Value-Based Fees: How to Charge—and Get—What You're Worth: A Guide for Consultants, Second Edition

8.1. THE FOUR FUNDAMENTAL AREAS OF RESISTANCE

There is a wonderful apocryphal story of a man encountering a friend on the street, searching the ground under a streetlight. "What are you doing," asks the man.

"I'm looking for my lost car keys," responds the friend.

"How did you happen to lose them here?"

"Oh, I didn't lose them here. I think I lost them a block away when I entered the restaurant."

"Then why are you searching here?"

"The light is better here."

It doesn't matter where your light is better when you're trying to find the reasons for the buyer's resistance. What matters is where the buyer actually lost your reasoning and value.

There are four major generic areas of prospect resistance and potential objection. We know what they are.^[] We might as well get good at responding to them.

^[] The origins of these four areas are murky, and many people take credit. I first heard them from Larry Wilson, the founder of Wilson Learning, in the early 1970s. His collaborator, I believe, was Dr. David Merrill.

8.1.1. Resistance Point 1: I Don't Trust You

Perhaps the most common and most fundamentally understandable resistance is that the buyer has no reason to trust the consultant. The credentials might not be strong, the route of entry might be problematic (for example, direct mail or cold call), or the consultant might have other traits that undermine credibility: poor appearance, lack of maturity, poor vocabulary, inadequate promotional materials, and so on.

I don't trust people ...