The importance of "outcomes"

I recently completed a sales pitch and am waiting to hear if I was successful. That is a bit beside the point of this blog but I wanted to share it with you.

One thing kept going through my mind - what are the outcomes?

Traditionally we are all told to use the FAB methodology - Features, Advantages and Benefits.

For most products this seems entirely logical and intuitive, which might explains its almost universal appeal.

For services it is not quite so valuable. What are the benefits of employing a coach, a mentor, a consultant, a creative agency, a PR agency? These do not fit readily into the FAB concept.

For services the key must be to establish clear and definable outcomes. An x% increase in profits, traffic, interviews. Or a y% improvements in client satisfaction, employee satisfaction and so on.

Without outcomes the engagement wins will be difficult to quantify. So start at the end - what is it that you want to achieve? You will be surprised how it gets clients to engage in the consultancy process.