Business Development Archives | Page 11 of 12

“What you focus on changes your behaviour – for better or worse.”

~Chandell Labbozzetta

The Angle Changes the Meaning

I love drawing and sketching. It’s fun looking at ‘ordinary items’ from different perspectives because the angle you are viewing from affects how you see them and changing your perspective can complete change their meaning.

It’s the same in our lives. When you take a different angle on a familiar situation or behaviour you often discover something completely new. This is particularly powerful when it’s a question of addressing situations or people which cause you frustration because an apparently minor shift can create totally new possibilities.

Shift Behaviour by Changing Your View

In Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) there is a simple technique that helps you shift your focus. Traditionally, it is used to help resolve inter-personal conflicts but it is also helpful in problem solving because it helps you look at your problem through new eyes which then opens up the possibility of new solutions.

Recently, I was at a personal development course and we were exploring our attitudes and reactions through a series of games that challenged us to shift our focus. The exercise forced me to look at my behaviour from different angles, and that simple shift caused it to change… in an empowering way.

What fascinated me most is that the change was brought about not by focusing on changing the behaviour itself, but simply by shifting my point of view.

A New Perspective Creates Unimagined Possibilities

Think about what this could mean for you (and for the world).

It’s a common aphorism that the thinking used to create a problem cannot also be used to solve it, therefore…

If you would like to find innovative solutions that may not require as much compromise, you need to step away from your current approaches and look for something new.

So, here’s a question for you: are there situations or behaviours you would like to change (or need to change), or so that in twelve months’ time you can look back and say, “Wow! I can’t believe how far I have come!”?

If so…

What Would It Take to Create a Completely Different Solution?

Here at LifePuzzle we believe that when a problem is created, a solution that is within your control is also created. Over the years we’ve worked with companies, teams, and individuals and helped them transform their outcomes… Even when change seemed impossible.

One of the characteristics of human beings is our ability to adapt and grow. When you realise that the reality you experience today isn’t something that has to be true tomorrow you are ready to take personal responsibility for change.

In our Corporate and Team programs we don’t just work with the group as a whole, we also work with individuals because each person has the potential to be the difference that makes the difference.

It all starts with a HOWTO Session that brings clarity and helps you focus on what you really want so that you can make the decisions you need to make. Book your session soon!

Book Your H.O.W.T.O. Session

The Secret Method few People Use

When I ask business owners what they want most, there are a few top answers including:

More time;
Better business skills; and
More profitable sales;

But when we boil it down, it really turns out that what they need is more appointments with qualified prospects… because that turns into less time wasted and more profitable sales.

I love the fact that this is their biggest desire, because the solution is right there in front of you: a piece of equipment that you already own and use often… your mobile phone.

It makes sense, when you think about it. Email and social media are overcrowded, you may even be overwhelmed by text messages, but when you call, you stand out.

Maybe you find cold calling intimidating… even terrifying. Lots of people do, including the team I worked with which was the basis of my book, “Confident Closing”. But, it’s a great way to create opportunities, make appointments, and generate income, and, if you use it in conjunction with social media and email, it doesn’t even need to be all that “cold”.

My 9-Step Cold Calling System

Know your product or service inside and out;
Make a list of all the reasons it would be worthwhile purchasing it;
Uncover all the questions prospects might ask about it;
Find meaningful answers to those questions;
Create a script to explain your product or service, record that script, and learn it by heart;
Think of 3 ‘hook statements’ you could use to introduce yourself. These are things you could say that would make your ideal prospect really curious about your solution and you can also use them if you need to leave a voice message. Have a 10 second version ready as well;
Identify 10 people who would be ideal prospects.
Mentally prepare yourself for the call and visualise a successful outcome.
Pick up the phone and test your ‘hook statements’ and script by calling your prospects. Do this in a single block while you’re in the mood and have momentum. If a person doesn’t answer, leave a voice message using one of your ‘hook statements’.

You’ll notice this is not an effortless process – like most things that get results it takes real work and thought, but you’ll be surprised at how many appointments you can actually generate using this process…

I usually end up with about 8 or 9 appointments from every 10 calls, if I’ve chosen my candidates properly (and I often close almost 85% of my appointments), but anything over 3 out of 10 represents a significant number of potential sales and, if you’ve done a good job of outlining your product or service during the call, you can expect to close over 70% of your appointments.

When people ask me in sales trainings how they can turn their no’s into yes’s, I get a creeped-out feeling because the underlying assumption is often: How can I manipulate everyone into saying ‘yes’ to my sales pitch? And those are the kind of sales techniques that make sales people feel scummy.

The truth is that you want people to say no if your product or service isn’t right for them and you always want people to know that they can say, ‘no’ if the product doesn’t fit their needs or their budget. However, if you’re hearing a lot of no’s from prospects who really are qualified candidates then there are two underlying problems you need to consider.

The Two Main Reasons that People say ‘No’ are…

Certainty: I’m not confident that your product or service is really the solution I need; and
Trust: I’m convinced about the solution, but I’m not sure you are the right person to deliver it.

Either of these can be deal breakers… or at the least deal delayers, so it’s important to look at where those objections are coming from.

In the 13-week Profitable Business Accelerator course and with many of my private coaching clients we work on exactly HOW you can increase the levels of both trust and certainty in prospects to make it easier for them to say ‘yes’ with confidence.

Increasing Certainty

This affects your prospect’s confidence in your value proposition and reduces rejection on the basis of doubt and fear about your solution.

Indications that you need to work on building more certainty into your presentation are:

Questions about price;
Technical questions about specific features and benefits;
The prospect is looking at different solutions to the problem (rather than different solution-providers)

You can increase certainty in the value of your solution through your elevator pitch and your presentation. You know that you’ve done a good job (or that your solution doesn’t fit) when your prospect’s focus changes from “What will I do?” To “Who will I get to provide this solution?”

Increasing Trust

This relates to your prospect’s confidence in your ability to actually provide the solution. It may be based on their perception of your capacity and expertise, the degree of relationship and rapport they have with you, and their existing relationships with other providers of the same solution.

Indications that you need to work on developing more trust through your presentation are:

Questions about capacity and timing;
Questions about process;
Indications that they are talking to (or plan to talk to) other providers of the same solution.

You should work on increasing the level of trust you engender by ensuring that your appointment-setting script and follow up process builds your prestige and fosters relationship; that you presentation materials highlight your expertise, and by changing your proposal and post-appointment follow up process.

Learning how to build relationships that foster both certainty and trust is vital for your career as an influencer and high performer so if you’re hearing a lot of no’s during your week (sales, relationships, career etc), identify where they are coming from and take the necessary steps to engender more certainty and trust in those around you.

Once you do this, you’ll find it’s much easier to get to ‘yes’ and your sales closing rate will skyrocket.

STOP selling on your terms. START selling on theirs.

Stacey was talking about her ‘failure’ to land a client…

“I must be charging too much or else I said something to turn him away. I thought Jon was ready to sign the contract, but it’s been three days and he hasn’t contacted me yet.

“Wait a minute, Stacey. You can’t just assume that things have fallen through like that. There are lots of reasons why he might not have got back to you. Have you tried calling him?

“No.” Stacey’s voice was glum. “This is what happens all the time. I think prospects are excited to work with me, but then they disappear.”

Stacey was making a common assumption that was killing her results… and her enthusiasm. Maybe you have caught yourself thinking the same thing:

She assumed that her prospects were as preoccupied with this one problem and its solution as she was.

What is Goal Setting?

The truth is that whatever problem you solve for clients is just one aspect of their business. They are busy fulfilling their responsibilities and solving a range of problems so even if the problem you solve is urgent, it’s not the only thing they are thinking about.

How to Handle This Reality and Make Everyone Happy…

Follow up consistently. If necessary use more than one mode of communication. Your desire not to be a pest may be holding both you and your prospect back from achieving your desired outcomes. Presumably you have already had a conversation during which your prospect demonstrated their need of a solution and you explained your expertise in that area. Therefore, you already have a clear invitation to be involved. Don’t back away until they tell you to do so. Silence does not equal rejection.
Ask questions and discover exactly what your prospect needs to make a decision. The chances are that their decision making strategy is different from your own and it’s your job to discover what it is and tailor your communication to meet their style.

These two simple techniques can transform your business results because suddenly you discover that the problem was never your solution or your price, it was ‘just’ a communication problem.

The Importance of Communication in Business… Not Just in Sales

I coach a lot of management and project teams, as well as sales teams because effective internal and external communication lies at the heart of business success… and is responsible for many failures as well.

Here are some of the key elements required for successful communication:

Understanding your own preferred communication styles and strategies;
Identify others’ preferred communication styles and strategies;
Effectively use a variety of communication styles and speak to different strategies;
Ask questions so you discover what people are really thinking rather than assume you know that;

When I asked Stacey how she responded when people seemed to ‘disappear’ and whether she followed them up and asked questions like ‘What do you still need to help you make a decision?’ Stacey’s expression said everything I needed to know.

She was judging her prospects by herself. Since she made decisions quickly after one discussion and hated saying ‘no’ she assumed that silence meant, “I’m definitely not interested but I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

Things might not have changed, but she was facing a real shortfall so she decided to call Jon and ask him if he was still interested in her proposal.

“You were right. He wasn’t trying to shut me off!” was Stacey’s text to me that afternoon.

Communication is just as important in teams… and it’s even more important to know what it takes to get your team members on board since you’ll probably be working on many new ideas and projects over time.

Maybe you only need to hear an idea once before you evaluate it and make a decision, but Sally needs to hear it at least three times… and Jim will need to be reassured constantly that it’s the right move. Once you understand the dynamics you’re dealing with you can build your communication around them and you’ll find it easier to get the support and resources you need.

Communication Makes Good Things Happen

You won’t win every deal, and you won’t get support for every idea, but if you know how to identify other people’s communication styles and strategies, ask good questions that enable others to express their opinions and needs, and have a variety of tools to help you communicate effectively you’ll soon discover that more exciting things happen around you than ever before.

…why perfection is the enemy of progress.

Are you in the middle of a project that seems to keep expanding and growing no matter how much time you spend on it?

I always used to get stuck with this kind of mentality. It stopped me from:

Attending events because I didn’t have all the materials I might need;
Following up on networking opportunities and contacts;
Finishing my brochures, book, and other resources;
Publishing programs and courses that would help others;
Updating my website… etc.

I lost count of the opportunities I missed because of my striving for perfection, which was often a fear of judgement.

Finally, one of my mentors took me aside and said,

“Chandell, how many more times are you going to let the boat sail without you? Your first draft is better than no draft and done is better than perfect.”

He then went through my list of projects I’d been working on for more than 2 months and asked me how close to finished they were.

My responses were honest but basically added up to: ‘almost ready to…’ or ‘just waiting for…’ or ‘I still need to…’ and then he called me on it: “What would it take to finish this?” By the end of the following week I had:

Published my book;
Launched a new website;
Enrolled 80 people in 3 new programs;
Finished my speakers’ kit and sent out copies to interested prospects;
Followed up on 13 hot prospects and enrolled 11 in coaching programs;
Doubled my monthly income;

Not only did I have a sense of accomplishment, the momentum and energy generated by all those finished projects was enormous.

Was I 100% happy with them all?

No, but I was overjoyed at the results of my actions and nobody complained about the quality. In fact, most of them were signing up for the next program and the one after that.

So, let me ask you… are you sick of looking at boats sailing without you?

When would NOW be a good time to…

to… send your 1st draft to an editor/ reader;
to… publish your website;
to… follow up contacts even if you don’t have all your materials perfect;
to… launch your challenge, program, course;
to… reach out and ask about that speaking opportunity;

Decide TODAY that you’re going to sign off on that project and not wait any longer to perfect it because perfection is the enemy of progress.

“When would now be a good time?”

P.S. In the Profitable Business Accelerator Program we look more deeply into why you are seeking perfection and how to get things moving forward so you develop the habit of grasping opportunity rather than missing the boat. If your business isn’t delivering the results you’d like to see, maybe you’d like some support and motivation. Our last session for 2019 starts in September:

Check Out the Details & Register

... Because it is Hurting Your Business

Harry Potter found his invisibility cloak extremely useful… but you don’t want to wear yours.

An invisible business is in big trouble. So is a forgettable business.

So, how do you make yourself and your business memorable?

The answer:

You reach out and tweak the emotional response of your target audience… just about any emotional response will do: anger, fear, insecurity, laughter, happiness, irritation, nostalgia…

Memorability Beats Sophistication

Do you remember any of the marketing jingles you heard years ago?

Every time I clean the bathroom I think of the Spray ’n Wipe ad that starts, “The cleaning it was easy, even though things were real greasy…” I can still hear my Mum singing it… frequently with a few variations that had my brother and I rolling on the floor squealing with laughter… and the laughter still wells up in me, too.

Maybe you remember, “We’re happy little Vegemites…” or “You’ll live much more, with a roller door…” or one of the others. Unsophisticated… maybe. Annoying… perhaps. Effective… definitely.

I’m confident that if I played a few bars of the jingle, I could get you to sing along. Even if you skipped a few words the product would be clear in your mind. I won’t even bet on the outcome, because that would be stealing. I’ve tried it at events and it works every time.

Does Your Pitch Evoke That Response?

It should. And to create that response, you need to strike an emotional chord, and you need to repeat your message regularly… long after you are sick of hearing it.

A response… any response is better than blank stares.

Look, successful politicians have their haters as well as their fans because they stand for something recognisable.

You will know that you’re really onto something that stands out when you start getting hate-mail as well as fan mail.

So the question is… when you share your sales message do you get polite responses or do you get enthusiastic interest and questions?

It’s often not until you start to think about how you want to make your ideal clients feel and what you can do to evoke that feeling that you come up with a marketing message that is truly memorable… because it evokes emotion.

Lead Generation

If you want to close more sales, then your best tool is to have a USP and Elevator Pitch that creates an emotional response in your prospect. Hey, if they throw up when you point out their problem it means you’ve struck a nerve… and they probably won’t forget you in a hurry.

When you focus on the primary emotion your ideal prospects need to feel just before they buy and craft a pitch that evokes that, you’ll get more opportunities to have meaningful sales conversations and that means you’ll end up with more sales.

Maybe you want prospects to feel:-

a sense of trust
warm, secure, and comfortable
challenged
angry or frustrated
confident
or….

Does your current USP evoke this kind of reaction? If not test new variations on every prospect and customer until you find a USP that does. Existing customers like to feel an emotional response too. If you meet this need, you’ll keep them longer. They’re also more likely to refer you to others if they feel enthusiastic (or even angry about their problem) than if they just feel a dogged neutrality.

“We buy on emotion…. Then we use logic to justify our decisions (especially to our spouse or business associates.”

Ask yourself:

If I heard my USP would I get excited about my offer?
Would it evoke curiosity & enthusiasm?

If not, it’s time to revisit your USP this weekend and add some emotional zing. Keep working on it until even your family members are fascinated when you tell them what you do.

It’s one of the first things that we work on in the 13-week Profitable Business Accelerator because it can quickly transform your sales closing rate from 20% or less into 80% or higher and immediately affect your profits.

You can learn more and find out when the next program is starting here:

https://businessgrowth.mykajabi.com/masteryoursales

Transforming the Way You Think About What You Do

Have you ever made a comment in passing, only to have the other person jump on it with great enthusiasm as though the ordinary (to you) item you mentioned was a ground-breaking insight?

I was talking to a client the other day and she was telling me her internal struggles with the idea of raising prices and how she’d fought against my advice to do so because she felt inadequate even though she often had people say how marvellous her work was and how it changed their life.

In her words:

“It wasn’t until I actually followed the strategy you laid out for me that I realised how much more impact I created when I charged higher prices in the context of everything else you helped me set up.

Suddenly my clients paid more attention and followed instructions better… so guess what? Their results multiplied and my business grew even faster!”

The trigger was my simple statement:

“For you, it’s second nature. For others, this is life-changing.”

Here’s the deal, when you don’t put yourself out there and share your expertise because you assume that people already know the information you have, you’re not merely depriving yourself of sales and opportunities, you’re preventing other people from moving ahead and solving their problems too… and that’s a serious problem!

You probably remember the old saying: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”

It’s a dramatic way of stating that we’re all different and therefore, you should never underestimate the unique value you deliver to your clients.

At the same time, never underestimate the value that others can deliver to you and don’t just measure things in $ terms.

When you give yourself real credit for the value you deliver to clients there’s an almost magical transformation that takes place in yourself and your business. I’ve noticed that the week we work on this in my Profitable Business Accelerator is often the week that everybody reports a shift in their profits and other measures of success.

So ask yourself the question today:

“What is something that is second nature to me, that would deliver huge value to others who don’t know what I know?”

… if you can’t think of anything immediately, I can guarantee that you are shortchanging yourself and undermining your own confidence.

We Don't Give Ourselves Enough Credit

Often, the things that come easily to you are highly valued by your colleagues and clients. If you reflect on what specific things these are, you will feel motivated and appreciated and you will find that others will accept your ideas and proposals more easily.

Accelerate Your Sales Challenge

This week commit to spending at least 10 minutes before you start each workday making a list of all the things you can think of that add value to your clients. Review your list and keep adding to it each day.

… Tip: stick with it for a full 10 minutes (set a timer) even if you are sure there is nothing to add. The review will cement what you already know you are good at that adds value in your mind, and once your unconscious mind know that you are going to persist anyway it will offer more positive contributions.

#TuesdayTips

Margie had a niche – she was quite confident about that, but I wasn’t quite so sure, so I asked her, “Who is your ideal target market?”

“Single women over 30” was her instant response.

“Great, so am I your target market? – I’m single and over 30.”

“Umm … I don’t think so.”

I probed further, “What problem are you solving? How are you solving it? What do you do for these women over 30?”

“Well, we take care of their to-do list:- source tradesmen, stay at home while they’re working, supervise the trades, plan parties etc. Does that help?”

Once we boiled it down to the real problem Margie’s business solved, her niche was actually quite a bit narrower than she had imagined – easier to define and to target. Margie also recognised that she was assuming that people would understand what she did from her business name and title – and that just wasn’t the case.

Rather than feeling angry because we hadn’t understood what she had to offer, Margie recognised that she needed to be a lot clearer when she described her services – whether that was verbally, or on her website, or in print. She realised that she needed to add more information and stop making assumptions about what people thought she did. Once she clarified this her business grew rapidly.

Are You Making Too Many Assumptions?

It’s so easy to make assumptions about people’s understanding of your business. Just because they know the terminology doesn’t mean they get the concept. It comes back to the whole idea that the meaning of the communication is the response you get. [Link to Blog #12] If you don’t get a response it may be because you haven’t communicated well enough or it may be that the person you are talking to is not in your target market.

If we incorrectly assume that people really know how our business can solve their problems we don’t get the opportunity to clarify and correct misconceptions. You can test that easily enough – if one person says “That’s interesting,” and starts describing what they do when you share your elevator pitch [Link to Blog #32] the problem might be them. If two or three people do it, then you need to take a long, hard look at what you’re saying and review your elevator pitch.

The purpose of an elevator pitch is always to attract attention and interest. Even if the person you are talking to isn’t personally interested in what you do, they probably know someone who does.

The More Specific You Are The More Interest You’ll Attract and the Higher Your Prices Can Rise

The more specifically you identify your target market, and the problem you solve for that market, the easier you will find it to attract clients. A lot of people think that they will narrow the pool of prospects if they target a specific niche. I don’t know anyone in business who has narrowed their niche and then had trouble finding clients … on the other hand, I know a large number of generalists who have a hard time finding clients, and when they find them, have an even harder time getting them to pay the price they want to charge.

With a specific niche you can identify where your prospective clients work, where they hang out, and you can also identify other people who are not your competition, but who service the same market to partner with – this is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of getting new clients! It is also a way of repaying the favour to your strategic partners by sharing your clients with them.

Think about it this way: in the medical field a General Practitioner might receive $65 per patient while a specialist visit which doesn’t last much longer costs $350 or more. The former is hopefully good at curing basic problems and referring patients to specialists where necessary, the latter solves a specific problem. The extra cost is the value of his specialist knowledge and training.

Are you a specialist or a generalist? I would encourage you to think about just how targeted you can get with your marketing and your elevator pitch. Suddenly you will find a whole new mine of fantastic prospects.

Meta Description: Clarifying your niche is often one of the most critical questions you can use to take your business to the next level

Book your complimentary 30-minute Discovery Session with Chandell.

By popular demand we have turned many of our multi-day workshops into multi-week online courses with a live day to kick them off. Learn more at https://businessgrowth.mykajabi.com/masteryoursales

#TuesdayTips

Many businesses work within a single theme that has various elements and aspects to it. The problem is that if someone asks you what you do, most people head for the biggest umbrella they can hide under and say something like, “I’m an accountant, (or a lawyer, or a teacher).” This is a conversation-killer. It’s too general for people to really grasp what you do, and it has the added disadvantage that they think they already know all about it.

Another pet peeve of mine is the response to “Who is your target market?” ‘Everyone’ is not anyone’s target – particularly if you’re a service business. You just don’t have the capacity to deal with everyone. So it’s up to you to decide who are your most profitable customers, and who are the ones you like working with. Profile them and look for more like them.

Your niche might be an industry, it might be a demographic, it might be a mindset. The easiest way to find your niche is to ask yourself two questions, “What is the biggest problem that I solve?” and “Who are the greatest sufferers from this?”

You can still work with a variety of clients, but if you work out that the people you enjoy working with most are in a certain industry or demographic then focus on them. You’ll pick up other clients, but you’ll be working with more of the people you love. You’ll also be able to charge higher prices because you’ll be targeting a specific kind of client and people are willing to pay more to work with specialists in their area.

At Life Puzzle, I tend to work with business and corporate clients. I don’t focus too much on solving health problems or personal problems – Teresa mostly works with those problems. So if I’m working with a business client and a health issue comes up, we’ll work on it together but if a person contacted us and their needs were mostly outside of the business arena that person would be encouraged to work with Teresa. Neither of us really focuses on children and the educational aspect of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) so we would refer that need elsewhere.

This says a few things to our clients: – it tells them we’re specialists, and that we’re not so hungry that we take everyone. It also lets me provide targeted information to people when I meet them at networking events.

If I meet you at a networking event and say to you, “Oh, I do Neuro-Linguistic Programming which is the study of how to use the language of the mind to consistently achieve our specific and desired outcomes.” Do you care? Most people don’t.

On the other hand, if I say to you, “Last week I did a 2-hour workshop with a company where I am running an NLP communication program. Each week I go into the office and we apply Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques to their product and service. In this session with them we outlined all the values of the two directors of the business, and it was really funny because one of the directors had profit very low on their values list. The hierarchy and order of values are very important. We realigned the values so both directors were in agreement, and we changed them at the unconscious level, and that week they went out and closed a $200,000 deal.

Guess what? If I talk about the possibility of making a simple change in a couple of hours that makes a $200,000 sale – that’s pretty powerful. People want to know how, why, when, do I find out more about that?

Since I also help people with other problems sometimes I’ll think, “Migraines or self-worth will probably be more interesting to this person.” And I’ll frame it in such a way that they can think, “Oh, my aunty has terrible migraines every other week, I’m going to refer her to Chandell.” The point is, saying something specific is much more effective than making a general statement about what you do.

It’s a question of asking questions to find out about other people, interests and expertise and then using that information to determine what part of your business will be most interesting to them.

Feel free to share some of the questions you ask to learn about the people you meet at networking and business events?

Meta Description: Working in a niche makes earning more easier because being more specific helps people identify with your business.

#TuesdayTips

At this point in your conversation you want to reflect all the issues your prospect has highlighted as being important back to them. You also want to discuss how your product or service addresses these issues and resolves the problems they are facing in detail. This is not the time for a quick 5 point summary, but is a serious presentation of value. Your specific solution is what the prospect will buy, so you need to remind them of the value that each part of the solution will bring to their business.

Price will enter the discussion, but if you have stacked the value up for them then they price will be seen in the context of the return on investment they can expect – and that return could be in many forms – financial, time, peace-of-mind. Most quality buyers won’t make their decision on price alone. Clearly price is a factor – sometimes a business just can’t afford your solution – but more often then not, if the value is stacked high enough and there is enough convincing proof that it works, then your prospect will find the money needed to purchase.

Pricing and payment plans are just one more way you can customise your solution to fit your prospect’s needs without diminishing your profitability. You’d be surprised at just what people can afford when the payments are split over a few months or some other installment option.

In our Confident Closing Workshops we go over the importance of stacking the value when presenting your solution and helping your prospect to really experience the benefits your product offers. After doing this exercise many of our students go away feeling that they are seriously under-charging their clients once they have stacked up the benefits. Some of them have doubled or tripled their prices and found that they actually get more people taking up their offers.

Have you tried stacking up the value and tailoring your solution for your clients? Did it change their responsiveness to price and their interest in your product or service?

Let us know in the comments.

Meta Description: A tailored solution that solves my problem is almost irresistible for most people. Generic solutions are harder to sell at all, and certainly don’t attract premium prices.

Presenting a Customised Solution

Now that you have built rapport, asked questions, and established your prospect’s need for your product or service it is time to propose a solution before asking for the sale. This is where many businesses fall down and lose their way – they offer every client the exact same options and solutions. This often comes from the excellent idea that you should ‘package’ your services so people understand exactly what they are getting.

The difficulty with this is that your prospect gets the feeling that you are more interested in off-loading whatever you happen to have in your wheelbarrow, than you are in solving their problem – and that makes them defensive and hard to convince.

The Goal of Your Solution

When you actually propose your solution to a prospect your goal is to for them to feel that you have just suggested the exact piece they need to complete their puzzle. You want them to feel that you are proposing something that is tailor made for them, rather than a generic one-size-fits-all solution. When you propose a solution that really ticks all their boxes and meets the needs they have pointed out to you, you signal that you have heard their problems.

It is still your pre-defined package, but you have matched it exactly to your prospects needs, and described it in their language. Now they don’t feel that you have just grabbed a box out of your wheelbarrow and are trying to get them to buy whatever it is that you have too much of – now they feel it is designed exactly for them. Perhaps you have swapped out some coaching sessions for a top-notch presentation they can use, or made another slight tweak that meets their need. Maybe you haven’t changed anything, but by listening and learning have simply described the package accurately in their own language.

Whatever you have done, they have heard you describe the perfect solution to their problem. Do you think people will pay more for a tailored solution that exactly meets their needs, or for a generic solution with more features and benefits in it? I can tell you that the tailored solution always appears more valuable in people’s eyes – just like people are ready to pay more for a meal at a restaurant than they are at McDonalds.

The Angle Changes the Meaning

Shift Behaviour by Changing Your View

A New Perspective Creates Unimagined Possibilities

What Would It Take to Create a Completely Different Solution?

The Secret Method few People Use

My 9-Step Cold Calling System

Increasing Certainty

Increasing Trust

What is Goal Setting?

…why perfection is the enemy of progress.

... Because it is Hurting Your Business

Memorability Beats Sophistication

Does Your Pitch Evoke That Response?

Lead Generation

Transforming the Way You Think About What You Do

We Don't Give Ourselves Enough Credit

Accelerate Your Sales Challenge

#TuesdayTips

#TuesdayTips

#TuesdayTips

Presenting a Customised Solution

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