When I'm working with a client, helping him develop his sales and marketing approach, I always start with helping that client think like his client, like the buyer.
The typical result:
- Networking 30-second elevator speech - changes from a few showing weak interest every week or so, to about 5 people at each meeting of 20 or more asking YOU for an appointment.
- Speech - using this approach during a speech, a presentation, has resulted in frequent reports among independent professional business owners of 50% or more of the room asking for more, asking to meet, or signing up for the next step.
- When used as the core marketing message in printed material response rates typically go up 5+ times.
So, if you are getting 1% or less interest, then I've heard numbers like 5+% from some business owners and sales people..
It all starts with understanding your prospect,his pain, problem, want or need, and then his movement through a series of steps.
You must be thinking like your buyer, not like you have been.
The buyer's thought process starts are the far left and moves step by step toward the right in the diagram below.
Awareness --> Solution --> Products (or services) --> Who I'm not going to spend in-depth time on this process (I've completely covered it in other articles..
But, I'll hit the high points here, enough that you'll be kicking butt and taking names, once you've found each of these steps for your specific target audience.
So, let's start with how your prospect thinks.
Awareness
It all starts with him becoming aware of a pain, problem, want or need.Solution
Once he is aware, then he starts looking for a solution.Product/Service
At this stage it is somewhat vague because he doesn't even know enough to find a specific solution.
If he's struggling with "getting enough clients" he may be theorizing with "is it marketing, or sales, or what?"
Once he's narrowed down to a generic solution, he starts looking for the best product or service that provides that solution.Who
Only at this stage, does he start to look for WHO is the best provider of that product/service and solution.This should be a big AHA for most of you.
- this is the FIRST time your prospect even wants to know anything about YOU, your company name, your credentials, how long you've been in business.
I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS POINT ENOUGH!!!.
Look at anyone's website, printed materials, 30-second elevator speech, or whatever.
What does it start with? Company name, business owner's name, and some blurp on "certified [fill in the blank], "20 years of experience in..
..
..
blah blah...
blah" Your prospect IS NOT INTERESTED in you.
His only interest starts around that AWARENESSat the far left..
...
that you know about his pain, and that you just may have the solution to that pain.
Talking about products or you as the first thing he sees or hears isn't in his field of view..
..
PERIOD.
it just won't work...
sto don't start off with YOU, I We, or anything similar.
YOU, I or WE, company name, products, or services,or anything like thatshouldn't be up there at the beginning...
only his pain and solution.
I'll say this VERY CLEARLY - marketing is about GETTING ATTENTION and once you have his attention leading him through those steps from left to right in those thoughts,helping him understand that you are aware of his pain, have a solution, and that you can show him the path to the solution.
That may come through your product, or servie, and through your experience (that's you), but he isn't looking for your product or you when he first comes along, so he'll only be LOOKING for answers around his pain and his solution.
One last point, a decision is made by the buyer at each thought as he moves from left to right.
His decision is "what is the best solution," "what is the best product that provides that solution," and finally "who is the best provider of that product and solution.
" Every decision is based on "THE VALUE" your prospect perceives for any option at that thought.
So, here's another GOLD NUGGET, when you allow your customer to come to his own conclusion of the value of YOUR SOLUTION, YOUR PRODUCT, or YOU he has no clue, so he'll guess and what he guesses won't be to your advantage.
He doesn't know.
So, you have to tell him by telling him in measurable terms..
..
what others have gotten, or "what is typical among your clients" or tell him a story of another client in his shoes.
When you leave him to come to his own conclusion, there are two distinct things that happen, the first is, you are one of many in that box and you are not any different than the others.
Let's look at the product box.
You might say something like I sell [fill in the product] and therefore, IF he does understand the value of your product, and it isn't likely, then you are in that box with thousands of other ...
where's your differentiator without tell him exactly your value and what your clients have gotten before.
And, as I said, he probably has no idea of the value of [your product] so he may not even settle on your product] as one option in the first place.
It all starts around you understanding YOUR VALUE in every one of those boxes, and being able to articulate it to the prospect.
We'll talk about ways to do that that can deliver 50% of a room during a presentation, and 5-10% for direct mail.
Now..
..
I've laid the groundwork to where I was going in the first place.
There is NOTHING more important in successful sales and marketing than what I just said..
..
NOTHING.
As I said at the beginning, Stop Using I, Me, We and Start Using You, Yours, and What do you want Hopefully you see the importance of that concept based on "the Buyer's Thought Process" but now we're going to take that even deeper.
This is where we'll fine tune some steps in marketing and sales that can capture quite a few more customers/marketing or per sales call than even the first part will do.
I was setting with a client just yesterday, working on his "core marketing message" (make sure to develop your core marketing message around the buyer's thought process and watch people respond to you).
We had thoroughly covered "the buyer's thought process" and the basic concepts of developing a powerful, compelling, "core marketing message".
He had it down...
well sort of..
..
and he started saying "I will help my clients through Product A, Product B and Product C.
" I removed the product names to protect my client from severe criticism.
Can you pick that apart yourself? It starts with I, my, and is all about his product.
Here's a guideline: Whenever you hear yourself saying I, my, we, or your product's name or what you'll do FOR a client..
..
STOP..
...
STOP.
It's all about your client..
..
not about you.
Even when a client comes up to youafter you have just impressed the hell out of him from developing the most powerful, compelling speech imaginable, and he asks you "Wow, how do you do that?" or "Wow, tell me about you.
"-- DON'T!!!!! He isn't asking about YOU.
He's still interested in what he'll get.
So, that's the question you answer.
Tell a story about a client that once [had a pain like your prospects...
just name the right one here] and who got..
..
...
(indicate the measurable value).
Then ask the person standing there in AWE of you...
one of these questions:
- "So tell me what are you struggling with?"
- "What is your goal for this year around that?"
- "What was it that I said that caught your ear...
that had you asking me that?"
You don't have to say anything else.
Don't talk about you, your product, no I, no Me, We..
..
keep your prospect talking about what interested him.
When he answers that question..
..
DON'T leap to YOUR answer, or YOUR solution, a good reply might be something like, "How important is it to you that you resolve that?" "Would you like to set down sometime, maybe over coffee, something pretty informal, and dig deeper into a solution for that?" How many times did I use "I, we, me" in any of that? It isn't about you, your product or service.
It is ALL about your prospect's
- Pain
- Wants
- Needs
- And HIS Solution ...
not even Your Solution..
..
HIS