Sales

Selling Your Products & Services

At the recent Mega Networking & Referral Event my good friend Brad Tonini spoke about how to improve your sales in a tough marketplace. Brad is Australia’s leading sales strategist and an expert on how to sell your products and services more effectively.

Brad was talking about how to present your products and services to a potential client.

Most small business owners get this entirely wrong.

Typically what we do is present our product or service as either you buy my product or service or not. In other words we give our prospective clients a YES / NO decision to make about going ahead. When faced with such a decision most people will choose to not go ahead.

Why?

Simply because of the conditioning they have had over the years. We all tend to lack a little trust when someone is selling us something. So if asked to go ahead with a single option
most people will choose to do nothing.

How can you overcome this?

Its really quite easy. I have been teaching my clients this for years and was reminded of it again by Brad Tonini on the weekend.

Instead of giving them a YES / NO decision to make, give them three different options to choose from. So instead of the focus being on if they will go ahead or not, it is now shifted to which option they will go ahead with.

Simply giving them a choice of solution package A or B will improve your conversions (everything else being equal).

Even better is to give them a choice of package A, B or C.

Now remember when construct your packages that people buy SOLUTIONS to their PROBLEMS and not products and services. So these A, B, C packages are different solutions they could invest in depending on their drive to get the solution and willingness to invest.

How you position these three packages then is very important.

When you explain it to your prospective client you start out by explaining package A. This is the lite version and the cheapest price. After highlighting what is included in this package you simply say ‘I’m not entirely sure that this is the solution you are looking for’.

Next you present package C. This is the PREMIUM package and naturally the most expensive. So you go from the low end to the high end. This package has all of the bells and whistles included in it. You explain to the prospective client that typically 5% of your clients choose this package.

Then finally you present package B … this is the package that you have designed to sell to the majority of your clients. The price point falls in between the two extremes.

You want to make sure is that there is enough contrast between the various price points. So the pricing may look like this:

- Package A $997
- Pacakge B $3,997
- Package C $9,997

Can you see how when you are faced with making a choice between these various price points the majority of people will gravitate to the middle option?

From experience I know that 5% of people will choose either option A, or C which is fine. Just make sure your package B contains the products and services in one solution that you need to help your clients get the result they are looking for.

Simply by making this one change in how you present your products and services you can get a sizeable increase in your conversion rates. Give it a try and let me know the outcome. I know that when my coaching clients have done this they automatically get a big increase in conversions.

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Why Your Prospects Are Saying No

Are you frustrated with hearing NO all the time from your prospective clients? Usually it is because instead of us leading them to a place of experiencing positive yes decision emotions we have let them remain in a state of fear or uncertainty.

Often the words the prospect uses to explain why they are not going ahead can be confusing as they attempt to articulate their unconscious feelings of fear or uncertainty. Almost invariably though the reasons they say no fall into one of the following categories:

Lets look at these four NO reasons a bit more closely so we understand exactly what is motivating them. The four reasons for a no are:

1. No Need – There are two possible scenarios here.

One is that you have spent time asking the right questions and analysing their situation only to discover that they genuinely do not have a need that your products or service can satisfy. If that is the case then your only option is to thank them for their time and walk away.

The second and more likely scenario is that you have not asked the right questions in the right way in the presence of strong rapport to unearth the prospects true and genuine needs.

If you are consistently struggling to have prospects recognise that your product or service will help them then it is likely you are not helping them to identify their true needs. If so focus on using the questioning model and developing your skills in this area more.

2. No Trust – If there is a lack of trust then the underlying emotion is fear. Usually fear that you or your company will rip them off, the product won’t do what you said it would, you won’t deliver it on time etc. It stems from a lack of certainty about you and your company and the products / service you represent.

The key to overcoming the no trust barrier is to focus on developing your rapport and communication skills. Developing an unconscious rapport is highly effective to removing a lack of trust in your prospect.

Another area to focus on is how you establish credibility in your presentation including providing background information on your company, providing your personal credentials, providing customer testimonials and offering them a money back guarantee of your service.

No trust is rarely an issue if you are referred into the opportunity.

3. No Urgency – A lack of urgency in your prospect is an extremely frustrating place to have them. Often this is where you will hear them say that they will think it over.

On the one hand a lack of urgency is good because you have gotten past the no need and no trust barriers. So you have skilfully moved them past the fear of dealing with you to at least having enough interest in you product or service to think it over.

The challenge of course is that they rarely think it over because there just isn’t enough urgency or drive to implement your solution.

To resolve lack of urgency you need to focus on identifying the pain of their current situation and of not acting. Once you know specifically what this is then keep pressing it as it will motivate them further.

Simultaneously you need to learn to mentally lead them to thinking about how great it will be once they have your product or service as the solution. So in effect you are using the pain of not acting to motivate them and then lead them mentally to experiencing the pleasure of having gone ahead.

4. No Money – From time to time you will come across those prospects who have a genuine need that is causing them pain, they like you and your company and have a sense of urgency about your solution … they just are not able to finance the solution.

There is no easy way around this challenge other than to provide flexibility in how you deal with customers. This is easier to do if you are a business owner of an SME and make all of the decisions. You need to assess every opportunity on the basis of its commercial merits.

Often no money actually means your product or service is more than they expected. Without the careful use of questioning you may never find this out.

Recently I was coaching a client who sold kitchen renovations. They were top of the range and nearly always more expensive than competitors. She was often faced with the ‘it’s too much we cant afford it’ objection and as a result was missing some sales.

We taught her to question this objection by asking how much to much is it. So if the kitchen was quoted at $15,000 the prospect might come back and say they only budgeted for $12,000.

The common mistake most sales people make at this point is that they think they have to make a $15,000 sale which is why they are losing sales. The reality is that the prospect has already spent the $12,000 in their mind to get what they want.

In this case the only sale that needs to be made is a $3,000 sale. This is easily dealt with by breaking the difference down and highlighting the added advantages of your solution compared to competitions.

So a question for you … if you are hearing NO regularly then which of these four categories is it usually falling in? I find that a lot of the time for most Small Business owners they get the same NO reasons over and over. When you identify them you are then in a position to be able to take action and make some changes.

Have You Read The Controversial Report …

‘Why Small Business Owners
Suck At Sales’

Popularity: 22% [?]

PRESS RELEASE

A controversial new report on why small business owners suck at selling and how it is holding them back from success has been leaked!

The report written by Australia’s leading Attraction Marketing Specialist Rod Moore details why most small business owners fail to enjoy the success they deserve in business.

It all comes down to one thing says Moore … ‘A basic lack of sales ability!’. The problem with small business is that they let basically anyone start a small business even if they are not adequately equipped the necessary skills to achieve success in small business.

According to Moore one of the most important factors in success in small business is your ability to be able to firstly ATTRACT potential clients and secondly to be able to SELL them on your product or service. Without these skills small business owners fail.

The leaked report was available at ‘Download Leaked Report – Selling For Small Business Owners’ but may be removed at any time.

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As a life coach chances are good to excellent that at some stage you have scratched your head and wondered …

‘How do I market my life coaching business?’

or

‘Where do I find new clients interested in using my life coaching services?’

No doubt you are keen to attract a steady flow of new life coaching clients to you, and I am sure you do not want to come across as the pushy sales type, right?

Most life coaches will invest anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000 becoming a certified coach through one of the many coaching schools that are available.

Then they invest from $2,500 to $10,000 on a flashy looking web site, new business cards and maybe a marketing flyer or two.

More than one life coach has paid good money for display ads that build your image and brand.

Then you wait … hoping the phone rings with a steady stream of eager new clients.

hhmmm …

Okay so you decide to become proactive and start attending networking events to meet people. Who knows, you may pick up some clients at a good networking event.

The real problem though is that life coaching requires a particular marketing strategy. It is a strategy of attraction … a system designed to lead people directly to you who want to become your client.

Those super successful life coach’s that you hear about have developed an attraction marketing system. They have either done it strategically or intuitively … either way the result is the same. They have created a pipeline full of people who have their credit card in hand ready to commence work with you.

The first key to this attraction marketing system is the lead generation component.

In the next few weeks we will be releasing an opportunity for only 50 life coach’s worldwide to have a customised client attraction system developed just for you. The system will help you to attract more potential life coaching clients than you may currently have dreamed of.

Keep your eye on this blog for more details (if you are a life coach then you will want to shoot me through an email and let me know you are interested to find out more)

For now though … I want to give you a gift. Listen into this audio recording of ‘How To Market Your Life Coaching Business’

Download ‘How To Market Life Coaching’

Popularity: 46% [?]

SOLD!!!!

That’s right … your clients (and prospective clients) hate to be sold. They don’t like to be interrupted by telemarketers at home in the evening, they record TV onto their digital drives and skip the ads when they watch it when it suits them, they are guarded and skeptical of anything you have to say about your products or service (no matter how good they are) and they haven’t got time to review your website, marketing collateral or follow up emails.

They hate to be sold …. BUT … and this is interesting … they still LOVE to BUY!

Think about it … aren’t you like this?

If someone is trying to sell you something and you don’t really need or want it what is your natural reaction? Most of us want to turn and run, right? We hear the voice of our parents from when we are young telling us not to sign anything etc etc.

Contrast this when you have a need or desire for something.

If you have a particular need for some service in your business then what do you do today?

Yes … you probably Google it.

You do some research … you click and flick. That is where you click on the web sites that come up in your search and make a 30 second assessment if you believe that site has what you are looking for and then you give it the flick if it does not.

When you come across that one site that appears to have the right solution to your needs you maybe make contact or research some more.

The point is … today when we have a need or desire we research for a specific solution and are happy to make contact when we believe we find it … and are more than happy to make a positive purchasing decision ie we love to buy.

So how does this apply to your business?

Well if you are still using interruption marketing today and trying to sell your products or services to people who don’t want them then … well good luck for the future! The web is changing everything.

The key to marketing your business in the future is to position yourself as an expert service provider in a specialised niche and gain visibility within that niche.

When your prospective clients go searching for your solution you need to show up.

When they land on your web site you have 30 seconds … the strategy behind your web site will determine if you have any chance of building a relationship in those 30 seconds or not.

You will need to ensure your total marketing strategy facilitates the purchasing process that they buyer wants to follow.

Your marketing strategy needs to make it easy for your prospective clients to say yes to you.

Does your marketing strategy do this …. find out here?

Popularity: 17% [?]

(Note: This article is based on the recent Profit Minute Radio program. You can listen in to the recording of the radio program here – Profit Minute Radio)

How To Successfully Sell Your Service

Most small business owners do not consider themselves to be sales people or good at sales. They fear coming across as being pushy and as a result they have no sales strategy or at best an ineffective strategy.

In order to move your service based business to the next level you will need to implement the right sales strategy. Every business is different of course but there are some general rules that apply.

Here are five keys that will help you to improve your sales strategy for your small business:

Continued

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This weeks Profit Minute Radio program recording is now live. The topic for this week is ‘How To Successfully Sell Your Service’

You can listen into the recording (or download the podcast) now at Blog Talk Radio.

Click the Blog Talk Radio button for more details:

Popularity: 13% [?]

Is your marketing getting you the RESULTS you are looking for … or would you like more clients right now?

Does the thought of having to market your business and you send shivers down your spine?

Most small business owners are not entirely comfortable with having to get out there and win new business. So they run a few ads (which typically do poorly), go to a few networking events, tinker with their website and hope that someone refers them on.

This is not a strategy for SUCCESS which may explain why many small businesses do not reach their full potential.

So why is it that we don’t like the sales & marketing process?

Continued

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A few days ago I was in the Victorian Business Names Registry updating some details. It was a lot quieter than usual so I started chatting with the gentleman who was helping me. Out of curiosity I asked him how many new business names get registered every day.

The answer …

400!

That is 400 new businesses being registered every single day!

Continued

Popularity: 13% [?]