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The Kevin Fort Project Part Two

This is Michael Senoff with HardtoFindSeminars.com and Consulting Secrets. Here’s the second recording I did with Kevin Fort about what he’s been up to in his efforts in growing his consulting business. This section is 20 minutes long. In the following section, you’ll hear Richard, Kevin and myself continuing the rest of the call outlining many excellent ideas for Kevin to make more effective presentation in both his seminar and his opportunity analysis. I think by listening in from Kevin’s real world examples out on the street in Arizona will be helpful as you go out and start to grow your consulting practice. Enjoy!

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Michael: Your experience in starting from nothing into the consulting business would really be helpful for some of the other new consultants, and I can document this stuff as you progress and stick with it and see success. I think it would be a lot of value for others. Would that be alright?

Kevin: I absolutely do not have a problem with that.

Michael: Okay, great. I remember the last time we talked, you have the seminar coming up. What happened?

Kevin: Well, the seminar went well. Not as well as I hoped for, but it went well. We wound up having six responses.

Michael: Where did you hold it?

Kevin: I held it at a hotel in their conference room.

Michael: And, six people showed up?

Kevin: Correct.

Michael: And, the way you introduced the seminar was by the flier you had shown me.

Kevin: Correct.

Michael: And, you did that by mailing it out, sending it out, passing it out.

Kevin: Working groups. I didn’t do a whole lot of door to door. I did do some door to door. I actually surprisingly got one prospect to show up by going door to door which I was amazed that that worked.

Michael: That’s great, and then people paid ten bucks to come in and they got a little breakfast, right?

Kevin: Correct.

Michael: So, you had the six people there. How did you prepare yourself for this seminar? In what fashion were you going to present your seminar?

Kevin: Well, basically I downloaded the PowerPoint presentation that you and Richard provider, and basically just touched it up a little bit, threw my logo on there, and changed some of the content, not a lot of it, to make it work for my situation.

Michael: What kind of equipment did you have there?

Kevin: I rented a 2,600 luminous projector and set that up.

Michael: How did you run the PowerPoint presentation? Did this projector – is it a computer as well?

Kevin: I brought my laptop along and I just hooked the laptop up to the projector, threw the slides up on the wall, and then my wife was gracious enough to come with me and basically ran the computer for me and changed it from slide to slide.

Michael: Okay, so you can connect your laptop to this projector and do a presentation through the PowerPoint.

Kevin: Correct.

Michael: Tell me what happened.

Kevin: The seminar ran very well. I basically spent the weekend before the seminar rehearsing, practicing, spending time in front of the mirror just making sure that I was comfortable and confident with what I wanted to present my prospects. Monday morning bright and early we got up and headed down to the hotel and fired it up.

At about 6:30 in the morning, everybody was in the process of waking up, staying with me. We ran a total of an hour and 35 minutes by the time I finished. My actual presentation portion took about 55 minutes, and then we ended up leaving about 40 minutes for questions and answers.

Michael: That’s awesome. Were you nervous or were you comfortable and confident?

Kevin: I was actually extremely comfortable. Like I said, I’m used to briefing thousands of people in the military. So, speaking to people is not an issue for me, but the main thing that I found is you have to be confident and comfortable with the material that you’re presenting in order to present that to the group and not have those nervous thoughts.

Michael: Okay, that’s great. Was it interactive during the presentation or did you hold all questions and answers until after?

Kevin: I held it as an interactive. I feel that’s more beneficial to the clients that way. I had a podiatrist there. I had two chiropractors. I had a guy that specializes in photographing Harley Davidsons. I had a financial planner that was there. So, for them to see the other aspects that these people in the different industries are facing, I felt was beneficial to all of them.

So, we just opened it up. As I was presenting things on the slide, somebody would say, “Oh yeah, I tried that.” And, the things that they had found, so that’s the way I like to keep it. I like to keep it loose, interactive. I have just found that that helps keep me relaxed and comfortable.

Michael: Did you have a close or an offer? What did you have in mind by the end of the presentation that you wanted to accomplish?

Kevin: My end goal was to line up opportunity analysis. So, during the seminar I did not pitch them a sale. The only thing that I pitched them was, “Give me an hour and a half of your time. Let’s sit down and make sure that this system is right for you before you make a decision on whether you want to proceed further on this or not.”

Michael: Did you stick with that last slide if you wanted an opportunity analysis that you would be able to set that up for them?

Kevin: Yeah, I actually just set up appointments for them right there before they left. Those who wanted it just set it up with me right before we walked out.

Michael: How many set up appointments with you?

Kevin: Four.

Michael: Four out of six? That is awesome. Even though it was only six people, it’s the result that you got. If it was 60 people, you would have 40. Do you see what I’m saying? And, with 40 opportunity analysis in front of you, I think you can eliminate all your other cold prospecting and work with those clients and do referrals.

So, you set those up, and have you started doing those?

Kevin: I’ve actually finished all these appointments. I booked those out and took care of those that week despite my father having a stroke that week.

Michael: I’m sorry to hear that.

Kevin: He’s doing okay. It was just a mini-stroke, and he bounced back pretty good.

Michael: Okay, great.

Kevin: The reason that I wanted to talk to you was what I’m finding is actually getting people into the opportunity analysis is not a difficult task. Basically, all I’m asking for is an hour and a half of their time. I know their time is valuable, but if I can’t get them sold on an hour and a half opportunity analysis, I can usually get them to buy off on a fifteen or thirty minute short meeting where I basically further explain how the opportunity analysis would benefit them.

I’m learning that there’s a process that you can take the clients through and eventually get them into the opportunity analysis.

Michael: Your seminar was the process in getting them into an opportunity analysis.

Kevin: That was one of the techniques that I used to get them into an opportunity analysis.

Michael: So, you booked this four and every one met with you. Let’s talk about those four appointments. Who was the first one you met with?

Kevin: The first one I met with was the financial planner.

Michael: Was it a female, male?

Kevin: Male.

Michael: And, did you find some hidden assets within the business?

Kevin: I did. The problem that ended up with him is that he was actually a representative of ING Financial Group. He’s a senior gentleman, and he is within a retirement community. His problem that he was having was having difficulty tapping into that area that was around him because he’s within one of those retirement communities and they’re very limited on the amount of advertising they can do and things like that. So, he was looking for ideas on how he could tape into that market.

He got some good ideas from me through our meeting and through the seminar.

Michael: So, would you qualify him as a set-up or a start-up meaning did he have any existing clients within that area that he could work? You’re telling me he needed to learn how to get customers, but did he have any assets within his business already?

Kevin: He did because he was a financial planner for a different organization in the previous years, and he actually was able to convert those. So, he had about 400 customers or past clients that he had in his database. Twenty of those were active. So, I knew that we had about 380 potentials that we could look at reactivating, obviously calculating those out that had passed on or moved out of state, things like that.

So, he had some assets that were in place, but not as many as he would like to have for maximum growth out of his system.

Michael: He was a financial planner.

Kevin: Correct, he dealt with 529s, all different types of retirement planning. He sold some insurance things like that.

Michael: Did he keep in touch with his clients on a regular basis?

Kevin: Not his inactives.

Michael: Not his inactives?

Kevin: No.

Michael: So, how did that end with him?

Kevin: I actually spoke with him this morning, and basically what had happened was he came back and find out that ING is going to provide him some training for his sales and marketing process that he did not know was available to him.

He’s also a representative of the SCORE group that’s down here in the Phoenix area. So, I was still able to salvage that relationship and set something up with him because he deals with so many start-ups.

Michael: Absolutely, that’s great. I mean, SCORE, they refer all kinds of people. Is he real active in SCORE?

Kevin: Yes, he is.

Michael: Did he tell you how many people he’s talking to on a weekly or monthly basis?

Kevin: He says he’s dealing on average with 40-60 start-ups a month.

Michael: Can you tap those students of his?

Kevin: That’s the reason I was calling you. What I’m starting to see a lot here in the Phoenix area is I definitely see a need for this service within the valley. There are so many companies down here that do not have adequate training or education in marketing. They’re expensing large amounts of money on marketing and it’s not working for them, but when it comes to being a consultant and this is what I’m trying to figure out whether it’s just the name and the reputation that goes along with being a consultant, whether it’s the fees associated with it.

I’m starting to test that trend because I’ve done a total of ten opportunity analysis, and when I go back and present them, I don’t call it my proposal, but when I project to them, “This is how we’re going to do it, and these are the fees that are going to be associated with it.” That’s what drops it right there.

Michael: At the end of the opportunity analysis, are you explaining that up front?

Kevin: Through the opportunity analysis, yes I take them the growth matrix, the three ways to exponential growth. Then, I show them based on their growth objectives, how implementing these projects within the system can provide a return on investment for the fees that will be provided.

Michael: What’s the feedback you’re getting as you’ve done these ten opportunity analysis? Are you selling all the way through? It’s an interactive analysis. Obviously, they’re answering your questions, and let’s say you take them through the USP. At the end of each section of the opportunity analysis, are you getting agreement? Like, “Kevin, do you understand how important this USP is, and how this can really identify you and separate you from all other financial planners and how this can put money in your pocket once this system’s worked out? Do you see how that can work?” And, you get them to say yes.

You are always closing all the way through, and this is something Richard gave me some advice on. Maybe we can even get some direct advice from Richard on this, but are you doing that during your opportunity analysis?

Kevin: Probably not as good as I should be doing.

Michael: Okay, because your opportunity analysis, you are fishing. You are looking for hidden assets, but you have to be selling it all the way through. You have to see if they’re on the same page with you. You’re not really closing it all the way through.

Kevin: Not on the opportunity analysis.

Michael: You’ve done ten of them. The feedback is once you drop the price on them, no one’s interested.

Kevin: Correct. It’s too expensive. They don’t have that in their budget, or they can’t justify spending that for those returns. Usually, I’ll try and reattack on a non-aggressive level and just say, “Can you really afford not to do this?” “What types of expenses are you putting into your marketing now?” And, try to bring them back in and make them realize that might be a small portion to what their actual objectives are.

Michael: Let’s talk about some of them. The financial planning guy, his excuse was basically that the found out that his company has some training, and he’s just going to use that, right?

Kevin: Right.

Michael: What were you charging for the fees? What were you asking for? Did it vary?

Kevin: No, I actually came back to him with a proposal and recommended that we actually take all seven projects into his business, and was charging him $795 per project to do it.

Michael: All right, and the offer was to pay for those as they do it, or did you want it all up front? How did you structure that?

Kevin: On his, I was doing all upfront.

Michael: All upfront, okay.

Kevin: But, the $795 would be down before I started the project.

Michael: All right. So, he didn’t want to do it. Tell me about the next analysis that resulted from that seminar.

Kevin: The next one was the chiropractor.

Michael: What was his situation?

Kevin: His situation is desperate. He’s been in business now for about four years in his new location. He was in a different location for two years prior to that. Both locations of his have – I don’t want to say struggled – but, have not done as well as he anticipated when he got into the chiropractic industry. And, a lot of his problem is he does not understanding the market aspect.

He’s a very good chiropractor. He’s got a lot of equipment that a lot of chiropractors in the valley don’t have. He just doesn’t understand how to tell that to his customers.

Michael: What kind of hidden assets did you find within his business?

Kevin: A massive database of clients that are inactive. We’re talking about 23 to 28 hundred inactive clients.

Michael: Wow, all in his local area?

Kevin: Yeah.

Michael: Okay, from your analysis, did he keep in touch with these guys? Or, is it they came in and they never heard from him?

Kevin: They came in, and he’d never gotten back with them. A lot of them he’s only worked on one time, and once he had done the work them. The only way he was asking them to come back was when he was actually visiting with them, “I’d like to see you back on such and such date and time.” They would never show up and he would never follow up.

Michael: Did you point that out as a tremendous asset that he had sitting there?

Kevin: And, he agreed and he knew and his biggest thing was, “Well, I don’t have the time.” He doesn’t employ a secretary. So, he’s running the office. He’s actually doing the technical labor, keeping the books, handling the marketing. So, this guy is trying to handle all aspects of his business, and I actual told him that that was an asset we may look at bringing on in the future was hiring and training somebody to actually handle that portion of the work for him.

Michael: How did he respond to that?

Kevin: He responded favorably.

Michael: Did you say, “I know you don’t have the time, and that’s what I’m here for. I can do this for you. It’s part of my service.” Because really what kind of time does it take to send out an email or to send out a letter.

Kevin: Correct, and that’s basically what I said. I told him, “You need to concentrate on the chiropractic portion, outsource your growth objectives. Let somebody else handle your marketing systems. Find somebody that can come in and implement follow up systems for clients that are inquiring but not following through. Let’s get somebody in here to provide some sales training to you or a member of the staff, if that’s what you decided to bring in.”

So, he definitely knows and understands the benefit of outsourcing and having that help.

Michael: So, that was the big asset he’s sitting on. Anything else that came to your mind asset wise that he was sitting on?

Kevin: The equipment that he has and the decompression table that he uses for car accident injuries, spinal and neck injuries. I did a little bit of research over the weekend and found out that there’s only ten to fifteen more chiropractic clinics throughout the valley that provide that, and the good thing is it that they’re pretty well spaced out.

Michael: So, as you brought him through this analysis, how was he reacting and what was his objection? What was your proposal, and what did he say?

Kevin: Basically, once we finished the opportunity analysis, he was excited. He had set up with the real estate agent and a title company that was sending him a list of new homebuyers in his area. He had drafted a series of three sequential letters that he would send out on a monthly basis.

Michael: And, he was doing this?

Kevin: He was doing that.

Michael: And, this was to generate his customers?

Kevin: That was what he was using to generate his customers.

Michael: All of those that were on that list, that was his system?

Kevin: That was his system.

Michael: Did you look at the letters?

Kevin: I did, and I took a copy of each letter. I’m in the process of looking over the content of those letters and finding out why they’re not working for him.

Michael: Were they not working? Or is this what built his customer list?

Kevin: He’s saying that out of the year he’s been doing this, and this system has only brought him in about two or three clients.

Michael: And, your impression looking at the letters, do you see some things that can improve it?

Kevin: Yes, he’s not talking on the customer’s level. He’s writing those letters like he’s talking to other chiropractics that understand the language. A big part of this is going to be rewording it and I explained that to him in the opportunity analysis. When he started talking to me, I said, “I’m an expert in the marketing field. So, all the jargon that you use in the chiropractic field, I don’t understand a lot of times. If you don’t catch my attention with helping me understand what it is that you’re going to do and how you’re going to help me, you’re not going to get the sale on that.”

Michael: Who was mailing the letters for him? Was he addressing and stuffing all himself?

Kevin: Correct.

Michael: It’s kind of good that it shows he got off his butt and was trying something, and the words on the paper were probably ineffective. So, that’s something you showed him that he made a good effort but it’s what you say on that page that makes all the difference, and that’s something you’d be willing to help him out with.

Kevin: Absolutely.

Michael: All right. So, that was another thing. So, by the time you got to the end, what was your proposal for him?

Kevin: Last Friday, I brought up exactly what we were going to do in the projects based on his objectives, and I emailed that over to him Friday afternoon, and I followed up with him this morning, very favorable response. He was actually heading out of town. So, he was going to get back with me when he got back.

I pitched him a cost of $775 per project, and with him I’m going to do 50 percent down and 50 percent at the completion of each project.

Michael: Okay, do you think he’s going to do it?

Kevin: I think he’s going to do it. He understands he needs to do it. I think still his biggest concern is whether he can actually afford to do it.

Michael: All he’s got to come up with is 50 percent. Did you pitch him on seven projects or four?

Kevin: Seven.

Michael: On all seven.

Kevin: At the same time, I’m trying to line these up as semi-contingencies and let them know we will be doing a seven month implementation if that’s what is needed to get their growth objectives reached. The remaining five months will actually be a follow up process.

At that point, we’ll actually reduce the fee. It won’t be the same project fee, but it will be a lower fee to just come in and fine tune and tweak and make sure that the system is properly running within the business.

Michael: Did you ever listen to the interview with the chiropractor, Dr. Greg Nielsen? It’s up on the HMA University, and this Greg Nielsen is a chiropractor in this very, very small town. He’s been using a series of letters. They’re called “Soap Opera Marketing letters”. I don’t know if this guy would go for it, but certainly I would listen to that recording, and I’ve got the series of letters. I did a joint venture with him where I presented it to the people.

But, if you end up working with this guy, you’ve got to check these things out. It’s a series of about 25 letters that he sends out on an ongoing basis to his patients, and the Soap Opera letters is that he’s kind of the personality of his chiropractic office, and he’s got the girls working for him.

It doesn’t sound like this guy would be the ideal thing, but it would be pretty interesting to listen to and how well he’s done just with this direct mail letter technique. So, this may turn into a deal.

Kevin: I think it will. He knows he needs to do it, and I feel like I did really well through his process on showing him, “You’re going to have to come up with a little bit upfront to get started, but once we get the ball rolling on this, you’re going to start to see increased revenues that are actually going to cover my expenses plus some.” And, I think he understands that.

Michael: I think you’re looking at a gold mine. He’s got 2,800 people on his list. You may want to throw a bone at him and offer a contingency deal, just a real simple thing by looking at his list and you making an agreement saying, “Look, you don’t have the money to come up with it, but I’ll tell you what I’d be willing to be do. I’ll forego my commission based on a contingency deal.”

Now, ordinarily I wouldn’t do it, but if it’s going to take you very little time and little effort you can negotiate with him and say, “I’ll create and draft a reactivation letter.” Actually, I know I have a reactivation letter. It’s called “The Red Ticket Letter”. I’ve got one.

If he’s willing to do a test to maybe a thousand of his past customers, you can either pay for the mailing yourself or you can make the negotiation, “I’ll forego my commission on this method in reactivating your customers, but you have to pay for the mailing. You give me the list. I’ll create the mailing. I’ll design the piece. I’ve got a reactivation letter that’s been proven to work used by a chiropractor doing a tremendous business. I’ll provide that for you. I’ll license you to use that, and then you pay me a percentage on all the business that it generates.” Or you can negotiate, “I’ll reactive them, but on all those visits that you get paid that upfront fee for that visit.”

You can negotiate whatever you want. Let’s say you reactive twenty or thirty or forty new clients. You can say you want 50 percent of that. Or, you can also make him this offer. You can say, “For all that new business that comes in, you take that income that’s generated through this reactivation letter and put that towards my consulting fee meaning up to $795 times seven projects, all that money that comes in from my reactivation letter goes to me for you to pay for my consulting services.”

Do you see? So, you’ll do it to finance the consulting services that you’ll provide for him. Are you with me?

Kevin: I’m with you.

Michael: That’s an idea. That’s a worse case, no lose situation. You know he’s got a list and that’s very valuable. If you can get people back to that office, and he can get them as customers, I’m sure he’s got dead time in his office. Is he sitting there twiddling his thumbs on some days because he doesn’t have enough patients?

Kevin: You bet.

Michael: Okay. So, what’s he got to lose?

Kevin: Exactly.

Michael: But, only as a last resort.

Kevin: Right.