Don’t Sell Your Services; that’s Not What People Buy

Believe it or not, no one actually buys your service. No one buys coaching. No one buys consulting. No one buys financial planning. So what do people buy? Well, there are, in fact, two things people buy.

The first thing people buy is a solution to a problem. People buy a service only because they believe it will solve certain problems and give them certain results.

For this weeks meeting share what problems do you solve for people.

They are not buying the “how” of a service. Your service is simply the “how” you do it. Your service is the tool or method you use to solve problems and deliver results. Do you buy a hammer because you just want a hammer? Do you buy a car because you just want a car? Do you go to the dentist because you happen to feel like being drilled?

These examples show you that you are buying a solution to a problem; you are buying a result. You would not buy a hammer, a car or go to the dentist unless they all solved problems and delivered results. Just suppose you focus on telling someone all about “how” your coaching and consulting service works and what it is.

At the end of the conversation (if they are still listening), they will have a good understanding of your “how” but they’ll be left wondering what problems you will solve for them and what results you will deliver. If people do not know what problems you will solve for them and the results you will deliver, it is highly unlikely that they will buy your service.

If however you focus on understanding their problems and the results they will get, you will be focussing on what people are buying and your chances of success will be dramatically increased.

The second thing people buy is YOU

Once someone has decided they have a problem they want solved, they then make a decision as to who will solve it for them.

If you have focused the conversation on telling them all about your “how” and what your service is, they will feel that you are focussed on yourself and your needs. When the focus is on you, people get the sense that you have your own best interest at heart and don’t really care about them. They will start to think you are simply trying to sell them something, and all sorts of sales resistance will surface.

If you have been focussing the conversation on understanding their problems, they will feel that you have their best interests at heart.
They will start to trust you and open up to you. They will naturally decide you are the person to solve their problems (assuming of course there are problems to be solved, etc).

So in summary, don’t focus on selling your services.

Instead, have conversations where you focus on understanding problems and then people will assume you know “how” to deliver results. The more you focus on understanding their problems, the more they will trust that you are the one they should be working with.

It is always great to go back and practice introducing yourself and your business to your group. In your elevator speech you want to succinctlytell the person you are talking with who you are, who you work with and why they choose to work with you. It is about really capturing the interest so that the person you are speaking with says ‘Really? that sounds interesting, tell me more!’

In our members-only area we have a form “1-Minute-Introduction-Hints-and-Tips” you can jump online or click here to download the form. This will give you some questions and guidelines to help you introduce yourself.

If you’re interested in hearing feedback, and your facilitator has time, please ask for feedback. Venus is a forum for learning, developing and growing. In a supportive way your group members can help you develop your One Minute Introduction so that it rocks!

Enjoy,

Vanessa

Thanks to Lindsay from the Kapiti Group for recommending we get back to basics and use this weeks meeting to practice our 1 minute introduction.

Five Strategies To Minimize Risk
©Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation, 2009

Is it risky to buy from you? This is the question your prospects will be asking themselves before they buy from you.

They want to know that you are capable of delivering the results they want and that you will actually deliver them. No matter how good your product is, if you are perceived as risky, your prospect will not buy from you.

Conversely, people will knowingly buy inferior products if they perceive the risk is less and that there is more of a guarantee they will get the outcome they are looking for.

Risk is a huge deciding factor, so how do you convey that you are the lowest-risk solution? Here are five strategies:

Strategy #1: Brainstorm all the reasons why you are the lowest-risk solution for your prospect.

Why are your prospects assured of getting the outcomes they want from your solution? What specific features of your product assure them they will get that outcome? What support do you offer that ensures they will get that outcome? Why should they feel assured you will be around next year to support them? You must be crystal-clear in your own mind about why you are the lowest-risk solution before you can explain it to your prospect.

Strategy #2: Brainstorm all the reasons why your prospects might perceive you as a risky solution.

Put yourself in their shoes. Be honest with yourself. If you were your competition, what would you say about the risk of your solution?

Now reframe that risk so it is not a risk. Turn it completely around to something positive. De-risk the risk!

In 2002 I was selling a billing solution to a telecommunications company. We were perceived by the prospect as high-risk as we had no references and we were using new, very advanced, technology.

I reframed that risk and told my prospect that we were actually the lowest-risk solution because we had the advanced technology that no one else had implemented. I went on to explain that, because this new technology would help them get ahead of their competition, it represented the lowest risk because it minimized the risk of competition in the future. They saw my point, and this was a major reason for their decision to buy the solution . . . for several million dollars, I might add.

You must name the elephant in the room, so to speak. Turn the perceived risk around to your advantage.

Strategy #3: Be prepared with customer testimonials and case studies that talk about specific results.

The more customer testimonials and case studies you have, the more comfortable your prospect will feel and the less risky you will be perceived. Even if you have only one or two, they can be powerful risk- minimizers.

Strategy #4: Make sure your true intent is to help your prospects get what they want, not to sell them something.

Always – and I mean always – act in alignment with this intent. If you do, your prospects will trust you. When your prospects trust you, they will perceive you as less risky.

Strategy #5: Have a very open conversation with your prospect and tell them you are the lowest- risk solution and why.

Tell your prospects all the reasons why you are the lowest-risk solution, including those risks you have turned around in Strategy #2.

Go into as much detail and depth on each point as you need to in order to make them feel comfortable. Ask them if they are confident in the reasons you have mentioned or if they still have questions. If you have built rapport and trust, they will tell you in what areas they still perceive you are risky. This conversation can be a very revealing – and rewarding – one.

Implement these five strategies and your prospects will see you as the lowest-risk solution- and maybe even the no-risk solution. More sales are sure to follow.
Tessa Stowe teaches small business owners and recovering salespeople simple steps to turn conversations into clients without being sales-y or pushy. Her FREE monthly Sales Conversation newsletter is full of tips on how to sell your services by just being yourself. Sign up now at www.salesconversation.com.

Five Steps to More Customer Referrals

Forget cold calling! The best way to expand your business is to convert your customers into sales people who generate new business for you. Get them to recommend you and you’ll discover the shortest sell cycles you’ve ever had.

How do you get more referrals?
A smart way to grow your business in today’s economy is to set up a referral program.

Contrary to popular belief, customer referrals don’t just happen. They require an intentional effort to get the right people talking about your company and your products.

With a little know-how and a lot of hard work, you can put customer referrals to work in your business. Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Be selective – choose clients who love to rave about you
Not all of your clients and customers will be good prospects for referrals. Your job is to identify and cultivate the clients who have the potential to promote your business to the right people. Who are the clients who LOVE your business? Who are the clients who appreciate you? You should be looking for clients who have expressed enthusiasm about your products and services. 

2. Ask and you shall receive
Once you have identified clients who you think will be great at raving about your business, your next step is to ask them if they would be willing to make recommendations on your behalf. Some business owners find asking to be the most difficult part of the referral process. But the fact is that until you ask for them, they wont know you are wanting them to refer business your way. You won’t get the volume of referrals you want in your business until you step out of your comfort zone and ask. When your clients RAVE about you, they look like a hero if they refer someone great. It is a win/win.

3. Educate people about your business
Asking for referrals is important. But it’s also important to provide your clients with the selling tools they need to promote your products. This can be done any number of ways ranging from short e-mail announcements about special promotions to taking a key client out to lunch to educate her about the scope of your products and services. Be creative. But more importantly, keep your existing clients in the loop.

4. Create incentives – show your appreciation
Everyone likes to feel special. One of the best things you can do for your business’ referral program is to reward clients who successfully refer your products and services to other clients. Sometimes these rewards may come in the form of discounts. Sometimes they may come in the form of free gifts or services. Whatever the reward, consistently reinforce the fact that you appreciate and value customers who are willing to help you promote your company.

5. Plan and track
Developing a marketing referral plan is probably the last thing on your mind. But if you are really interested in jumpstarting customer referrals, it should be the first. A marketing referral plan identifies your target customer base and establishes referral goals for a given time period. It also contains a mechanism to monitor how effective your referral system is working. (This could be as simple as asking customers how they heard about your company.) The result is a customer referral program that can easily be analyzed and adjusted to suit your needs and goals as a small business owner
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Building trust between you and your potential client is a very important step that needs to occur first or else they won’t buy from you. In fact, building trust is a prerequisite to selling. So how do you go about building this trust? Following are 6 tips…

• Tip #1 When having a sales conversation, explore whether you can help the person get what they want. Forget about selling because as soon as someone feels you’re trying to sell something, they’ll instinctively not trust you. That’s just human nature. If, however, someone feels you are genuinely trying to help them, then they’ll be more likely to trust you and buy from you.

• Tip #2 Ask questions — be sincere.
  When you sincerely ask a potential client questions and you come from the perspective that you want to understand if you can help them, the more likely they are to trust you. Please note that I use the word “sincerely.” People will know if you’re just asking questions because you think you ought to.
• Tip #3 Listen to people
  When you ask someone questions, actively and sincerely (there’s that word again) listen to their answers. Put yourself in their shoes and listen from their perspective. Be fully present and release all judgement. The more you sincerely listen to someone the more they will trust you.
• Tip #4 Watch what you’re thinking.
  You may not realize it, but when you’re talking to a potential client, they will pick up on what you’re thinking and feeling. There is no hiding this! Therefore, before you have a sales conversation get in the appropriate thinking mode so you’re feeling and thinking thoughts that will result in the person trusting you.
• Tip #5 Do what it takes to build up your confidence.
  If you don’t feel confident about having a sales conversation, people will sense it. If you’re not confident, chances are the person you’re talking to will not feel confident about you. This will impact the level of trust. Identify ways you can increase your confidence in having a sales conversation. What courses can you take, what books can you read and so on?
• Tip #6 ‘Be’ Your Word.
  In your conversations with people, ensure that what you say you will do and what you do are in 100% alignment. If you’re not in alignment you won’t go far. ‘Be’ your word and people (including yourself) will trust you.

Implement these 6 simple tips and you’ll be amazed at the increase in trust you’ll generate. I assure you this will result in more business for you.

Twitter, tweets, twittering, tweeps – what??!!

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s time to catch up on the latest social media phenomenon – Twitter.

How it works:
With Twitter you send short messages of 140 characters or less – these are known as “tweets” — to any other Twitter member (a tweep) who has chosen to “follow” you. You can send the messages from your computer and you can send or receive tweets via your cell phone.

Twitter accounts are free, and if you learn how to gather a community of followers, you have an audience that you can reach out and “tweet” your message to anytime, anywhere. If your Tweets are helpful, entertaining or just plain great, your followers will pass the Tweet to their followers, and so on and so on…

Another awesome post by Sheryl Mangold from huiadesign – the queen of online networking and marketing.