Seal the Deal: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business [Paperback]

Suzi Pomerantz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0874259347 | ISBN-13: 978-0874259346

Learn how to network, market and sell your professional services Seal the Deal The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business By Suzi Pomerantz How do successful coaches and consultants make money and make a difference? You have to be good at networking, marketing and sales. That's why Seal the Deal belongs on any new or experienced professional's desk. It will help you avoid pitfalls made in all three of these key areas and increase your effectiveness. In this unique book, you'll follow the conversations of author and super coach Suzi Pomerantz and several of her coaching colleagues. Each chapter starts with part of an actual transcript of a telecourse session. You'll get to know the participants, their fears and successes and their experiences as they learn the same process you ll be learning. Get on the proven path to sealing more deals and succeeding in your business Each chapter is a step in the author's 10-step proven process for developing new business: · Demystifying selling and distinguishing networking, marketing and sales · The sales process, targeting prospects and branding · Calling prospects and setting up the first meeting · Handling gatekeepers and objections · The client meeting as a chess match · Following-up and tracking · Proposals, pricing and contracting · Networking · Lessons-learned meetings and expanding the sale while serving the client · Building business and the art of referrals Also included are worksheets, templates, samples and tip sheets the tools anyone who sells services or ideas inside or outside the organization needs to build a successful business through clients and referrals.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I've experienced the system personally and can say that the "Seal The Deal Formula" belongs in any professional's chemistry kit." -- Mike Jay, Author of CPR for the Soul and CEO, B-Coach Systems

"Many great coaches and consultants have the dedication, education and experience needed to help others. They are just missing clients! Seal the Deal shows you how to solve this problem and helps you turn great talent into a great business. This is an important book!" -- Marshall Goldsmith, America's pre-eminent executive coach

"Seal the Deal is a cogent, coherent and comprehensive approach to business development. Don't miss it!" -- Ken Blanchard, Co-author The One Minute Manager and Leading at a Higher Level

"Seal the Deal, more than a traditional book, is a series of powerful coaching sessions dealing with a big breakdown that many excellent coaches and consultants face today: they don't know how to sell their services to organizations. Suzi Pomerantz not only knows, she can also coach us so we can learn that critical ability." -- Julio Olalla, President, Newfield Network, Inc.

"With Seal the Deal, Suzi Pomerantz masterfully guides new and experienced professionals alike to grow their business to the next level. Suzi reminds us that selling is not about being inauthentic, it's about clear, honest communication and cultivating win-win relationships." -- Karlin Sloan, Author of Smarter, Faster, Better; Strategies for Effective, Enduring, and Fulfilled Leadership

About the Author

Suzi Pomerantz, MT., MCC., CEO of Innovative Leadership International, LLC is an award-winning Master Certified executive coach, facilitator, and author with 18 years experience coaching leaders and teams in 148 organizations internationally, including seven Fortune 100 companies, seven corporate law departments, and dozen law firms. Suzi specializes in the intersection between leadership and business development; helping executives, teams and organizations find clarity in chaos. Industry experience includes: consulting, financial services, manufacturing, hospitality, science, entrepreneurial enterprises, Federal and state government, education, membership-based service entities, construction, and executive MBA programs. She is considered a thought leader in the industry, served on two industry international boards of directors, the IJCO Editorial Board and the ICCO Advisory Board, and has authored 25 publications about coaching, ethics, and business development, including the bestseller Seal the Deal. She founded the Leading Coaches' Center and co-founded the Library of Professional Coaching. Suzi has been a featured speaker to industry leaders and executive coaches in more than a dozen top coaching schools worldwide. Suzi presented at the Annual International Coach Federation Conference, Purdue University Leadership Lab and delivered lectures at George Washington University, Loyola University, the University of Virginia and coached executives at Darden. Suzi presented, coached, and led teams at the prestigious Linkage Best of Organizational Development Summit. She received the 2007 Woman of Achievement Award and in 2008 the ICCO Board of Directors established an annual legacy award; the Suzi Pomerantz Award for Stewardship. In 2009 she was listed #1 Most Influential Executive Coach on Twitter. In 2010 she was invited as a Founding Coach in Keith Ferrazzi’s Relationship Masters Academy and as a coach for TED Fellows through SupporTED. Suzi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master's degree from the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education. Her clients include leaders and teams from Accenture, DuPont, Lockheed Martin, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Tyco, Sears, Welch's, Pfizer, American Express Financial Advisors, Freddie Mac, NIH and many others. Learn more: http://www.suzipomerantz.com/about-2

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874259347
• ISBN-13: 978-0874259346
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #949,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Suzi Pomerantz, MT, MCC is an award-winning executive coach, speaker, facilitator, and author with over 17 years of coaching and teaching experience working with leaders and teams in over 145 organizations internationally across Government Agencies and private sector clients, including seven companies on the Fortune 100 list. Suzi specializes in coaching at the intersection of leadership and business development, with a particular emphasis on integrating brand and social media into your strategy. A coaching veteran in the legal industry, Suzi has coached leaders in seven corporate law departments and a dozen law firms. Other industry experience includes: consulting, financial services, manufacturing, hospitality, entrepreneurial enterprises, federal and state government, educational institutions, membership-based service entities, and executive MBA programs.

Suzi's strength lies in helping leaders and organizations find clarity within chaos. Her no-nonsense approach is professional, strategic, conversational, analytical and results-oriented. She was one of the first executive coaches to receive the Master Coach credential from the International Coach Federation over 13 years ago and is considered a thought leader in the coaching industry.

Suzi helps executives, teams and high performing, high-potential future leaders to clarify their vision and exceed prior performance. She provides executive coaching, team/group coaching, and emerging leader coaching in organizations to assist executives and their teams with setting strategic direction, managing talent, and developing leadership bench strength. She also develops leaders in teambuilding, sales, effective meetings, interpersonal savvy, and facilitating change. Suzi's coaching work with scientists, researchers, and administrative operational leaders focuses on developing emotional intelligence, leadership acumen and skills to help navigate in a high-pressure, high-growth environment. PhD clients cite results of her coaching that include increased confidence, improved strategic visibility, an ability to successfully navigate the political landscape, leadership influence, and an improved ability to balance the demands and stresses of work with life. She helps organizations develop and retain leadership capacity by coaching leaders in executive presence, presentation skills, personal power, communication, and vision work.

A recognized leader passionate about integrity, legacy, impact, and leadership excellence in organizations and stewardship of the profession of coaching, Suzi serves in a number of international Board of Director positions and volunteer leadership roles, donating time and resources to organizations that are leading the future of the coaching profession. Suzi was the Chairman of the first ICCO Symposium in Washington, DC on The Global Implications of Organizational Coaching. Suzi has been guest faculty and a featured speaker to industry leaders in more than a dozen coaching schools and communities worldwide including: Association of Coach Training Organizations, Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, Newfield Network, Gestalt Center for Organization and Systems Development International Gestalt Coaching Program, Fearless Living Institute, Adler School of Professional Studies/ Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto Leadership Coaching Certificate Program. Suzi presented, coached, and led team meetings at the prestigious Linkage Best of Organizational Development Summit in 2008. In 2009 she co-founded and launched both the Library of Professional Coaching LLC and the Leading Coaches Center.

Suzi has presented as well as participated for seven years at the International Executive Coaching Summit, an invitation-only annual gathering of worldwide senior executive development experts. Suzi has presented at the 2006 Annual International Coach Federation Conference, taught executive coaches at the Executive Coach Academy and the College of Executive Coaching and was named Resource Faculty Member at Advantara Global Coach Training Institute. She has also delivered guest lectures at George Washington University, Loyola University, and the University of Virginia and has coached executives in the MBA for Executives Program at Darden.

Suzi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master's degree from the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education. Her honors include Kappa Delta Pi International Education Honor Society, Dean's List, and Lawn Resident (Thomas Jefferson's Academic Village).

Suzi is credited with more than 25 publications about coaching, ethics, and business development, including her book Seal the Deal.

Suzi received the 2007 Woman of Achievement Award and is a member of National Association of Professional Women as well as several coaching organizations including ICF (International Coach Federation) and IAC (International Association of Coaches). In 2008 the ICCO Board of Directors established the Suzi Pomerantz Award for Stewardship and will select an annual recipient.

* International Master Certified Coach
* Founding Vice President and Executive Board Member International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations (ICCO)
* Advisory Board Member of ICCO
* Editorial Board Member of the International Journal for Coaching in Organizations (IJCO)
* Executive Board Member and past co-Chairman of the International Executive Coaching Summit
* Author, Seal the Deal: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business (HRD Press, 2006)
* CEO, Innovative Leadership International LLC
* #1 Most Influential Executive Coach on Twitter

Read testimonials and endorsements at http://www.suzipomerantz.com/raves-about-suz/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 335 Ways to Make Your Professional Services Business Succeed, June 15, 2007

By 

Michael W. Benidt (Broomfield, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seal the Deal: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business (Paperback)

I'm sorry, but when an author quotes both Yoda and Yogi, they have me. And, when they quote from books I already admire, they keep me reading. Then, if they don't apologize for being themselves, they end up captivating me. Suzi Pomerantz does all of these things in Seal the Deal!: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business.

It didn't start out that way. I don't like reading business books. For me, the worst day with a good mystery novel is better than the best day with a fat business book.

So, I did what I do with most business books. I stalled. Maybe the basement needed cleaning. Perhaps the attic (do we even have an attic?!) needed more insulation. Anything to delay the inevitable.

I'm not proud that it took two hours in the dentist chair to get me to do more than skim Seal the Deal! But, those were the two hours that made it happen. I found what so many business books are lacking. Beyond the content and practical down-to-earth advice, I found principles and values I could admire.

Let's take an example. It's one thing to write this:

"If you picked up this book looking for tips, tricks, gimmicks, magic, secret formulas or other marketing wizardry, you won't find them here. There will be no manipulative or pressure techniques, fear tactics or slick shadiness of any kind. The system in this book is about honor and integrity, genuineness, authenticity and honesty."

It's another to deliver it on every one of the 335 pages of the book.

I started with her self-assessment quiz that pointed right away to my "growth potential" in salesmanship. It's not that I don't want to sell. It's not that I don't know how important selling is for our own professional services business. It's not that I haven't attended tons of sales workshops, listened to endless selling CD's and read other books about selling. Well, whatever it is, let's just say selling is not what I do best.

So, I skipped right to the chapter "Calling Prospects and Setting Up the First Meeting" and then moved on to the following chapter, "Handling Gatekeepers and Objections." The next day, I did 30 sales calls (which, for those of you with a scorecard, is about quintuple my average gross daily production).

Why was I so motivated? Because those two chapters had stuff to underline and extra worksheets and templates at the end of each chapter filled with practical, down-to-earth content. Content, that's the word. Practical stuff I could do right away - not new systems I had to spend time adopting, new software I had to spend time learning or new stuff I had to buy.

And, she supports her own ideas with the best of the best ideas from other people - books, quotations and support materials. For selling, I'd heard it said a number of ways before, but Suzi quoted Sam Horn's line from TongueFu that "a sole proprietor is a sale proprietor," and that a solo practitioner is a sales practitioner. I don't know, maybe it was the Novocain, but it worked for me.

I also felt at home in this book because some of the references were to books and authors I already knew (like Robert Cialdini's Influence and Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz's The Power of Full Engagement) and some of the quotes were from the greatest business thinkers of all time, like Yogi Berra: "If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else."

In the end, maybe those 30 calls came from Yoda in Star Wars: "Do or not do. There is no `try.'"

In no small part it's the honesty and humility of Suzi's approach. She believes that we all need to be who we are and to learn how to work best with ourselves. What a concept. She must practice what she preaches, because at the beginning of her book, she thanks Felice Wagner for helping her to "shift my own mindset about sales and selling." She's herself. No apologies; no pretence.

Beyond the practical advice, you'll also find deeper, more advanced business theory. For example, in our workshops we talk about Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat, and how the Internet is changing everything, especially the playing field of competition. That means, today, it's not as much about competition as it is about cooperation. In her book, Suzi puts it this way: "The idea is one of collaboration with competitors, or turning competitors into partners, by building alliances and joint ventures as a business development strategy."

Her theory of how competition can be transformed into cooperation informs her entire relationship networking approach, and she believes every word of it. She told us in an interview, "The give and take of services with other professionals is the very definition of networking." Wow.

The book says coaching is a "$[...] Billion industry and second in growth only to information technology." In such a high-growth industry, it's hard to know who to trust. Read Seal the Deal!: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business. It's integrity from the coaches' corner - on every page. I know; because I'm starting over on Page 1.

Authors Note: This review was first posted on our Hidden Business Treasures of the Internet blog at [...] on April 2, 2007

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT- easy read- show you how - practical - grow your business tool!, February 1, 2009

By 

Maxine Karchie (Edmonton, AB. Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seal the Deal: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business (Paperback)

Ms. Pomerantz quotes many of the greatest business minds and business books of our times. She practises what she preaches and has the proof that it works - her business is booming! This GREAT piece of teaching/reading knowledge is one for you to pick up and share. What an excellent business book to use as a total teaching tool for ourselves, or a sales team or share with your peers. What a refreshing change, especially in these economic times! It's like going to a class, but on your time, with an excellent, learned professor, who wants to share all their knowledge and experiences. A prof that is a lot of fun and can get anything across to you - You know the kind - you just never want to miss their class!

The author starts you off by asessing YOUR needs! Go figure- she actually has you assess your needs, and then helps you help yourself throughout the book! She makes this easy to read piece a way for you, as she shows you PRACTICAL ways to do it, grow and develop in areas of relationship building, sales, contacting people (the dreaded cold calls, which to her are warm and fuzy ones!)administration, collaboration and much, much more, that YOU need to grow your business or your sales structure and teams.

You don't have to go over things you're already good at though, she has it sectioned off in course chapters, so cover just the essentials that you really need to work on, that's also why you need to do the assessment at the beginning, and you can go back and forth between the lessons too!

Ms. Pomerantz delivers the right ways of getting relationships with clients, and even competition, on the right track - collaborating, to get you the positive, long term results we all need, especially in the economic times we are in. I really have to say, this is not just an good book, it's an EXCELLENT Teacher!

Maxine Karchie

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seal the Deal is an Excellent Resource, November 22, 2006

By 

Chuck Berke "Charles W Berke" (Fairfield, Ct United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seal the Deal: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business (Paperback)

As an Execuitve Coach and Mariage and Family Therapist, I have faced the challenge of building two separate practices. Even after over 12 years of being in both businesses I still sometimes struggle with keeping the pipeline full.
Seal the Deal is exactly the type of book I have been looking for in my quest to become a better marketer and business person. Suzi Pomerantz has a straight forward yet gracious style that cuts through a lot of the nonsense about the best way to market personal services.
Seal the Deal does a terrific job of assisting the reader in understanding what might be getting in the way of making those all important phone calls that lead to the those all important face to face meetings.
Two salient points that the book makes clearly and consistently are essential for anyone to understand if they truly hope to create a thriving, self-sustaining business; 1) Marketing is to a great extent a numbers game; and 2)We all have much more transferable knowledge,skill and experience than we give ourselves credit for. The second point is crucial. It helps the reader surface and deal with the fear of making a call or having a meeting and not feeling like we can make a strong enough case for our own credibility.
For all of us who know we have the "chops" but sometimes hesitate to take the actions necessary to prove it, Seal the Deal is a must read.