| |
| |
|
Sales Information |
|
|
|
Your Clients Buying What Youre Selling
Linda felt like she had reached a plateau in her cleaning business. For the past 3 years, she'd run the same ads in the same publications with the same results. She would generate enough new clients to make up for the ones she lost due to normal attrition, but she was never quite able to get beyond her mediocre success. "I feel a little stuck," she shared in our last call. "Every time I try running another ad or sending another mailer, I only generate enough new work to make up for the additional cost I've expended. I can't hire an additional employee until I get more work, but I can't seem to get more work. I really want to make more income for myself and my family and think I could do it if I could just get some of these new marketing strategies to work out." My next question threw her -- "What are you selling?" "What do you mean? I'm selling cleaning services," she responded. "No, what are you REALLY selling? Or look at it this way, what are your clients buying?" It took a couple more rounds before she understood what I meant. Many service business owners run out to the marketplace without a clear understanding of what they are selling or what their clients are buying. After awhile, they start getting clients by the shear fact that they've approached enough people to generate some interest. The problem comes once they've reached a plateau and can't seem to grow beyond it. It's like golf. Anyone can learn to hit the ball and, if given enough strokes, get it in the hole. They can even become pretty good ... but only sometimes. The rest of the time, they are hooking or slicing uncontrollably. They never play a consistent game. The key to success in golf is technique. If you do the right things consistently, you'll play a good game every time (well, almost!). In business, it's the same thing - you need to do the right things consistently. Almost anyone can learn how to make a sale. It might not be in record speed or at a profit, but they can make the sale. The key is in being able to generate sales consistently up to and beyond your plateau. Linda thought she was selling cleaning services, but upon closer investigation over the next couple of weeks, she learned that her clients were buying something a lot different. Based on surveys she conducted with her current clients, she learned that they hired her because they were buying:
Then quicko, chango, switcheroo - she re-focused her marketing efforts to focus on solving her prospects' problems and began targeting overworked professionals and families with children. These simple changes helped her finally grow beyond the plateau where her business had stalled. So, ask yourself -- are your clients buying what you're selling? What are you currently selling? If you contacted your clients this week, what would they say they are buying from you? Are you sure? Why not jot down a few questions that you can ask your clients during short, phone surveys this week? Don't have enough clients to do this yet? Perhaps you can work it into your conversations with prospects? Ask them why your service does or does not sound like something that will benefit them. Yes, I know this is hard, but the answers are your ticket to faster success. Afraid to do this? Then it's even more important! Trying to sell the wrong thing to the wrong people is just extending your learning curve and the length of your journey to sustainable success. So go for it! About The Author Kimberly Stevens is the author of the ebook series, *The Profitable Business Owner: A Step-by-Step System for Starting & Running a Successful Service Business*. Download Sample Chapters & get her free MiniCourse, *The 10 Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make & How To Avoid Them* at: http://www.askthebizcoach.com/ebooks.htm
MORE RESOURCES:
Sales - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
An Ideal Selling Situation The largest sale that I ever closed was negotiated over hot dogs and a soft drink at a refreshment stand, just off the exhibit floor, at a Superintendent of School Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I met an educator who was interested in the summer study abroad programs that I was selling at the show. Dropped Jaw Syndrome, Your Fastest, Most Reliable Market Test Business owners should be more like doctors.Forget selling and start asking your customers where they hurt. Sales Training from the Ghostbusters Picture this scene from the 1984 smash comedy movie from Columbia Pictures, Ghostbusters: Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, aka? the Ghostbusters, are involved in a heated meeting with the Mayor and the Head of the local environmental agency. The city is in shambles because a legion of evil spirits has invaded and is currently wreaking havoc and chaos throughout the land. The Secrets Behind Hypnotic Selling Hypnosis has been a taboo word for far too long. And many people see it in a mystical light. Sex Sells! An attractive woman has a decided advantage as sales representative over her male counterpart. This "selling edge" is primarily due to the existence of the "glass ceiling" found in most business organizations today. Picture Yourself a Winner In the work place, the amount of good things that happen to a person during the day far out number the amount of bad things that happen, so why do we spend so much time stressing over the bad things when we should be smiling about the good things.One reason being, when something bad happens, such as being berated by a customer, it shakes us up a little bit, maybe our pride has been touched up a little. Dont Call Me The March, 2004, issue of Psychology Today reports on an experiment involving identical business negotiations between test subjects. The only difference was that half started the transactions with a brief phone call and completed it with email. Follow the Long Yellow Copy: Do Long Scrolling Sales Letters Work? Have you ever sat through a movie and got to the point when you counted the minutes till its ending? Unfortunately, you can't speed it up or leave it for another show (although, some people do try switching movies). When long Web copy leaves your eyes glazing in that same way, what do you do?As you read a long, scrolling sales pitch do you read it and make the buy? Read it and lose interest? Click away? Skim it and do nothing?Welcome to salesmanship in print. Why Cold Calling Is Dead Our world of selling is closed off from other areas of business that continue to adopt and embrace new, efficient ideas. I was reminded of this recently while re- reading Seth Godin's "Permission Marketing. Buying Wholesale Mannequins Many mannequin manufacturers sell their mannequins in wholesale. This means that they sell large quantities at a discount. The Trusted Advisor Relationship: What Is It, and What Should It Be? For the past months, maybe a year, I've been hearing sales groups talk about the need to become Trusted Advisors (I'll call them TAs). I suspect that the problems cropping up in the sales arena these days - the increased length of the sales cycle, the increased levels of competition - are leading sales management to base their initiatives on being of true service to prospects, as a way to seem different from the competition. How To Get Rich Giving Away Something Free The best of all worlds is to have a product you can give away free and still make money. That world exists. How To Shorten The Selling Cycle And Reduce Buying Stalls The main reason for buyer resistance and selling stalls boils down to one simple fact: the reasons for not buying are bigger to the prospect than the reason to buy.If you sell an intangible product or service, it may be even tougher to close down a sale because your product or service is not something people can see, touch, or feel. Impotent Questions - How Much Are They Costing You? Last issue we talked about what motivates people to buy something. A person or a business is motivated to buy when they perceive that a change needs to occur to fix or avoid a problem, or to enable a greater vision for their future. Forgive All Ebay Sins! Over the years, I have been amazed at the "blinding" greed and reckless approach to commerce that some business owners have employed. Lying to customers, selling inferior merchandise, and not offering refunds, left a firestorm of irate customers in their wake. Sales Copy Tips Writing good sales copy is not an art, it is a science. There is no reason to get creative here. Hate Follow-Up Phone Calls To Hot Prospects Who Won't Call You Back? Stop Calling! We all learned in Sales 101 we must follow up with our prospects until they buy. Unfortunately, while we're busy trying to make all these follow-ups, some very fine prospects who are ready to buy now are flying under our radar. Dr. Seuss's 3-Step Selling Process Hello Everyone: Here's a unique look at learning how tosell: "I am Sam. Sam I am. Restaurant Pressure Washing Many pressure washing companies try to stay away from the restaurant pressure washing business, while other specialize in it. One reason some do not like it is due to the all the grease, which gets on their hoses and equipment, which in itself is difficult to clean off. Selling with Purpose Selling With Purpose What is it about selling that makes you afraid? Do you get nervous at the hint of having to sell? Is it the fear of rejection that scares you? Is it the fear of not being able to communicate effectively? Define Your Fear. What is it about selling that makes you afraid? Next question, how did you develop this fear? What is it based on? a) Many people fear sales because they're afraid of being rejected as I mention.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
