| The first and most crucial thing you must learn before talking to anyone about consulting services either in person or by phone is to study this opportunity analysis training below. I know there are a lot of interviews, and you certainly don’t have to listen to all of them. However, if you do, it’ll be time well invested.
The Opportunity Analysis is where you are going to do your selling. In essence, the Opportunity Analysis is your sales pitch without actually being a sales pitch. It is a way for you to find out what is vital to your prospect. It is training on how to ask the right questions, how to listen, and how to give your prospect what they genuinely want.
HMA Training Materials:
Opportunity Analysis Worksheet
Opportunity Analysis Training
HMA Marketing Evaluation
Stories and Scripts Cheat Sheet
In this audio, you will hear me conducting my version of the Opportunity Analysis. Please understand, my way is only one way to conduct this interview. You’ll need to interject your own personality and style into your client interactions. Be unique, be bold, be yourself.
1. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training with Ryan’s Dental Lab (Part One)
Welcome to the first part of the Opportunity Analysis that I personally did with a gentleman named Ryan. Ryan is the owner of a dental laboratory in New Jersey who told me that his business is just about breaking even. He wants new ways to grow his business without spending a lot more money.
The story of Ryan’s business is interesting, however, I want you to note how I conduct this Opportunity Analysis in order to obtain all of the information that I can so that I can offer possible solutions. Listen as I:
- Explain the process we will go through to complete this Opportunity Analysis successfully
- Ask initial questions, such as how much more growth Ryan wants
- Explain what a USP is, and how we will begin to articulate why his dental laboratory is unique and better than others
Throughout the recording, you will hear me ask many questions geared to understanding the dental laboratory industry, as well as Ryan’s business. You will hear how I ask Ryan to take me through a typical example of the work he does, from start to finish. Using this interviewing method can help you understand how a business/industry operates, as-well-as show you the problems that a business owner experiences on a day-to-day basis. As an outsider, you might even be able to uncover a USP based on daily operations that an owner might not even consider to be unique!
You will hear me uncover one notable Unique Selling Proposition that Ryan developed for Quality Control. Listen to how I probe as to what all of the components of his technical “checklist” are. We tie his Quality Control process back to our typical example constantly to stay on track and move forward.
I also learn that Ryan is very unique in that, with offshore business partners, he has developed a methodology to outsource about 80% of his work overseas, which not only saves him money, but provides the high quality of work that is so necessary in the dental business.
2. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With Ryan Dental Lab (Part Two)
In the first part of my Opportunity Analysis with dental laboratory owner, Ryan, we discussed the definition of a USP and delved into what some of his own Unique Selling Propositions might be.
In the second audio with Ryan, we are joined by Ryan’s Marketing Analyst, Annie. Although Ryan retained me to create his USP, I wanted to spend some time trying to determine what some of the hidden marketing assets of his business are.
We discuss Ryan’s current marketing process of direct mail postcards to dentists and how the process relates to the many items covered by the HMA system. Ryan and Annie disclose the number of leads that they obtained by mailing almost two thousand postcards. Although they didn’t think so, you will hear that their results were quite positive! Listen to my explanation of mathematics that made them realize their true success.
Ryan, Annie, and I then examine some other possible hidden marketing assets that could get them more business and more profits, such as:
- Past customers and ways to reactivate them
- Current client retention
- Alliance opportunities with other businesses (hint: We found a few!)
- Current client endorsements, recommendations, and referral programs
- Enhancements to their current marketing process and a little lesson on copywriting
- Community marketing
- Media
- Finally, I take a look at the postcard copy for my own edification
We end the meeting with plans for our next meeting as I continue to develop Ryan’s USP. Listen to my emphasis about the important reasons to use the USP to grow his business by leaps and bounds. This audio is a terrific outline for USP development and getting a client excited about the infinite possibilities. Enjoy!
3. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With Nick, A Chicago Website Hosting Company (Part One)
If you are interested in the process of uncovering the hidden marketing assets in your business, this recording is for you! It is a consultation I did with Nick, the owner of a medium-sized web hosting company based in Chicago. Nick was interested in growing his already successful business and needed some ideas.
This is a very fast-paced brainstorming session that you do not want to miss. Utilizing Nick’s expertise in the web hosting business and my knowledge of uncovering hidden marketing assets, we quickly come up with several ways to obtain new customers and to increase profits substantially with existing customers — and we are not done yet! People who have already listened to this consultation have found themselves thinking about ways of offering new products to their own customer base that would be almost 100% profit.
I think that you’ll find your own imagination gearing up when you hear the process that we use to discover what Nick’s customers most likely would want in a web hosting company, and how most of our ideas could be easily implemented. Have fun!
If you need web hosting I highly recommend Nick at Advanced Network Hosts.
4. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With Raphael’s Small Moving Business
Raphael had ordered some pre-owned marketing materials from me. As part of his order, I offered to conduct an Opportunity Analysis for his 30 year old moving company.
Keep in mind that he has paid me money to take him through this “Business Audit.” In the HMA System, you’ll learn how to charge for this service and make a lot of money, very easily.
You’ll hear what exact questions to ask to uncover hidden marketing assets and have clients “sell themselves” on your services at the same time.
My goal in this recording is to teach you how to get a client. I want you to take this training and try it on a perspective client of your own. Listen and learn from this example. Other consulting opportunities will merely tell you how to get a client; I will show you how. This is another exclusive Consulting Secrets HMA training on how to interview a prospective client, over the phone, using the opportunity analysis worksheet.
5. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With Barcus Accounting Practice
Here’s a live training call that teaches you how to discover hidden marketing assets and get clients fast.
The telephone makes consulting so much easier! It is my favorite way to get clients. In my opinion, there is no faster way to obtain a consulting client and no easier way to show your client how you can help them grow their business. When you listen to this recording, you will see why.
But first, a little background info: I live San Diego, California, and client Barcus lives halfway around the world in Australia. This is a live recording of me using the Opportunity Analysis Worksheet. The purpose of using this worksheet is to uncover every single one of the “hidden marketing assets” in Barcus’s business.
My client has no idea I am simply reading word-for-word parts of the script directly printed on the Opportunity Analysis Worksheet. Listen to the dramatic effect this worksheet (or, cheat sheet, if you prefer) has on Barcus, who is a successful tax advisor. By using this tool, I do not have to “wing-it” as I’ve done in the past. I have a scripted sequence of follow-up questions. This is my new secret weapon.
To me, it is like a gigantic bulldozer I can use to dig out hidden marketing assets buried deep in his business. Assets he cannot even see until I dig them out for him with my questions. You can easily hear me digging for gold yourself. I also hope it will get you to try and get a client and start your own lucrative marketing consulting business.
6. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With Small Start-Up Internet Business
Here’s another training call I conducted with a Mr. Mark Mysack. Mark called looking for marketing advice on his new internet start-up business. This is only the fourth time I have conducted an Opportunity Analysis.
When you listen to this call, notice how I am closing all the way through our discussion. I was not doing this in the first two calls. You’ll see for yourself how each call is getting easier and easier – just as it will for you. My confidence in conducting the opportunity analysis is getting stronger – as will yours. Stick with me on this call to the end even if you may get a little lost with the details of his business.
His business is not the important aspect of the call. It is how to interview the prospect. I did this call with Mark for two reasons. One, he agreed to let me record the call so I could show you how to do another opportunity analysis. Two, I needed more practice. If you think you are going to be able to do one of these calls and feel comfortable the first time, you are mistaken.
You have to practice this interview several times before you get comfortable with it. You have to understand the HMA system and how it can help a business grow. When you know this interview process like the back of your hand, the world is yours. Imagine the possibilities that await you when you have the confidence to interview any business and show them all the money they are missing out on by not having you as their marketing consultant. By the end of this interview, you’ll be able to answer the question, “Can I do this?” in the affirmative!
7. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With Dave, Owner Of A Diabetic Supplement Company
This is an Opportunity Analysis that I did with a business owner named Dave. Dave has an online business marketing supplements to diabetics, and wanted some advice about how to grow his business – and grow it quickly.
This audio is a splendid tool to help HMA Consultants learn how to question potential clients, how to uncover hidden marketing assets in a business, look for opportunities, and try to find ways to improve a company’s marketing efforts.
Early in the conversation, hear how I introduce the HMA System to Dave. I discuss how the HMA System works, the types of businesses that HMA Consultants typically work with, and general price ranges for projects.
Following the Opportunity Analysis Worksheet, being an excellent listener, and asking the right questions are all essential to obtaining the big picture of any business. My introductory questions lead Dave to explain that his online supplement business is stagnant. I obtain the background of his diabetic wellness business: How it started, when it started, who started it, and who formulated the supplement.
You will hear me ask the main question that will lead me (and you) to keys to defining the business’s USP, namely “Why should people do business with you?” Dave tells me how his company has developed products that are superior and more effective than those of his competitors. Dave’s customers get results that have been medically measured. These answers are a great start for his USP.
However, when I look at his website’s home page, I see that it does not convey the product’s superiority and effectiveness measures. I explain why the USP is so important and why a great deal of research needs be done to determine the real reason people do business with his company. When his USP is finally developed, it must be conveyed prominently on the home page of his website to remind the viewer of the product’s unique benefits.
Following the definition of the USP, the next step would be to integrate that USP into all of the company’s current marketing efforts. For example, it should be put on invoices, product packaging, product literature, and within the company’s telephone on-hold message. Listen to how I verify that Dave understands the importance of the USP.
I inquire about their current marketing practices. It appears that most of their leads are from trade shows hosted by the American Diabetes Association. Their leads are health care professionals, and their customers have been people referred by their doctors. Dave explains that they have not been following up on leads. Rather, they have just been sending out brochures. This has not been very effective in generating more leads or sales. Trade shows could be more effective if their leads were handled properly. Listen and I suggest that they should try to get health care professionals to endorse the product and refer their patients.
As we discuss the pricing of the product, I discover that the product’s ingredients are so expensive that the company’s margins are not very good. Dave is trying to stay competitive with his pricing strategy. He tells me that his competitors charge more for their products, which aren’t as effective as his. I suggest that the price be increased, as sometimes a higher price can elevate your credibility. With good marketing and a good USP, you can brag about being the most expensive product on the market – plus you’ll have better margins.
Other than trade show leads, no one else is referring people to Dave’s company. There are a lot of of non-competing businesses whose products would go hand-in-hand with Dave’s supplement. Partnerships or joint ventures with these companies should be seriously considered and cultivated.
Another strategy would be to position the company and its product in a unique way with the media. Press releases could be written and sent to all manner of media. Editors may find the product interesting and run its press release with other stories about diabetes or weight loss. Perhaps the formulator of the product could be available for interview.
Since Dave’s vision for the business is for his product to have a very strong online presence, his community marketing should be done using online communities such as user groups, mailing lists, and websites.
For more of a direct marketing approach, Dave could develop a CD entitled something like, “The Reality of Diabetes,” which would contain audio interviews of actual diabetics and what these people experienced with the disease. The person receiving the CD could be offered a 30-day free trial of the product, and then they could be put on monthly auto ship.
You’ll hear me conclude that Dave’s business does not have many hidden marketing assets. Although theirs is a hungry market, they do have a website, and they have an association with the product’s formulator. Growing Dave’s business is viable, but much would need to be done.
Near the end of this audio segment, you will hear Dave and I explore ways to increase the company’s marketing effort. Since Dave does not feel that he has much money to invest in having a consultant develop and implement new marketing strategies, it might be best if Dave does it himself with some guidance from me or another HMA Consultant. It would behoove Dave to learn some HMA marketing strategies himself, since he has a few other small businesses that could also benefit.
Stay tuned to the second segment of this case study with Dave where I present my ideas more formally about how the HMA System can help him grow his business. Enjoy!
8. Opportunity Analysis With The Owner Of A Service Business
It’s a pleasure when I’m called upon to put my HMA Consulting hat on and help a business owner. Frank, the owner of an acoustical sound and lighting company, had listened to several of the audios on my site, and contacted me for a consultation about how he could modify his marketing strategies to grow his business.
In this recording, you will hear me take Frank through the first step of any HMA consultation – an Opportunity Analysis.
Listen as I read directly from the Opportunity Analysis Worksheet to explain what the HMA system is, what types of businesses the HMA system works best for, and how using the HMA approach will help to determine ways to optimize success by using existing assets that the company already has in place.
I invite you to follow as I ask Frank the questions. You’ll see how much I discover about Frank’s business, its history, its current operations and customers.
We subsequently discuss what a USP is and what Frank’s USP might be. I probe Frank with questions about what makes his company different from its competitors and why people should do business with him. We talk about how he currently deals with prospects and closes sales.
You’ll hear me explain some ways that Frank could modify how he explains to his prospects why his company is better. You’ll also hear as I suggest to him more simplistic ways that his USP can be integrated into a consistent message that he and his employees will present about the company either in person, on paper, on his web site, or by phone.
In the area of leveraging current marketing processes, we talk about how Frank could educate his prospects by offering them an audio CD to inform them about acoustical sound and lighting, as well as his USP before even meeting with them. The goal here is to increase Frank’s closing ratio.
We go on to talk about reactivating Frank’s past customers, as well as alliance opportunities and cross-selling, resulting in more sales for Frank, as well as his joint venture partners.
9. Growing A Flower Shop In Kuwait
In this interview, you’ll hear firsthand how to conduct an Opportunity Analysis that will quickly and effectively uncover the main areas of growth for your client’s business. This is also an international call, so you’ll get the added benefit of hearing how to conduct HMA consulting long distance by phone.
In this consultation, I talk with a flower shop owner in Kuwait named Salem. Salem’s shop used to be the only one in his area, so naturally his business was booming. Now, hundreds of flower shops are opening up around him, and he is finding that his business is quickly going downhill. Listen as I help Salem see how to find a niche in a crowded market, even with a commodity product like flowers.
You’ll also hear how sometimes large improvements are not necessary for large growth. If you find three to five smaller areas of potential growth, and put them all together, you’ll see substantial results. In this interview, you’ll hear:
- How to “follow the money” to uncover the problem areas of businesses quickly
- How to know when to lead and when to follow – I throw out ideas during the interview, but ultimately, I allow the client to direct the analysis
- How to conduct an opportunity analysis internationally by phone, even when you don’t know much about the region
- Ways a business can stand out from its competition, even in a saturated market
Through the opportunity analysis, I find out that 50% of people walking into Salem’s store walk out without buying anything. Moreover, because Salem isn’t capturing contact information, he is letting those potential customers slip away.
Listen carefully to the call with Salem where I essentially walk you through an opportunity analysis. You’ll hear how I find out about Salem’s business, his customers, his competition and his current marketing practices. You’ll also hear how to dig just a little bit deeper to unearth the problems even your client doesn’t know they has.
10. Opportunity Analysis Training With Jonathan, The Owner Of A Guided Fishing Tour Business
Here is special Opportunity Analysis training with Jonathan, the owner of his own small fishing tour business. Keep in mind this is not the ideal client I would recommend you take on. However, this Opportunity Analysis training has some valuable lessons that cannot be denied.
Even though this is a startup business, I was able to find some hidden marketing assets that Jonathan could start using to grow his business immediately.
Another lesson to keep in mind is that Jonathan did not have money. As I said earlier, you should only be doing the Opportunity Analysis interviews with people who have the money to invest in a marketing consultant.
This interview is to provide you with training for your benefit. Listen in and follow along on this interesting look at the fishing tour business.
I know this recording will give you more confidence in yourself. I also hope it will get you to try and get a client and start your own lucrative marketing consulting business.
11. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With Live Consulting Session Results In $1200 Consulting Project: Case Study With A Tanning Bed Operator
George is the owner of a small tanning bed business. He called looking for some advice on how he could grow his business.
Without knowing or promising anything, I invited George to talk in more detail about his goals. Listen in as I take George through the HMA Opportunity analysis in an effort to discover his business’s(HMA) Hidden Marketing Assets.
More importantly, listen to the willingness of George to grow his business. And finally, listen as George hires me to develop a USP. Developing the USP is the first recommended product we teach our HMA consultants to activate for clients.
I look forward to working with George and to getting his business hopping in the next few months.
12. HMA Opportunity Analysis Training With A String Cheese Distributor
Here’s a live training call that teaches you how to discover hidden marketing assets.
You are about to be handed the key to getting all the marketing consulting clients you can handle. In this training, you will receive two files, “Opportunity Analysis Worksheet” and “HMA Opportunity Analysis Training.”
You will print these out and follow along with me before you listen to any of the recordings. Here’s why:
I know that if I can show you by example (not just “theory”) how to get a client, you’ll see just how easy it is to do this yourself. Believe me, this is not “voodoo” stuff you need to be a genius to implement yourself. All you need is a list of questions to ask your consulting prospects, and you’ll be more likely to meet with them. Once you listen in to this call you will see how to conduct an Opportunity Analysis of a client’s business effortlessly by phone, without face-to-face meetings. I know you are going to benefit tremendously from this real live case study on how to use the Opportunity Analysis Worksheet to get all the clients you can handle.
Here’s what you are about to learn:
· What you’ll hear in the first section is a real client calling me for the first time looking for marketing help for his cheese business. Then, you’ll hear me call Richard for coaching advice on how to perform the Opportunity Analysis interview with this prospect.
· Richard has 14 years of experience conducting hundreds of business Opportunity Analysis sessions with clients ranging from Mom n’ Pop small businesses to multi-million dollar corporations. Richard will use his years of “in-the-field” experience to give me a 20 minute coaching session of his best advice on what to do before I call my prospect.
· Then, you’ll hear me call the prospect and conduct the Opportunity Analysis for real. This part is about an hour long of me taking the client through the Opportunity Analysis Worksheet. Listen in as I hunt for hidden marketing assets. You’ll hear how I distinguish how my consulting is different from other marketing consultants. You’ll hear me offer my services with my unique risk-free guarantee. You’ll hear all the exciting, fun, educational, and profitable details in this part of the lesson. But even more importantly, you will see how easy this is…and exactly why you can just as easily do the same thing!
· And, finally, at the very end of part three is what we all want to hear from our prospects. It’s the client calling me back to hire me as a consultant. You’ll hear him take my mailing address down so he can send me the money via Federal Express. This was only the second time I have used this Opportunity Analysis Worksheet to sell consulting services. The first is in another recording with an accountant from Australia.
This is real, as it happened, and it’s absolute proof you can do this, too. Other consulting opportunities will tell you how to get clients. They’ll give you loads of unnecessary, untested client generating tools. They’ll give your postcards, newspaper ads, and fancy calculators. You do not need all that stuff. All you need is one thing that works. They’ll tell you how to get clients, but I’ll show you how. I’ll offer you PROOF! All you have to do is follow this proven “recipe.”
Now, go get some clients! When you sign up a client, I’ll show you what to do next using Richard’s Marketing Consulting Training System.
13. You Can Charge For An Opportunity Analysis And Provide Real Value
In this audio, you’ll meet Anthony. Anthony has been actively trying to drum up sales for his mobile billboard business but is barely breaking even every month. Even though he has an innovative new business and some great testimonial letters, he still finds that most people aren’t interested in advertising on his truck. So he has come to me to take a look at his stagnant situation.
During the paid consultation, I take Anthony through an Opportunity Analysis where I recommend he stop pounding the pavement and making ineffective cold calls and start making his sales targeted and automated. Together, Anthony and I dissect his situation, analyze the weaknesses and strengths, and uncover doable solutions that make sense for him.
As it turns out, Anthony’s biggest asset also seems to be his biggest problem – the novelty of the mobile billboard. Because it is a new idea, Anthony finds that people are interested in it, but are also afraid to take a chance on an advertising medium they know little about. I give Anthony some ideas on how to educate consumers about the benefits of his business, which relieves their fears, and effectively gets the word out concerning his business.
We Also Talk About:
- How to assemble a consumer report that will inform and intrigue the public about a little-known product or service – what the report should look like and where to find good, cheap writers to make it happen
- Ways to use direct sales, an 800 number, and a 24-hour recorded message to automate sales and end cold calls
- Great places to find data lists, 800 numbers, and free publicity
- How to use joint venture deals to grow his business significantly without advertising – and who to make those deals with
- Ways to ease consumers’ fears by eliminating risks – establish a can’t-refuse guarantee or run an ad for free
- How to use bartering to turn “down time” into peak time
- And much more!
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