Latest / Black Girls Consult TOO! / Episode 157: Demand Decoded: Why Clients Don’t Buy Even When They Need You

Transcript

Episode 157: Demand Decoded: Why Clients Don’t Buy Even When They Need You · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you had a networking event and you're finally in conversation with the client you have been hoping to meet for a long while.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's just someone that you know could really bring a lot of business your way.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they're telling you things that you had only wished to learn just weeks ago.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know what they're struggling with, you know what their issue is, you know that what you do can solve their problem better than everything they tried before.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And although they're engaging with you and you're having this conversation, they seem interested, at the end, it still comes down to the fact that we need someone like you, but we're not ready for you yet.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: What do you do with that type of interaction?
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Having a problem and being prepared to invest in solving that problem are not the same thing.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why sometimes these conversations don't go the way that we anticipate.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it doesn't necessarily have to do with you.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we're going to talk about today.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're interested, stay tuned.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: They say the odds are stacked against us as women, especially women of color, trying to thrive in the consulting world.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: But rather than wait for a seat at the table that may never fun, what if we build our own table?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: What if we channeled our talent into guiding each other toward the success we deserve?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Black Girls Consulting Podcast.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, I can enter in a David, and I've walked the path from healthcare consultant to a mentor for women like you.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Ambitious, unstoppable, and ready to make waves in the consulting world.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is your go-to spot for all famous entrepreneurial consulting.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: For us as women, especially women of color, be good at your weekly coffee date with a friend who's here to dish out real talk on building a solid business, elevating your thought leadership, and mastering that all-important mindset.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And let's not forget, we're doing all of this while balancing day jobs, family life, and running teams.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we can do it all.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ready to dive into how you can grow a thriving consultancy or get strategies and insights that actually fit your busy lifestyle, then you're in the right place.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Grab your coffee, tea, or hey, even a glass of wine.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: I won't judge.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And let's get started.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, hello, hello.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Black Girls Console 2 podcast.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dr.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Angelina Davis, and I want to start out by telling you about a client meeting that I had recently.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it's going to make sense in a moment, so just stick with me.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: But we were meeting in a different location, and it took me a little while to figure out how to navigate through the hospital to get there.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, mainly because the room was in a different part of the hospital, it was like in the cancer center instead of being in uh the place that we normally meet.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So when I arrived, I, you know, was surprised that we were in a different location.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh, what happened?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And they began to tell me this story that I thought after I heard it really did pertain to what I had planned to talk about today.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And what had happened is that they had noticed this little brown spot in the ceiling in the conference room that we normally would meet in.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody would see it day by day and you know, look, think, you know what, that doesn't look good, but nobody really took action on what they saw.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm sure that many thought someone should probably call, but no one took ownership and made the call to have someone come and check it out.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure this wasn't intentional neglect.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: I know that they were probably thinking about it, got really, really busy with the work that was going on, the fact that just life happens, and then Monday comes, Tuesday comes, and then next thing you know, it's like three weeks later, and the stain is still there.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so people become accustomed to seeing it, and you're thinking, oh, this stain is here, nothing has happened, it must not be a big problem.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Although it may not be something that is aesthetically pleasing.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So they want it fixed, but in that moment, there's no urgency, and therefore there's no action.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: However, what ended up happening is that, of course, this spot grew and grew and grew until eventually the water began to fall literally out the ceiling and onto the floor, of course, into buckets later once they were able to clean up the mess.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then everybody's running to call maintenance and you're trying to get it fixed right away.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's an urgency around getting this fixed because they needed the conference room, they needed the space for meetings and other uh other types of uh activities.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so one would say, why didn't you call when you first saw the spot?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: You knew the spot was there, you knew that there shouldn't be a spot in the ceiling.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, in their instance, there was a bathroom right above that conference room.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So one would assume that they thought about the possibility that there could be a leak that was occurring there, but it did not matter as much until the water began pouring in.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: The roof didn't suddenly become a problem that morning.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: What actually changed and why they sought out the help and why they moved to get help, invest in the change that needed to be made or the fix that needed to be made is because the consequence of continuing to ignore it was massive at this point.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not necessarily that the solution or problem made them shift.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, the the problem got worse, but the problem was always there.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: What changed and what made them take action was the fact that the consequence of ignoring that problem change.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And therefore, they had to address it.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And what we'll find many times, just like I was mentioning at the very beginning of this episode, when we're speaking to clients and we're talking to them about their problems and the things that they need solved, it is not that we are not offering a good solution or that we are not offering a service that would meet an urgent need.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: At times, it is literally because they have not felt the consequence of ignoring their problem.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest challenges that we have as consultants in terms of landing clients or uh being able to acquire new contracts is that we have to get over the hump of the person actually ignoring the problem or being okay with the problem being there because they're not uncomfortable yet.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes this is just a timing factor because it can take months or even sometimes years before they actually feel the urgency that they need in order to uh make a decision to move forward.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really important for us to understand this dynamic because it definitely affects how we approach marketing and sales, how we think about our nurturing of potential clients once we know that a problem exists.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: How do we stay top of mind so that when that urgent moment comes, when that water floods through the ceiling, we're the first person that they contact.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now you may be thinking, okay, I get it.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's a plumbing issue.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: We all have had those things happen when it comes to our personal lives.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: But let's look at this from a business-to-business perspective.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just use employee turnover, for instance, as a scenario.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you have an organization that has had a retention problem for two years, HR knows, the managers know, employees know, leadership is following the metrics.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: They've seen all the numbers.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: There have been many conversations about it repeatedly.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: People know that this is a problem.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: But although that's a problem, and it's a very important one, there are so many other problems that are also manifesting themselves.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: So there are multiple little fires that need to be put out.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's a big regulatory deadline approaching.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Revenue has missed their projection for the fiscal year, or maybe cybersecurity is asking for extra funding because there's been a streak of organizations that have been challenged with security issues.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then suddenly you realize that your consulting service, the services that you offer, is not only competing against other consultants.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: The problem you solve is actually competing against every other organizational priority there is.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Every other person in department that's asking for the same finite money, attention, people, and political capital.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: When this is happening, a lot of key stakeholders and administrators begin to accept what they have seen as the status quo.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Organizations tolerate problems all the time.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now, it's not necessarily because the leadership doesn't care.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: I want to believe that they do care.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: They want the best for the customers or the clients or the patients that they serve.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: They want to do a great job.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's how they got into these positions, oftentimes in the first place.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: But we have to also realize that change has a cost too.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Hiring a consultant costs money.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: But that's not just all of it.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: You have to also think that the implementation of the strategy that you are going to recommend is also going to cost money in terms of resources.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to take time.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Employees have to participate.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Leadership has to track and pay attention of what the return on investment is going to be and what the outcomes are.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Processes may need to change that's going to involve different departments.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And someone may have to champion the initiative internally in order to get things to move along.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: So there's an element of political risk that they're uh having to uh accept.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So when we acknowledge the fact that hiring us as a consultant means that there is going to be cost involved with making that decision.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we understand the cost that is associated may feel more painful for them in the short term than maintaining the status quo.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: We can better understand that the buyer is not just evaluating their problem and the solution to their problem.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: They're also weighing in the cost and the risk of continuing as is against the cost and the risk of changing.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this is part of the dynamic that I feel like a lot of times we ignore when it comes to our marketing and sales for our services.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: We are not properly acknowledging and accounting for the fact that we're not just trying to prove our return on investment or compete with the competition.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: We are also trying to find the right timing so that our clients who are in need are able to see that working with us is of greater benefit than staying the same.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes our biggest competitor isn't the other consultant, it's the buyer deciding we're going to live with this a little longer.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the part that we have to begin to listen for and to watch for.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a big opportunity cost that comes along with the work that we do.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: So imagine, for instance, if there is$250,000 allocated to a budget, and the CEO has to determine where that money goes.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: He or she is going to give them approval.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: HR wants it, technology wants it, operations wants it, marketing wants it, listen, finance wants it, everybody wants it.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: This is something I always have to remind my clients of uh when I'm working in uh healthcare consulting, mainly because there's always a request for the newest thing uh on the block, right?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll have sales reps that come in and they may be promoting a particular technology.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it is uh, you know, in the healthcare field, a rapid diagnostic, something that is going to be very beneficial to use in in the hospital setting.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: But that's just one ask of many.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And all of the asks, I would say at least 90% of the asks that are happening are all beneficial.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: They are all solutions to real problems.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so the CEO has to sit there and think to themselves, how do I prioritize who is going to get funding?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Where are we going to uh attribute this bucket of money to and how can we do that most appropriately?
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Is solving this one problem more valuable right now than the other things we can do with these resources?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: That is a lot of weight that administrators have to carry, that the C-suite has to carry.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so what we have to think about is the fact that our value in what we offer in the solution that we provide and the priority for the client are not synonymous.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: When I talk about having an in-demand solution, this is speaking to the fact that what we're offering has already been vetted and designed to address a priority in our client's world.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Not just the problem, the priority.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because it is the priority that is going to move them more swiftly to take action.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And this is also why oftentimes many consultants find a really long sales cycle because the sales cycle is not just about nurturing the client.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it is about them recognizing that this is a priority now for their system.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: There are ways that we can speed up that process of realization, but in general, we have to focus on creating the messaging and marketing and the around our services, and sometimes just even uh adapting and changing our services to some extent so that we are positioning ourselves to address an urgent need as they perceive it.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: I guess I'm saying all this to say that as the expert, you may know how important the problem is.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean the buyer has prioritized solving it.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a problem for us when we're thinking about how we are able to attract in land more clients.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Most consultants spend a lot of times asking themselves, who has the problem I solve?
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how we identify qualified prospects.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's important for sure.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: We do want to find those who have the problem that we solve.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: That makes common sense.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: But another question I think is even more helpful is what causes the people who have this problem to decide they're going to solve it now?
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the difference between identifying a problem and identifying a problem that has been prioritized.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: When you have a problem that's been prioritized, that's actually where you're going to gain the most traction.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: It is where the demand exists.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And when we're in the early stages of our business, and I say early stages, the uh first few years to, you know, upwards of someone, you know, getting uh closer to a million dollars or more, those are all early stages because we have not yet oftentimes gotten to a point where people are uh saving up money just to work with us because they know that we're the solution ahead of time.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: We're still somehow vying for business.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: We're pitching, you know, our services, we are prospecting, we're doing all those things.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: So when we have to identify a potential client base, it's important for us to think about where they are in this in this cycle.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: About your last few clients.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you probably know why they hire you, but do you know why they hired you when they did?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think understanding why they hired you when they did instead of maybe six months earlier, or maybe why they didn't wait until next year, it will help you understand what was happening inside their business or in their industry or with their leadership team or the environment that moved the problems that they had from something that they were able to live with and adapt and navigate around to something they were willing to invest in solving.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is how we begin to identify those situations and scenarios within our industry, within our area of practice that are in demand at the moment.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's also how we target a potential client base that is further along in terms of their decision making.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that information, understanding and knowing that is immediately useful and insightful.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: I really do suggest that you sit down and think about that.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: Sit down with those clients and just have that, you know, have that chat.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: This helps you better understand the buying conditions and that will help you frame your offer more precisely so that you are going to have better rates of conversion.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you think about it, the potential buyer is really in one of three places.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: They either one, don't really recognize this as a problem.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: So they have a problem, but they don't recognize it yet.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Two, they will say to themselves, yes, this is a problem, but we're we're able to live with it.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: That happens more often than not.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then the third state is we have this problem and we're ready to solve it.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: So we're aiming for that last statement.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: We want them closer to we're ready to solve it.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because once they decided that they want to solve the problem, their behavior begins to change.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: What we'll start to see them do often is they're starting to allocate those resources.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: They start researching more online, trying to figure out what the best solution is, who's offering uh that serve different services.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: They begin to ask their colleagues and try to figure out who they need to talk to in terms of referrals.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: They seek recommendations, they're evaluating the differences between different firms or consultants.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: They are comparing their options.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: All these things that they're doing, this buyer behavior that they're exhibiting, is showing that they're now in the market to make a decision and to actively move forward with solving the problem.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where uh relevance comes in because once they're in the market to solve the problem, they don't need to simply know that you exist.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: They need to know that you exist, but yes, you solve this problem specifically.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, someone can say all day, you know, she's brilliant.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love her content.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: She was a great speaker at the last conference I went to.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think she's incredibly knowledgeable.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that goes far.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: It tells someone that you are a very intelligent person, that you are capable.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: But what someone is actually looking for when they have that$100,000,$250,000, whatever they have in their hands that needs to be allocated is that you know how to solve their problem and you're the best at it.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's why being respected isn't the same as being relevant at the time of the act of buying decision.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: We want relevance.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: We need that level of specialization and focus that allows someone to see us as the only option.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I would argue that for women, especially women of color, this matters even more when we don't have the networks that are automatically inserting our names into those conversations.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Someone else actually may receive that, you know what?
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: I know somebody great.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can call, you can call John.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: He can do a great job and he can solve your problem and they can vouch for you at the highest level over and over again.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: They may hear that name 10 times by the time that they finish their inquiry, just asking it around within their network.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: But the the fact is that we may not necessarily have that inherited advantage and we can't control every room that we're not in.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing that we can do and what we can be intentional about is making the connection between the problem buyers are prioritizing and the expertise you're known for.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I mean when I talk about being able to capture existing demand, understanding what is happening in your marketplace or in your industry that is.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Being prioritized in the moment, and then positioning yourself to be the no-brainer solution in that circumstance.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's the difference in having a good offer, something that someone would want or maybe even be needed in your industry, and something that is actually in demand.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is much easier to capture existing demand than it is to try and create it.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: When you think about the business world in general, when we think about people who are creating demand for something, these are major, huge organizations.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: On the consumer side, we can think about a Nike, for instance, or uh Coke.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: They can come out with a product and they can create demand for that product because guess what?
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: They have enough financial uh runway in order to do that.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: They understand that it's going to take a lot of uh building awareness and uh really pouring money into marketing and education of the audience in order to create demand for a particular product that no one wanted in the first place.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: That happens, it can be successful, but that's that's the long game, is typically it's going to take a lot of money on the front end in order to get that done.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: What is much more beneficial for us, especially as consultants, and especially if we're working as solo consultants or maybe even a small firm, is to identify the existing demand in the market, the prioritization of the problem in the market, and then thinking about how we begin to position ourselves to deliver a solution to that.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because going back to that networking event, if that potential client does not recognize the problem, you're going to spend a lot of energy trying to educate them.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to be on the phone constantly trying to explain why the problem exists, what the problem looks like, why they need to solve it.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that is what's going to stretch this timeline further and further out.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: If they recognize that it's a problem, but not a priority, then you're going to spend a lot of energy trying to convince them they need to take action.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're talking to them all of the time about what could happen.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is a possibility.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they see all these things as potentials or hypotheticals, but they don't necessarily see it as something that they need to move forward on right now.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, we need to be talking to those people that recognize the problem, that are prioritizing the problem, and have decided to invest in solving it.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not saying that we don't do the business development to bring people along the way.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: That has to do with our uh, you know, brand awareness and all those things that we could talk about another day.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's important.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: You do want to bring people along the buyer's journey.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: But what we are focusing on when we're having these touch points, when we're getting into these intimate sessions, whether it is a networking event or if it is a one-on-one call, or if we're in a situation where we have, you know, different open QAs, et cetera, we want to build those intimate spaces around people who already recognize that solving this problem is a priority.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to think about this as you move forward.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: Are you targeting clients at the wrong phase or stage of the buyer's journey?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: Are you talking to people and chasing after clients that have not recognized that their problem is a priority?
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Are you constantly trying to convince people that they should move forward?
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: If so, what I'm going to encourage you to do is to look back at the clients you work with in the past, talk to them, reach out to them, find out what was that trigger that led them to move forward in a more intentional way.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you're thinking about needing more clients or wanting more clients, don't immediately assume that that means you need to have more followers on LinkedIn or you need to create more content or you need to do more networking or outreach or more speaking.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: You have to first understand who you're talking to and making sure that you're talking to the potential client in the right phase of the journey.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: Understand the market you're actually operating in because a profitable problem isn't simply a problem that people have.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Most people think about that.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Is this a problem that people have that they're going to pay for or willing to pay for?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's a problem that people have, are willing to pay for, and have prioritized.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let's put that last piece on there.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And have prioritize.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: And when that priority becomes strong enough, what you're going to find is that someone is going to be willing and financially able to invest in solving it.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to show you different changes in their behavior.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to let you know that they are actively in the market.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I think a lot of us as consultants miss an enormous opportunity.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because our first instinct when we need more clients is to often go out and try to create more interest.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're trying to drum up that demand.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: We're trying to create the demand for the services that we offer.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: But what if instead, hear me out, you look for the buyers who are already looking for what you do.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: What if you did that?
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Not fully ignore all the others, but what if you understood their problem a little bit better?
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: What if you understood their triggers a little bit better?
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: What if you were able to tap into the demand that already exists instead of trying to create more?
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's a game changer.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then all you need to do is capture it.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's gonna be the last part that we talk about when we get into the next episode of the demand decoded series.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because even if you're able to identify clients who would prioritize your solution, you need to still capture them.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: You need to have a good process to lead them to the conversion.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really hoping that you are enjoying this series.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: I am enjoying really talking about this.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that I feel like we don't talk about enough.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: We really do simplify um the pipeline building process and consulting or the buyer's journey.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: We simplify that quite a bit and we don't pay attention to the little signals that are shown to us every day.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: And by us not paying attention to those little things, we we just kind of like miss the boat.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: We make things a lot harder than they need to be.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if you enjoy this episode, please share it with a friend.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let them know that we talk about all these great things on this podcast.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us to help more women consultants like really grow and thrive in this industry.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and also reach out to me on LinkedIn or Instagram.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love to hear your feedback about episodes.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: It really does uh, you know, warm my heart when I get to hear from you guys.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then don't forget, if you enjoyed this podcast, leave a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: It helps the podcast to grow.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if you were to do that one simple little favor for me, I greatly appreciate it.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I enjoy doing this.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is my way of pouring into our community because there's so many of us as brilliant women out here who deserve to have businesses that thrive.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: All right, guys.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, until next time, have a wonderful day, and I'll talk to you soon.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in to the Black Girls Hunter 2 podcast.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to leave your review on Apple Podcasts, subscribe, and share it with a friend.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: We're on a mission to increase the success and longevity of women in consulting.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you can help us do just that.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I'd love to hear from you.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: So let's connect at Dr.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Antonina Davis on Instagram or LinkedIn.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to visit XL at consulting.com for more information to support your consulting journey.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep breaking glass to work.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: All right, take care.