Shop Talk Podcast #7 - Ford Harding on Rain-making

rain-mak-er n. a person (as a partner in a law firm) who brings in new business.

On this edition, we talk to Ford Harding, author of "Rain Making: Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field." Ford's book presents very practical and complete advice on selling professional services. He is president of Harding & Co., a consulting firm that helps companies improve their selling performance.

Among Ford's observations in the podcast is that most professional services people are hired for their native intellgence, critical thinking skills, etc., and not for their sales competence. Which results in an often painful transition when these folks are asked to start selling.

It was a fun chat. I hope you enjoy it. Click here to download.

Tags:
sales, sales improvement, business development, professional services, rainmaking

The world's worst professional services invoice

In today's New York Times, a front-page article in the Business section concerns the legal difficulties of famed plaintiff's lawyer Richard Scruggs, one of the authors of the multi-billion dollar settlement with the tobacco companies. What caught my eye was the above invoice, sent to Scruggs (or "Dickie") by PL Blake, a figure in the case.

There is little or nothing tangible exchanged in a professional services transaction. Therefore, the invoice is normally constructed to give comfort to the payer (and its auditor) that the vendor delivered appropriate and valuable services in exchange for the payment.

Given the large amount due and the, say, haphazard way it was put together, invoice #856 sets a new low in the practice.

I wonder what his tax return looked like?

professional services, invoicing, law, New York Times