65 Managing Smarter Growth of Professional Services

Doug Fletcher is the co-author of a new book titled, How Clients Buy: A Practical Guide to Business Development. Doug will be sharing with us today insights into winning client business based upon his 25 years of practical experience, and the research he has conducted over the past 4 years. From 1999 to 2014, Doug was co-founder and CEO of North Star Consulting Group, a technology-enabled consulting firm specializing in employee and client feedback web survey projects. Doug led the growth of his firm from a startup into a global provider serving Fortune 500 companies in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Doug successfully sold North Star in 2014 in a private equity transaction and began the next phase of his career as a business educator. Doug currently splits his time between teaching others the craft of business development in professional services and serving as a professor of business strategy at Montana State University’s College of Business. In this episode, Audrey, Lee and Doug discuss: · Managing professional services, a specialized area of business development· The special challenges of service business models· Insights into client purchase patterns and triggers· Why managers can’t just rely on sales teams to sell professional services "In many ways it’s different than buying a product. Why is it that we can buy a home or another large purchase, spend $500,000 on a house after one hour of walk through and yet if you were looking to design a home you might agonize for months over choosing just the right architect to work with?" – Doug Fletcher Join hosts Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith every week as they dive into the aspects and concepts of good business management. From debunking sales myths to learning how to manage with and without measurements, you'll learn something new with every episode and will be able to implement positive change far beyond sales. Connect with Doug Fletcher Website: www.fletcherandcompany.net LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dougfletcher Book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/111943470X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 Connect with the hosts of Manage Smarter: · Website: ManageSmarter.com · Twitter: @ManageSmartPod · LinkedIn: Audrey Strong · LinkedIn: C. Lee Smith Connect with SalesFuel: · Website: http://salesfuel.com/ · Twitter: @SalesFuel · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices