6 Questions To Ask Every Client (#2)

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“Why do you see me / my firm as the BEST OPTION?”

The first question was focused on the factor/s that prompts a qualified prospect to understand why they need something you do or offer.

This question is designed to help you learn what it is about you that makes an Ideal Client perceive you as the best source of the solution they’re seeking.  In other words, why do Ideal Clients perceive you to be a Preferred Provider of the solution they’re seeking?

The first question dealt with a MACRO issue . . . what’s the problem or PAIN that makes your kind of service relevant or desired?

This question deals with a MICRO issue . . . what is it about you / your firm that, all things being equal, makes you appear (everything is perception, right?) to be the BEST OPTION to get the solution they want?

Again, knowing what makes you STAND OUT to the kind of people you want to attract (at your competitors’ expense, of course) will help you attract the attention of and response from people who can best understand, value and desire the beneficial difference you can provide with your problem-solving expertise and services.

This question . . . is all about you . . . it’s all about what tells an Ideal Client that YOU . . . are the best provider of the solution someone wants.

KEY POINT:
Learn what makes you BETTER than your competitors . . . as your Ideal Client sees it!

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6 Questions To Ask Every Client (#1)

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“What made you to seek out someone like me?” 

As a marketer, you are blessed (or, maybe cursed!) with an insatiable curiosity about many things.  And whatever motivates your prospects is something you’ll find pretty fascinating.

This question is designed to help you learn what problem or PAIN your prospect is experiencing that makes you relevant.

Learning the ‘PAIN points’ that cause people to see you as valuable and relevant to their happiness is very valuable information for you to know.  Why?  So you can use it in your marketing MESSAGES that will help you attract the attention of people who may best understand, value and desire the beneficial difference you can provide with your problem-solving expertise and services.

This question is not about you . . . it’s all about your prospect and their ‘issues’.

KEY POINT:
Learn what makes you relevant . . . as only your Ideal Client can tell you!

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Media: The Vehicles That Carry Your Message

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Media is a very important part of your marketing.

In days gone by, that term meant mass media — radio, TV and print media.  Today though, that’s all changed.  Radically!

Modern Media Means . . . The Internet
There’s some good news here.  Especially if you don’t have a lot funding for a ‘massive media’ campaign.

It’s the online media that you’ll find is increasingly important in helping you get your Message to your Market and it’s a key to attracting new prospective clients to you, as well.

I just received an email today and it said, “Bill, every time I search anything business related on Google somewhere on my first search page I see you have posted or commented a relevant article thru Google +. However last night I was searching “extra long retractable dog leashes” and there you were again!  Bill get off the computer and spend some time with your family”.

I replied, “It’s the fact that I have an active BLOG (modern media, right?) that causes me to get that kind of media exposure.  I don’t spend time away from my family.  I just blog consistently and that . . . is paying off in increased traffic and conversions on my site.”

KEY POINT:
Media is increasingly online and that makes it effective and very affordable.  Learn to harness the internet and you’ll be glad you did! 

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Message: Communicating Your Mission

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How do you communicate the essence of your Mission to your market?  Your Message, of course!

Actually, there are many messages you can use to do that . . .

Message
You’ve heard, I’m sure, about ‘Elevator’ pitches — the short, pithy ‘commercial’ you can use with a stranger to help them think you’re ‘All That’?  Well, that’s not the same ‘message’ I have in mind here.

Behavior Speaks Louder Than Words
There are messages and then there are messages.  I’d like you to think about this.  You want to find a way to be so clear about your Mission that your Market really understands why you’re a better provider of what you do than others in your field.

I worked with a remodeling contractor once.  He paid his workers to wash their trucks each night, paid for them to dryclean their uniforms (yeah, he gave them uniforms, too) and insisted that they always put on surgical booties before entering a home to do a proposal or actual work.

What do you think all that did?  It gave a lasting and memorable Message that this man cares about what his customers care about . . . their home!  Think you can find some ways to get your Message across without using a big neon sign?  I hope so!

KEY POINT:
Messaging isn’t always about words said or put on paper . . . Actions speak for themselves! 

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Market: The People Who Love Ya Baby

Once you have some clarity on your Mission, you’ll want to find the Market of people who can best understand, value and afford the valuable beneficial difference you can create in their life.

Market
This is just a group of people who truly ‘get’ what it is you can do for a client.  Not everyone can.  So  your market is not ‘everyone’.  Why? Because not everyone will value, understand, desire, afford, etc. who you are and what you do.

Funny (but true!) example of a Market
I love the story about a young dentist who graduated and quickly realized he would be ‘new kid on the block’ and ‘low man on the totem pole’ if he joined an established dental practice as an associate.  So he figured out  how to open his own office and do so without the heavy investment of capital he certainly didn’t have right out of dental school.

He approached a local dentist and asked, “How much money is your operatory making after you close your doors each night?”  The dentist said, “Nothing”.  The new dentist said, “I’ll change that and help you retire earlier and better, too”.

He was located in a manufacturing center in the midwest.  The 2nd shift workers typically didn’t find dentists open when they’d get off work.  So he opened up the other doctor’s office from 11 PM to 6 AM and pulled in a unique group of factory workers — his market.  Why? Because his mission was to be the dentist who’s “ready when you are”.  It worked very well and he found a market who loved his mission.

KEY POINT:
Market . . . is a group of people who best understand, value and afford the value you offer! 

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Mission: Your Beneficial Difference

This week will be focused on five (5) keys to getting better at marketing the services you offer.

First up:  MISSION
Sure, it sounds like you’re about to launch off the deck of an aircraft carrier.  But sorry.  No. You’re not going to have to do anything like that.

What you will do, however, is find what is known as the ‘Beneficial Difference’ you make in the life of your client.

It’s WHAT you do ‘for’ someone and, it’s WHY they care to part with their hard-earned funds and hand them over to you.

One of the best ‘Missions’ I’ve ever heard:
You’ve probably heard the VP at Craftsman — the Sears subsidiary that argued, “We don’t sell hand-drills . . . we sell holes”  or the executives at Kodak that said, “We don’t sell film (well, not anymore!) . . . we sell memories”.

But the ‘top prize’ has to go to Helena Rubenstein, the cosmetics mogul who once was reported to say to a reporter, “I am not in the cosmetics business, dear . . . I’m in the “I want to get lucky on Saturday night’ business . . . and if I forget that, I won’t sell very many cosmetics!”

KEY POINT:
Mission . . . is the beneficial difference you make in the life of your client 

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Making Your Message Clear

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If you meet someone at a business event, a conference, etc. you have a very (VERY!) short window of opportunity to communicate your value proposition to them.

16 Seconds . . . it’s all you really need!
Here’s a product that’s using a YouTube video to explain what it does . . . in 16 seconds:

Can you do as well?  If not, study this little video . . . you might learn a lot . . . about clarity and focus and getting your value across.

KEY POINT:
Making your message . . . moving . . . takes work . . . but not a lot of time 

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Recovering from Disaster

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” __ __ __ __  Happens!!”
Yes, it does.  There’s even a bumper-sticker based on that truth! A colleague and I just lived through our own little ‘train wreck’.  We weren’t responsible for it.  But we were able to respond and recover from it.

In fact, there’s a good lesson here on how YOU can make the most of a difficult situation when the __ __ __ __  hits the fan!

Step 1:  Don’t Blame
It’s tempting.  But it won’t change the situation.  It usually makes it take longer to resolve.

Step 2: Take Ownership of The Recovery Process
A personal commitment to do ‘whatever’ it takes to correct the situation is vital.  It forces you to focus on the future (under your control) vs. the past (not under your control).  That’s positive.  And, productive.

Step 3:  Commit To Specific Individuals That You’ll Correct The Situation
Seek out the people who are most compromised by the situation and pledge your personal commitment to make them whole, again.  Write them a ‘check’ to fix it.  Then, ‘cash’ it.

Step 4:  Make a Plan of Action to Correct The Situation
Learn why the problem developed.  That helps you develop a set of actions that will correct the current situation . . . and prevent it from happening in the future.

Step 5:  Implement Your Plan
Once you know WHY the problem happened and WHAT you must to do to correct it . . . DO IT!  Nothing changes until your intentions become true actions.

KEY POINT:
Stuff happens.  After that, anything else that happens is really up to Y-O-U.

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Ignorance Isn’t a Bad Thing

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“I don’t know” isn’t the end of the world
When I was starting out in business, I was reluctant to tell a prospect, “I don’t know” when I was asked a question about how taxes, policy provisions or  business law would affect them.

As I ‘matured’ in my career, I learned to get real — real comfortable admitting, “I don’t know” to many of the questions I was being asked.

Be ‘OK’ being ‘Not-OK’
Social psychologists have proven over and over again that your ability to openly acknowledge that you are NOT perfect . . . that you don’t have all the answers . . . actually makes you more attractive to a prospective client.

Seek to demonstrate . . . “Credible Candor”
The fact is . . . your ‘trustworthiness’ factor goes up whenever you exhibit what I call, “Credible Candor”.  This means you say, when it’s true, “I don’t know”.  This makes you more ‘real’ (i.e. less ‘plastic’) and, therefore highly attractive to prospects.  Just be sure you add something like, “. . . but I’ll make sure I find out for you!”.

What you DO is more telling than anything you might SAY to a prospect or client.  Behavior that reveals you’re not perfect in every way – makes you seem  even more perfect to others.

KEY POINT:
Be Human . . . you’ll reveal your imperfections . . . and become more attractive 

 

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Offering Value . . . Attracts Blog Traffic

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If you have kids, you understand.  If you want them to do something you want, you have to address the old ‘WIIFM’ — “What’s In It For Me?” issue in terms they’ll appreciate.

Valued Content ATTRACTS . . . People To You
A key purpose of blogging is to attract people to you who care about what you know and what you can do . . . for them.  Your blog’s content needs to address what your desired readers want to know and, if known, is likely to produce significant value for them to enjoy.

Click on the image above.  If you were a financial advisor, a mortgage broker, a P&C agent, an attorney or even a CPA . . . offering such information would be very likely to attract people whose need-to-know aligns nicely with your expertise and services, wouldn’t it?  See?

Valued Content CONVICTS . . . People About Your Authority
A good post will cause people to find you.  That’s what organic search is all about — causing your post/s to appear on ‘Page 1’ when a prospective client types a query into Google.

But the post itself must render meaningful value in the form of useful insights and practical actions that a blog reader can use to enhance their life.  When you do that, people see you as an expert in your field.  That translates into AUTHORITY which builds your CREDIBILITY and reduces the RISK of hiring you.

KEY POINT:
Offering VALUABLE content is ATTRACTIVE and builds AUTHORITY for you and your business 

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