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Professional-services sales is not a product demo followed by a quotation. The objective is to understand whether there is a sufficiently important problem, whether you can help and whether the client is prepared to act.
  1. Research the account and likely trigger.
  2. Run discovery. Understand the current state, consequence and urgency.
  3. Qualify. Confirm problem ownership, decision process, access and commercial fit.
  4. Demonstrate selectively. Show Iris only where it helps explain how you would diagnose the identified problem.
  5. Scope the paid engagement. Keep the first project bounded and decision-oriented.
  6. Present price and commercial terms. Tie the fee to the work, risk and expected value.
  7. Agree a decision process. Avoid ending with “let me know what you think.”

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The key mindset

Do not try to persuade every prospect. Your job is to determine whether there is a strong match. A good sales conversation can end with:
  • a paid diagnostic;
  • a defined follow-up with additional stakeholders;
  • a no-decision because the problem is not important enough;
  • a referral to a better-fit provider.

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Common mistakes

  • demoing before understanding the problem;
  • asking many shallow questions instead of exploring a few consequential issues;
  • discussing price before the client understands the scope and value;
  • sending large proposals full of free recommendations;
  • treating objections as arguments to defeat rather than signals to diagnose.

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What to do next

Read Discovery Calls, Pricing Models and Proposals & SOWs before running a live opportunity.