to believe that you should already know this? If you haven't learned how to do this? You know, and if this is something that you want, how open are you to practicing and learning new skills, even if they feel uncomfortable at first?
And also think about why is this whole transformation worth it? You know we're kind of like wrapping up this whole episode and I want you to think about like is it worth it? Is all of this going into the unknown and learning these new skills and moving from service provider to strategic partner and making these shifts to your push to landing clients, from sales and contracting to partnership setup Is it worth it? And why? You know, once you get the clarity of like, yes, it's worth it. You'll walk into this unknown If you could accept that there's going to be some skills, but you're in the safe container where there's proven paths, there's things that you can learn, you'll be able to see results quickly. I think this is why Katie has been able to see results so quickly she talked about it on the podcast is because of her approach to learning, and I think it's the same reason why the clients like I mentioned, like Peggy and Hillary and Lisa and so many others, why they've been able to make massive results and changes and others struggle with it is because they were open to learning new things.
They tried it out. You know, as part of my partnership set up with my clients, I mentioned the relational agreements. One thing I always tell my clients is like this is always your business. You know you always have the right to say yes or no, but just try on some best practices, see how they fit before you say no. So, in this wrap up, as we are at the end of this particular episode, you know, just try on this strategic partnership positioning, see how it fits for you. You know if it doesn't fit, fine, but just try it on and see is it worth it for you.
So let's recap what we talked about. So we talked about going from service provider to strategic partner is not just a tweak to your contracting or sales. It's a real change to how you see your professional identity and your approach for delivering results, and almost like where your power comes from your source of authority. There's a big change that's going on and you're a change catalyst. Or you want to be a change catalyst and you know that your brain needs a combo of pain and vision to get the ball rolling. So to make this move, you do need to be clear on why service provider positioning is no longer serving you and paint a really clear picture about what stepping in your power as a strategic partner will create for both you and your clients.
And the last point go slow to go fast with partnership setup. Invest in developing the strategies, skills, scripts that you need to build these strong, powerful, strategic partnerships with your clients, who will create the conditions for you to influence them and use your expertise in ways that will create the biggest value for them and equitable compensation for you. You know this is like a mantra. I'm getting really, really clear on. What makes me different in comparison to other business mentors is that I'm not here to help you just make money and a difference. It's making more money through making a bigger difference. It's through. It's one and the same, it's the same path. So that's what's exciting, because you have the relationship skills. You want to make a difference. And guess what? Apply it here and you can have the income that you're looking for as well. So that's the recap on what we covered off on.
Let's talk about the next steps. So hit subscribe now. Wherever you're tuning in, if you're listening on YouTube, on the podcast, if you're on my blog, wherever you are, hit subscribe so you don't miss the episodes with Rick and Jack, you will thank me, thank me, thank me. They are so powerful. The second is start working and practicing that discovery meeting pivot. So, as I mentioned on my website, if you go to Jordyn, you'll see under free resources, under the dropdown, there's a discovery meeting script that you'll find there. Download it, start applying it, see how it goes. I would love to hear how it's working for you. You know, if we're not connected yet on LinkedIn, like, go ahead and connect with me and let me know how's it going for you, what's working, what's not. And if you want to dramatically accelerate your mastery or partnership setup and start landing strategic client engagements right now, even in the middle of this like crazy economy. Please be sure to check out my impact and income accelerator program so you can find out more information at BetsyJordyn.com/accelerator.
Before I sign off, I just want to point out one thing. It's probably already clear to you, but I just felt the need to say it again. You know, as I've been reflecting on this series and choosing, you know, what are the guests that I want to have on my podcast. I'm seeing thematically. You know really why I rebranded my podcast from Enough Already to Consulting Matters.
You know, when I was on sabbatical, it became really, really important to me to remember that before I was a business mentor or before I was a brand messaging and positioning strategist, I was a very good OD consultant.
You know I got into the transformation business 30 years ago because I believe in our role, and I believe in our role specifically as it relates to transformational change and the importance of positioning ourselves not just to get leads, contracts or clients, but to get our expertise used.
So I don't think it's a coincidence that I relaunched my show with Peter Block as my first guest and I'm bringing on Rick and Jack and people who have influenced me so deeply when I was new to the field. So my hope, as you look at your strategic positioning with your clients, is that you do so through the lens of what do I need to shift or change to make the impact that I'm here to make? Because consulting matters. You know what you want to create in your business. Your career and your life matters, but the work you do matters. Your clients need you now more than ever. So that's it for now. Don't forget to hit subscribe. You know I'd love it if you can rate and review the show so more people can learn about it and the algorithms will like me more and I can get this type of content in front of more purpose-driven consultants and coaches like you.
