In this episode of The Rainmaking Podcast, host Scott Love speaks with Deb Zahn, seasoned consultant and host of the Craft of Consulting podcast, about how professionals can improve their business development results by preparing more effectively for client meetings and mastering the early stages of closing a deal. Deb explains that closing doesn’t start with the proposal—it begins long before, with selecting the right prospects and doing meaningful prep work to ensure your conversations are targeted, relevant, and engaging.

Deb shares how she researches prospects, anticipates objections, and uses strategic questioning to pivot conversations toward problems she can solve. She emphasizes the importance of making meetings easy and valuable for the client—by being fully prepared, speaking their language, and listening more than you talk. Framing the client’s challenges and offering clarity creates trust and positions the consultant as a problem-solver, not a pitch person. This episode is full of actionable insights for professionals who want to close more deals by making every client interaction count.

https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

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Deb Zahn is a sought-after consultant with 10 years of successful consulting under her belt. As a go-to source in her market, she routinely brings in 6- and 7-figures a year and has built a steady, reliable pipeline of work. Her consulting methods turn her clients into her biggest fans and best marketers. They come back to her again and again and continually send her new clients.

As a consultant, Deb is especially known for her ability to cure “decision-making disorders” with individuals and groups. She also has earned a reputation as “The Closer,” the consultant who can get high-value contracts with hard-to-get clients. Over the last decade, she has coached countless new consultants and helped them fast track their success. Recently, Deb helped a new consultant get their first contract—worth over $100,000—only three weeks after Deb started coaching them.

She is the host of the Craft of Consulting podcast, which features other successful consultants who share their strategies and insights about building their consulting businesses and delighting their clients as well as consulting clients who share what makes some consultants rise to the top of their hire list.

If you want to know more about how to become a consultant, price your services, and get more clients faster, Deb has a wealth of resources to help you, including tools, webinar trainings, online courses, and coaching with Deb: https://www.craftofconsulting.com. Go to “Start Here” for free tools and “Get Help” to dive in deeper and get more help. Also check out Deb’s podcast, the Craft of Consulting wherever you listen to podcasts or on her site: https://www.craftofconsulting.com/podcasts.

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