Market Expertise: How To Artfully Use It To Win More Clients

It goes without saying that we, as consumers, are constantly looking to purchase items that are unique and of value, i.e. have meaning and relevance, and will be useful to us in some way. You’re probably thinking I’m referring to your products or services, but how about the personal expertise you possess regarding the consumers residing within your target market?

Over the course of your career, I’m sure you’ve gained some significant expertise pertaining to what you do for a living. Perhaps by now you’re a clever business lawyer, a savvy executive recruiter, or a resourceful loan officer.

Reflecting on the years you’ve spent refining your craft, how much time would you say was spent researching your target clients to understand their world and their day-to-day operations?

When a prospect is evaluating a provider of a complex service (such as the ones mentioned above) in an effort to determine who will be worthy of their business, your expertise and understanding of their particular line of work will be crucial in winning them over.

In that vein, it’s critical that your expertise is revealed to your prospects, and that it’s done in a subtle manner so as not come off like a blowhard.

Here are two ways to approach this challenge:

Ask Industry-Related Questions

In order to demonstrate your expertise, your questions must contain enough pertinent data and context to convey more than just a general understanding of the challenges faced by your prospects. Here’s a scenario that illustrates what I mean:

Let’s say you’re a recruiter, meeting with a hiring manager who is looking to place a CFO in a rapidly-growing tech business in Virginia. During an initial conversation, you find an opportunity to say the following: “I can’t believe you’ve grown your company from only 7 employees to a team of 55 in 3 years! That’s really impressive! Of course, businesses with 50 or more employees are now required by law to provide health care benefits. What actions did your organization employ to navigate that challenge successfully?”

Of course, this line of questioning reflects your depth of knowledge about business in general, but it also opens the door for a much richer, more personalized dialogue. Was the regulation beneficial to the overall trajectory of the business? Was it easier to attract higher quality staff due to the benefits package being offered? Did this new regulation force your company to make massive cuts in crucial areas, resulting in a detrimental effect on the business? The prospect’s answers will reveal a multitude of insights about their organization, and also about how the company’s leadership handled the pressure of meeting such a financial and operational challenge.

These kinds of questions, especially when asked early in the conversation, showcase your business acumen. They also have the added benefit of proving yourself to be someone with an empathetic ear who “gets them,” and who also genuinely cares how these issues impact their endeavors.

Offering Valued Advice

As rapport-building as it is to ask industry-related questions, offering crucial advice at the appropriate moment is an absolute game-changer. As mentioned before, we all value that which we consider relevant, meaningful and useful. In this context, your industry and market advice must meet that criteria, with one caveat: You must provide insights your prospect doesn’t already possess. Let’s explore the basic premise:

Imagine that during the course of your conversation with a particular prospect, you pick up on a hidden issue that’s not even being acknowledged. To you, it’s a glaring landmine, and it’s bound to affect their business in the near future; but for them—it’s a blind spot. When the timing is right, you’ll take the opportunity to introduce them to a new industry trend pertinent to their particular “landmine.”

To illustrate how to artfully weave in some valued advice, let’s expand on our hypothetical conversation from before:

“That employment law had a significant impact on your business. It seems you were forced to cut costs significantly in order to provide health care benefits for your employees. I heard recently on a  Public Radio Broadcast that six states are requiring some companies to provide five paid sick days to run in conjunction with the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act). This could obviously affect operational costs and future hiring considerations, and Virginia lawmakers might be crafting a legislative bill regarding it next year. I work with a firm whose attorneys specialize in employment law, and they’re always on top of legislation changes pertinent to this issue. I can put you in touch with them, if you’d like.”

With this one thoughtful gesture, you’ve now poured a ton of equity into this relationship. Timely and relevant advice of this caliber can have a huge impact on their business, and undoubtedly, you’ve upped your chances of their considering you to be their go-to recruiter. Furthermore, as your advice will likely be shared with countless key players within this organization, your recruiting company will likely become their future go–to firm!

My advice to you? Do your homework and stay on top of current and relevant issues affecting your target customers. You’ll always know when you’ve won them over; you’ll hear the words, “Wow, I didn’t know that… Thanks!”