Leverage your way to a deal

To capture your dream client, it’s necessary to deliver a compelling value proposition. In the past, this is how I have described the challenge of enticing your dream client into making a change. But perhaps a better world for what you need is “leverage.”

So what is leverage? Leverage (noun): 1) the action of a lever, a rigid bar that pivots about one point and is used to move an object at a second point by force applied at a third; 2) the power or ability to act or influence people, events, decisions, etc.

Now, you may believe that the second definition is the applicable one, but it’s the first definition that interests me. I like the visual image of using a lever to pivot around a first point and move an object at a second point by applying force at a third point.

The second point is the person or persons who stand to gain the most from your initiative (or lose the most by not acting)—your dream clients. What is the force you apply to that lever? Whatever is at stake.

Those occupying third point, the stakeholders who would move forward with you if they could, need help with the object at the second point. Maybe that object is the status quo and its deeply entrenched defenders. Maybe the second point is occupied by the “decision-maker” or the person with the formal authority to ink a deal. Whoever (or whatever) is occupying the second point needs to move. And the greater the resistance, the more you need to surround them with people who will press for your initiative and reasons to change now. In other words, the more leverage you need.