On the way back to the office, Matthijs evaluated the acquisition conversation he just had. It certainly didn't go badly. To his closing question 'what did you think of this introduction?' his potential client replied that she thought it was a great conversation. Nice.

But what good is such an answer? Matthijs had the feeling that something was missing. Could he have done something better or different? Want to pitch even more appealing? Want more questions? More attention to body language? Of course, these kinds of skills are valuable. Good basic skills form a powerful foundation for commercial success.

But in addition, there is something else you can focus on during acquisition: the hidden questions of your client. If you want to increase your acquisition impact, it is useful to know what questions your conversation partner has in his or her mind, but rarely asks explicitly. Important questions that almost every client wants answers to before deciding whether to work with you.

What are these hidden questions?

1. What's the problem?
2. Who can best solve my problem?
3. Are the revenues higher than the costs?

It is important to answer these implicit questions. If you don't do that, there is little chance that they will say 'yes' to you. Let's explore these three questions further.

1. What's the problem?

A clear definition of the problem is crucial when selling consultancy services. What are the points of attention here?

• A customer may have several problems instead of one, but not know how to combine them into an understandable whole;
• A customer describes a problem, but in reality there is a completely different problem. Example: customer thinks he has a compliance problem when it turns out to be a behavioral problem;
• Customer indicates that he has a specific problem, but in fact has no problem at all.

As a consultant, your role is to help your potential client correctly define the problem. As long as there is no clarity about this, the chance that a potential client will engage you is very small. This therefore offers an excellent opportunity to experience your added value immediately.

2. Who can best solve my problem?

Your client must be convinced that you and your organization are the best party to solve the problem. How do you do that?

If your expertise in the problem area is limited, share generic experiences in similar projects. Avoid in-depth analysis or discussing solutions in detail. You run the risk of customer confidence crumbling because it is not your expertise;

Do you have extensive and in-depth experience? Fine, then make maximum use of it. Take the initiative for an in-depth analysis and discuss broadly possible solutions to the problem. Don't give away the entire solution at this stage, it's too early for that;

Always keep the customer's interests in mind. Feel free to mention that a colleague or other business unit has more experience with the specific customer problem than you. Then initiate a follow-up action in which the colleague or department in question is also involved. This strengthens your credibility and increases your commercial opportunities.

3. Are the revenues higher than the costs?

You need to demonstrate to a potential customer that it is worth the cost and effort to resolve the problem. Three points of attention here:

• Make the return measurable in terms such as payback period and ROI. The more concretely you can demonstrate the return on investment of your services, the easier it will be for your client to work with you;
• Don't just focus on 'hard' value, but also on 'soft' value. Think of more customer satisfaction, higher quality, less liability risk, better image, etc.
• Don't talk about costs but about investments. The amount paid is not a loss, but is more than recouped.

These three hidden questions are not only relevant to your customer. It also gives consultants like Matthijs guidance in commercial activities. This includes preparing for an acquisition meeting and preparing a pitch or quotation. Integrate the answers to these questions into your sales approach and better match the decision criteria of your potential client.