More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter
for Independent Professionals
from Action Plan Marketing
and Robert MiddletonIn This Week's Issue: How do you get more qualified prospects to say yes to your services? You make it easy for them.
Hard Yes or Easy Yes?
What's worse than nobody showing interest in your services?
Getting a lot of people initially interested in your services and then failing to get them to say yes to buying your services. In other words, your marketing is working but your selling isn't.
One of the assertions I've heard over and over again from clients was, "If I could just get in front of a qualified prospect, I could easily sell them on my services."
But my observation is that this is far from the truth. Independent Professionals are notoriously poor at getting the prospect to say yes, even if they are qualified, interested and have the money.
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?
* You're giving a talk to a group of qualified prospects, but at the end of the presentation you can't get cards from the attendees.* You are talking to a prospect on the phone who seems qualified, but you can't set up a face-to-face appointment.
* You are asked to submit a proposal which you do eagerly, and then the prospect never returns another phone call.
* You send out a mailing that outlines all the qualifications, benefits and value of your services and nobody responds.
* You send a monthly eZine to your list of subscribers and prospects but nobody ever calls to inquire about your services.
* At the end of a sales appointment everything seems to be going right, but you just can't get a final commitment to start.
* You want to get sign-ups for an expensive program you are offering, but everyone puts it off.
What's going on here? Why is it so hard to get people to say yes?
I discovered the answer to this problem years ago when I was going through the same kind of struggles. Nobody was saying yes. My realization was simple: "Find something that is very easy to say yes to." I was trying to get prospects to say yes to something that was too much of a leap for them.
Here's how to turn a hard yes into an easy yes:
* You're giving a talk to a group of qualified prospects, but at the end of the presentation you can't get cards from the attendees.
Hard to say yes to: If you are interested in setting up a
complimentary appointment with me, please give me your card.Easy to say yes to: If you would like a copy of this article
(hold up article) then please give me your card.* You are talking to a prospect on the phone who seems qualified, but you can't set up a face-to-face appointment.
Hard to say yes to: I'd like to set up a time where we could
meet to tell you about how my services work.Easy to say yes to: So far I'm very interested in your business
and the challenges you are facing. Usually my next step is to
set up an appointment at no charge to learn more about your
business.* You are asked to submit a proposal which you do eagerly, and then the prospect never returns another phone call.
Hard to say yes to: Let's start working together. Call me.Easy to say yes to: There may be some questions about the
proposal you'd like to discuss, let's set up a phone appointment
to do that.* You send out a mailing that outlines all the qualifications, benefits and value of your services and nobody responds.
Hard to say yes to: Here are all my great services. Call me now
to learn more about how we could work together.Easy to say yes to: You may not need my services now, but I'd
like to invite you to a free executive briefing where you'll
learn many valuable ideas that will help your business.* You send a monthly eZine to your list of subscribers and prospects but nobody ever calls to inquire about your services.
Hard to say yes to: You have given no place to find out more or
to check out your products or services online.Easy to say yes to: At the end of the eZine you have provided
links to your web page where they can find out more about
your products and services.* At the end of a sales appointment everything seems to be going right, but you just can't get a final commitment to start.
Hard to say yes to: It looks like I can help you produce the
results you want. Shall we get started?"Easy to say yes to: The initial fee for this project will be $XX.
Does that work for your budget right now?* You want to get sign-ups for an expensive program you are offering, but everyone puts it off.
Hard to say yes to: Here are the details for my program. If
you'd like to attend, sign up and pay today.Easy to say yes to: Here are the details of my program. If you
think you might like to attend, fill out the application.Are you always asking for things that are hard for the prospect to say yes to? As soon as you shift to asking for things that are easy to say yes to, you'll be amazed how fast the sales process starts moving along.
You just have to have a little patience!
Now you understand the principle. The next step is to find places where you are asking for a hard yes and turn it into an easy yes. With a little practice you'll be getting a whole lot more yeses, and ultimately, a whole lot more clients.
More on "Hard Yes or Easy Yes?" in Marketing Flashes below.
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Speaking as a Marketing Tool - New Audio Program
In last week's More Clients I announced a new Audio Program I've put together called "Speaking as a Client-Attracting Marketing Tool" with me interviewing Vickie Sullivan.
I think it's the best Audio Program I've done, with more hands-on and how-to ideas on growing your business than any I've put together so far.
Please take a minute and check it out and make sure to take advantage of the free bonus program I'm including.
http://www.actionplan.com/speaker.htmlP.S. The price on this program goes up after tomorrow.
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Marketing Flashes on "Hard Yes or Easy Yes?"
Here are some principles to use in making it easier for a prospect to say yes to your offer.
* People will say yes to something they can take advantage of now, vs. something they are not sure they want to do yet. I.e., An executive briefing before a sales appointment.
* Something tangible is easier to say yes to than something intangible. I.e., A written report instead of a needs assessment feels less involved, requiring less commitment.
* It's easier to say yes to an action that clearly benefits the prospect than an action that more clearly benefits the seller. I.e., Meet to find out about you, vs. meet to learn about my services.
* Offer something of value that requires less time, commitment or money than the ultimate service you provide. A report, CD or intro seminar are all easier to say yes to now.
* Get agreement on a minor point, not the final point. "Would you prefer that the training program be done on your site?" gets an easier yes than, "Can we start next week?"
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."
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