How Clients Buy

How Clients Buy – Tom McMakin

Professionals such as consultants, lawyers, accountants, architects and engineers are experts in their fields, but many are uncomfortable with selling and unsure how to win new clients. In How Clients Buy: A Practical Guide to Business Development for Consulting and Professional Services, Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher offer a fresh approach to growing a professional services practice.

The authors argue that clients do not buy professional services in the same way they buy products, and that traditional sales techniques often feel awkward and ineffective. Instead, they focus on understanding the buyer’s journey and the factors that lead a client to hire a particular firm or individual.

McMakin and Fletcher describe the stages clients move through before engaging a professional: becoming aware that you exist, understanding what you do, being interested in working with you, respecting your expertise, trusting you, and being ready to buy at the right moment. For each stage, they offer practical strategies for building relationships, sharing expertise, staying top of mind and creating the conditions in which clients choose to work with you, without resorting to pushy selling.

Drawing on interviews with experienced professionals and examples from many fields, the book provides actionable ideas that readers can incorporate into their regular routines.

Practical and refreshingly human, How Clients Buy is a valuable guide for consultants, lawyers, accountants, agency leaders and other professionals who want to develop business in a way that feels authentic and effective.