What’s Your Problem?

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Are you FRUSTRATED by your prospects?
Are people just not ‘getting’ how fortunate they are to work with you? Do you find yourself compelled to sell the value you offer . . . a little harder than you like?

Maybe you’re appealing to the WRONG people. David Sandler, founder of Sandler Training used to say, “There are no bad prospects.  Only bad salespeople“.  He was correct.

Marketing’s no different.  Your service is probably fine BUT . . . your targeting may be off.

You may be wondering, erroneously, “Is something wrong with my product or service?”. In fact, there may be nothing wrong at all.  Nothing, that is, except that you’re appealing to people who simply cannot understand, value and act upon the great value you’re offering.

KEY POINT:
If people aren’t appreciating what you do . . . change WHO you’re appealing to!

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Are You in a Hurry?

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I was just reminded of how BUSY we all are.

A friend asked me to post / re-post on my facebook page about a great little audio on “How To Craft a Simple and Compelling Sales Message”.  I did.

Unfortunately, I almost immediately got a response back from another colleague on my facebook wall with a not-so-thinly veiled complaint that, “I’ve listened to this guy for 6 minutes and he STILL has not addressed the topic!”.

We live in an age of microwave mentality.  The internet has both expanded our horizons and contracted our patience.  Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, if you ignore this reality, it will cost you dearly in terms of your prospects’ attention, goodwill and revenues.

KEY POINT:
With online media, make your point . . . quickly, succinctly and effectively!

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Question 4: “What Do People Say?”

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Becoming remark-able is no easy feat.  It’s not impossible, either. You have to look closely at your business or practice through a very important perspective — your client’s!  So . . . Question 4:

“If a friend or colleague asked you, “What does (our firm) do, really?  What would you tell them?”

This will reveal how your best brand ambassadors understand your value proposition.

Of course, what you learn may not align with what you want to hear!  If so, just remember, “The Truth Shall Set You Free” is very true.  In this case, knowledge IS power and it’s something you definitely want to know and understand more than you want to ignore.

KEY POINT:
Seeing your value through your clients’ eyes is a key in becoming a remarkable and referable practice!

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Question 3: “What Would You Change?”

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“Change Happens” is a great saying.  Substitute anything else you’d like for ‘change’, but it does happen.  And growth accompanies it.  Usually.  Your business is no exception.

Feedback Makes You MORE Remark-able and Refer-able
Problem is . . . we don’t invite feedback about what we might want to change.  Not often enough.  Not from our clients.  But they know us best.  Right?  So invite feedback –– not to beat yourself up, but to make yourself and your business as competitive as possible!

So Question #3 is:  “WHAT would you change about our business . . . and, WHY?”
Listen closely.  You’ll hear opportunities to be even more remarkable than you are now.

KEY POINT:
Learning WHAT your best clients would change and WHY will keep you competitive, remarkable and very referable, too.

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Question 2: “Who ELSE . . . and . . . WHY?”

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As helpful as it is to learn why YOU are so attractive to your Ideal Client, you’ll also want to know who else might be your client’s ‘Next Best . . . Fling’. So here’s question #2:
“If I wasn’t available to work with you . . . WHO ELSE would you consider using to gain the benefit I’ve provided to you?”

Don’t take it personally, but you’re never the only fish in the sea.  Granted, you looked like the BEST fish to your client.  But there are others. There always are. So you want to know WHO ELSE your Ideal client is aware of and WHY they’d consider using them.

WHO and WHY
Asking ‘who else’ reveals your serious competitors.  Asking ‘why’ your Ideal Client feels they merit consideration reveals their value proposition.  This helps you position yourself and your services relative to your true competition.  A friend of mine – Fred Wergeles – calls this ‘competitive intelligence’.  Intelligence and insight are always good to have!

KEY POINT:
Learning who your competition is and why they’re attractive will help you remain more competitive!

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“Oh, One LAST Question . . .”

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By now you’ve learned what you need for an effective testimonial:
1.  OBSTACLE . . . that prevented action with you in the first place
2.  RESULT . . . enjoyed as a result of actually using your service/s
3.  KEY ELEMENT . . . that produced the result enjoyed
4.  KEY BENEFIT  . . . your service produced for your client
5.  ADDITIONAL BENEFITS . . . easier once the first one is defined

So your last question, “Is there anything else you’d like to say?” may (or, may not) provide something new.  But, you never know until you ask!

I interview people for articles I write and I like to use a similar question after I’m ready to stop.  Funny, but simply asking, “Anything I did NOT ask that you’d like to address?” often generates some of the best parts of my interviews.  Not always, of course.  But often enough that I’ve trained myself to pose that question to someone I’m interviewing.

KEY POINT:
When you think you’re ‘all set’, remember to pose this final (and sometimes very revealing!) question

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The Key Question

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Now you’re at the point where you want to ask a client a very important question:  “Would you recommend me to others?”

This goes far beyond the benefit of being able to say, “97% of our clients recommend us” — good as that is.  Here’s what’s going on.

Psychological Integrity
When someone agrees they would recommend your services, they are compelled psychologically to ‘defend’ their recommendation.  If they aren’t willing to do that, they probably won’t recommend you in the first place.

So, a client is willing to recommend you?  Congratulations!  Now, ask them, ‘Why?”

That requires them to justify their position. It also commits them to uphold their decision to recommend your services. This means that, when someone asks, they’ll feel compelled to vigorously defend their recommendation.  That’s very powerful.  And, very good.  For you.

KEY POINT:
Getting a recommendation is great news.  Asking a client “WHY?” is even better!

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Prime The Testimonial Pump

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Alright.  You’ve now found a major OBSTACLE, a BENEFIT that outweighed it, as well as a single FACTOR that produced it.  Now what?  Go for more!  Focusing on one factor effectively ‘primed’ your client’s mental pump.  Now it’s time to leverage that opportunity you’ve created.

“Besides the benefit you cited, what are 3 other BENEFITS that you’ve enjoyed by using my services?”

Here’s the logic.  It’s easier to expand on a single, specific benefit than it is to come up with 3 benefits ‘out of the blue’.  It’s about ASSOCIATION.  If someone says, “I find I’m getting to work faster and easier” it’s relatively easy to think of how that means that . . . “I get more work done now” or “It’s easier to get my boss to notice me” or “I’m less stressed when I get to work”.  See how a ‘root’ benefit naturally leads a client to see the implications of it?

Once you ‘uncork’ the benefit bottle, the contents (related benefits) will start to flow.

KEY POINT:
Leverage the initial benefit to learn new ones your service produces for your clients.

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Focus on ONE Feature

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Once you know the OBSTACLE  to acting on your service and the BENEFIT gained once they did, you want to get specific.  You want to FOCUS on one aspect of the service or program or product you provided that really ‘stood out’ to your client.

Here then, is your third question.  “Was there ONE thing about my services that was really significant . . . that caused you to enjoy the benefit you just mentioned?”

By asking your client to focus on just one thing, you make it easier for them to provide you with a testimonial.

Too often we ask, “Why did you like . . . ?” and they don’t know where to begin!  It’s so easy to overwhelm someone.  Instead, ask your client to focus on ONE thing . . . ONE aspect or ONE feature of your service that they feel might be the basis for their getting the benefit they just mentioned to you in response to question #2.

KEY POINT:
Focus . . . is powerful.  Focus is also the key to discovering the basis for the benefit they’ve enjoyed from your services.

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Testimonials Must Mirror Obstacles

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Once you know WHY someone might hesitate to use your services, you can address it. This is the real ‘acid test’ of any testimonial worth it’s salt — “Does it address (and thereby defuse / overcome) an obstacle that could prevent a prospective client from taking action . . . with you?”

So here’s the next question you want to ask a client who’s been happy with your services. “Tell me, what did you actually gain as a result of using my services?”

LISTEN!  You’ll learn what your services did that, in the end, addressed your client’s concern (the obstacle to action). Knowing the benefit of your service that addressed the obstacle clients had to overcome to use your services will make it easier for you to provide ‘Obstacle-specific and relevant’ testimonials to future prospective clients for your services.

Now, when you hear or sense why someone is hesitant to move forward with you, you can provide a relevant testimonial that will (of course) address, defuse and overcome the specific basis for their hesitancy. That’s powerful!

KEY POINT:
Testimonials that address the concerns your prospects have with specificity and relevance are most effective.

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