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More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter
for Independent Professionals
from Action Plan Marketing
and Robert MiddletonIn This Week's Issue: Learn how to melt the resistance
to moving forward that you frequently get from prospects.
Melting Resistance
My wife has absolutely no interest in marketing or selling.
But yesterday, on the way to a hike in the Redwoods, we
started to talk about persuasion and the secrets I had learned
over the years to get people to say yes. This came up because
I told her she gave up too easily when she wanted me to do
something.What she was trying to persuade me to do was go hiking more
often. I usually give some reason why I can't go, and she often
gives up after one objection from me. And frequently this turns
into frustration and disappointment for both of us.I simply suggested that she find alternative ways to ask me,
and proposed the following dialogue:"Sweetie, would you like to go hiking this weekend?" (Her first
direct request.)"Gee, I'd love to but I'm pretty busy preparing for my workshop
that's coming up." (My first evasive maneuver.) Often this would
end the conversation or get a response such as, "You never
want to go hiking!" Instead, I suggested not treating this as a
rejection but as an unvoiced objection that needed to be addressed."I understand. Do you mind if we discuss what you need to do to
prepare?" (Her attempt to learn more.) When you don't oppose
objections you usually get cooperation, not resistance."OK, well, I need to prepare for about 3 or 4 hours." (Me
divulging my preparation needs.) Often we take an objection as
an absolute no. This is rarely the case. Now she has more
information to work with."What time on the weekend do you think you'd like to do that
preparation?" (Narrowing down the window of opportunity.)
She's focusing on my needs first, which, of course, I'm interested
in. I start playing along."Well, I could do it late Saturday afternoon." (Me surrendering
some ground.)"That's great. Then we could hike Saturday or Sunday morning.
Which one would be better for you?" (The famous alternate choice
close.) Notice how easy this was?"I think Saturday would work." (Was that me saying yes?!) With
the situation understood and my needs taken care of, what's left
to resist? Nothing."Great. I'll pack a picnic lunch! You're wonderful sweetie!"
(Confirmation of close and acknowledgement.) She wins, and I
win too because I actually love hiking, but am lousy at scheduling
fun time.Do you see how you could adapt this to a business situation?
Below is a typical scenario that proves you don't have to be
pushy to move things along.Perhaps you've met someone and they've shown interest in
what you offer. The challenge is to set up a second meeting to
take it to the next level. You've already given them a lot of
information, but things never seem to move forward.You say something like, "Gene, I'd love the opportunity to get
together with you to discuss your situation in more detail. After
the meeting I'll prepare a more detailed proposal. Do you have
an hour or two next week?"And Gene says, "OK, I'm open to that but my next couple of
weeks are crazy; why don't you give me a call at the end of the
month, and we'll set up something then."We've all been there. When we call back at the end of the
month, Gene puts it off again. The ball stays in our court because
Gene keeps deflecting it. This doesn't necessarily mean Gene
isn't interested. He might just have a scheduling issue like I do
with going on hikes.Instead of saying, "Sure, I'll call you at the end of the month,"
you should try to move things forward now in a way that works for
both of you."You sound pretty busy. The end of the month is doable, but
here's another possibility. Before I can even give you a proposal
about what I can do, I just need a little more information. I have
seven key questions. Can I send those to you and then set up a
short phone meeting next week to discuss your answers?"This way you've given an alternative to the face-to-face meeting
that may give you just what you need. You've asked for
commitment on your prospect's part to do something and you've
set up a less time-consuming phone meeting.My experience is that when you provide options like this, the
prospect almost always says yes. And now the prospect is
playing your game instead of you playing "catch the prospect."The point is to always have several alternative scenarios
available that honor your prospect's situation and that actually
help him to work with you more easily. Resistance melts,
cooperation increases and, before too long, the prospect is
a paying client.More on "Melting Resistance" in Marketing Flashes below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Marketing Flashes on "Melting Resistance"
* The more you know about your prospect's situation, the easier
it will be to propose the next steps. So don't hurry. Get to know
about both their concerns and their aspirations.* Propose the next logical step that they are most like to accept.
Make it easy for them to say yes to this step. Don't require a lot
of commitment on their part to begin with.* Ask them to do something every time you say you'll do
something. Request that they gather more information or get
feedback from their team while you put together some ideas.* If they show resistance to taking the next step, don't push
back, but show understanding. Then propose an alternate step
that is a little easier for them to do.* Always acknowledge and express appreciation for them taking
the steps that they do. Clearly communicate exactly what you will
do next and make sure to follow-through without fail.Until next week, all the best,
Robert Middleton
ACTION PLAN MARKETING
Helping Independent Professionals Attract More Clients~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
210 Riverside Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-338-7790© 2004 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. You are free
to use material from the More Clients eZine in whole or in part,
as long as you include complete attribution, including live web
site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear.
The attribution should read:"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit
Robert's web site at http://www.actionplan.com for additional
marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses."* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
