Don't lose sales!

“I don’t understand it,” my client said.”I stepped through the sales conversation very clearly. I know that the person I was speaking to needs my services.” “Did you explore with her what it was costing her in her life to stay where she is now?” I asked. “Absolutely! She was almost in tears. She knows she has a problem. But when I explained what I offered, she just didn’t seem that interested.” In going over the sales conversation with my client, it turns out that the problem was that she didn’t connect the dots between the potential client’s problem and her solution. This one step can make the difference between closing lots of clients, and watching your ideal clients walk away, only to work with someone else. Here’s how you do this: 1. Spell out the solution. You explain WHY a certain component of your offering will solve a problem for the client. Don’t assume that they will figure this out! You have to spell it out. For example, if someone came to me and said ‘I just can’t seem to attract any clients, I don’t know where they are’ I might think ‘OK, this person needs a marketing plan.’ However, if I just say ‘We’ll create a marketing plan’ she may not realize that ‘a marketing plan’ will take care of her ‘Can’t seem to attract clients’ problem. Instead, I should say ‘One of the best ways I know to find and attract your ideal clients is to have a rock-solid marketing plan. How does that sound to you?’ Now I’ve connected the need to the solution. 2. Get on the same page. You get the prospective client’s agreement that this is, indeed, what she needs. Then you ask ‘Does this make sense? Are we in agreement that you need a marketing plan?’ Your prospect may say ‘Oh, yes’ or ‘I don’t really understand, tell me more.’ Either way, you can make sure that the two of you are on the same page. Your expertise in your area is one reason that the prospective client is talking to you. Expertise is a great thing, but it can also lead you to assume that someone knows as much as you do. You need to make sure that she sees the situation with the same clarity as you do, or there will be no urgency for your solution. (Warning: you CAN take this overboard, and try to explain everything to your prospective client. Don’t do that. Instead, explain enough now to get her agreement that your solution is needed, and move on.) Once you and your prospective client are on the same page, it will be much easier for her to say ‘yes’ to you when it’s a fit.