You know, sometimes people make the simplest things unnecessarily complex.

Why do that when there is an easier way?

Below, are five simple, actionable and proven techniques to open up more high-value leads and to engage more effectively with your ideal prospects.

Isn’t that what all Sales Leaders want?

So, without further ado, let’s get started:

 1.    Make Your Value Propositions Buyer-Focused

This may sound complicated, but it really isn't.

To start with, just think about how YOU would choose a product or a services provider.

What do you want to know first and foremost?

Do you really want to know how long ago the business was started? How many staff it has? Which locations it has offices in?

No, you don't. What you want to know is this:   

What's In It For Me?

Surely, at the very least you’d want to know whether their product or service suits your needs, that it does what you want it to do. Whether it within your budget, and whether there is a good cultural fit for you.

So, don't lead your sales engagements by talking about your business, your products or your service features. Avoid value propositions that are all about YOU and what YOU do.

Instead, make it all about what your customers get out of buying from you.

Here is what I teach my clients.

They now start their value proposition with:

"Our customers tell us that they get (insert benefit here) from doing business with us."

Using this method, you will not be tempted to talk about yourself and risk boring your prospect to tears., but you will be amazed how many of your prospects will suddenly want to know more about you and your products and services.

In summary:

Switch from selling your products and services, to selling the customer outcomes.

So: Think about what you are REALLY selling. Your customers will thank you with their purchase orders.

2: Define Your Ideal Buyer Personas In At Least 4 Ways

Being crystal clear on who your ideal customers are, will open two new streams of leads for you:

1. Your outbound prospecting will be more efficient because you are engaging with the exact contacts who are likely to want what you are selling.

2. Your inbound prospecting will be more efficient, as your ideal customers will see that your products and services suit them.

In other words, make it easy for your ideal customers to down-select you as their vendor of choice.

Here are four simple criteria you can define them by:

1. Their industry (i.e. what vertical markets are they in?)

2. Their business size (i.e. how big are they, by headcount or by annual revenue?)

3. Their geography (i.e. where are they located?)

4. Their job title (i.e. what roles do the people have that you want to reach out to?)

 Let’s move on to the next technique.

3: Have Chrystal-Clear Product & Service Descriptions

Please don’t confuse this point with your value proposition, as described in Point 1. above.

This is all about how clearly your customers and prospects understand the goods or services that you are selling.

Why am I making this point?

A confused mind says “NO."

Meaning, if your buyers are not sure of what they’re getting from you, they will walk away.

Now, it may be blindingly obvious to you what you are selling.

But if it is not equally clear to your customers, then they will instead buy from a competitor who makes it very clear what they are selling.

Following are some definition criteria you may like to use:

• Outcomes (i.e. what will your customers achieve using your product or service?)

• Price (i.e. how much does it cost?)

• Time (i.e. how long will it take for your product or service to deliver the outcome? How long will it last?)

• Inputs Required (i.e. what can the customer do to ensure they get the best results from your service or product?)

• Optional Extras (i.e. what else do you have available?)

By the way, I often advise my services clients to productize their service offerings.

Why?

For two reasons:

1.    There are three real downsides to charging hourly or day rates

If you, say, quota an hourly or a day rate, you give your prospects something to compare you to others on. Very quickly, the conversation will turn to price, and not to what the customer can achieve with your service.

The other problem is that just citing a day rate is not giving the customer a sense of certainty on what they are receiving in return for their investment. “How long will it take?” “How many days will we need?” It’s like asking how long a piece of string is, isn’t it?

But there is a third big argument against trading your time for your customers’ money:

A matter of integrity and ethics.

Think about it:

The slower I work, the longer I take, the more I get paid.
Really? Is that fair?

 Is that a great foundation for a lasting and synergistic business relationship?

My experience is that, given the above, instead of closing the deal, all the above will just lead you into a red ocean of arguments and pain.

 2.   The other reason is that Buyers love certainty

We all like to know what we are buying. The more certain we are, the easier it is to make a buying decision.

By productizing your services, you give your buyer greater certainty on their investment and on their risk exposure versus their desired outcome.

“For $$$ outlay, you will receive these certain services, to achieve these specific outcomes, within a defined time frame.”

How is that for certainty?

You know exactly what you are paying for, what you are getting, and how long it will take.

For example, my Buyer-Focused Sales Funnel Program delivers a defined result, at a fixed price, within just 6 weeks. It gives the buyer the feeling of certainty on what they are paying for, and why they are getting.

So, consider productizing at least some of your services.

Let me know if you’d like help with that.

Let’s now move on to the next technique.

4: Promote Your Customer Experience

This is such a critical point that it is hard to understand why businesses do not use it more widely.

Allow me to illustrate:

Imagine you are a prospect looking for the kind of products or services your business offers.

Wouldn't you want to know what kind of experience you can expect as a customer, doing business with you?

Wouldn’t it really help a buyer who has never done business with you, if you had a motto, a slogan or a brand promise that describes clearly and succinctly what customer experience your business offers?

Of course, it would.

And what would that look like?

Here are examples of two of my clients:

 1.    An Australian Managed IT Services Business

We recently helped a Managed IT Services business out with their new slogan, tagline and brand promise.

As always, we workshopped the options and co-created the solution.

We landed on this:

"We've got your back."

With just this short sentence, a new customer or even a prospect can immediately imagine what their service experience with this business will be like. Namely, there will be no finger-pointing, no artificial delays, no feeble excuses.

"We've got your back." means that this business will be there for you, if and when things go wrong (as they do in IT).

It's a good clear and easily understood brand promise.

2.    A Californian Marketing Agency

The other example is that of a USA-based Agency that consults on modern Product Marketing.

When we worked on their brand promise, they did not want to go for a whole sentence. Instead, we helped them to choose just these three powerful words:

"Expertise. Speed. Results."

Anyone who reads these three very clear words will immediately have an exact image of what it's like to be their customer.

Namely that:

1. They are experts who know what they're doing

2. They will work quickly and deliver fast results, and

3. They will deliver the outcome their clients are looking for

Surely, that describes the kind of company anyone would want to do business with.

So: Do you have a clear brand promise?

And, finally, we move on to the BIG technique.

It’s the point with potentially the most significant impact on your sales success.

5: Create Lean-Forward Moments

What happens when you are sitting comfortably on your couch watching TV and something interesting or exciting comes up?

You sit upright and lean forward to focus on what’s happening.

That is a Lean-Forward Moment.

 

I have described previously what I mean by “Lean-Forward Moments".

Just a quick recap:

Buyers are now notoriously time-poor and increasingly intolerant to being pitched at and being sold to.

In fact, my colleagues who run outbound call centres tell me that, on average, their callers now only have 8 seconds (!) to capture a buyer's interest. If the buyer is not interested in what's being offered within 8 seconds into the call, the opportunity is gone.

 Cold callers now only have 8 seconds (!) to capture a buyer's interest.

 The most common mistake that sellers make is that they lead their prospect engagement with what they're selling.

While they are still introducing their product, service, or organization, the buyer loses interest and ends the call.

Quite frankly, cold callers don't have enough time to introduce anything within 8 seconds.

 My strong advice to sellers is not to try. Don’t pitch on your first outreach.

Instead, lead your prospect into a business conversation.

You want them to lean forward and be hungry for more information.

To achieve that, aim to capture their imagination, intrigue them, get them curious.

Say something compelling that captures their interest, makes them literally lean forward and say:

"That sounds really interesting. Tell me more about that."

 So: How do you go about creating a lean-forward moment?

And how do you do it within just 8 seconds?

My advice is to start your engagement with your Point 2, as described above. I.e. lead with your value proposition, or with a specific point of view.

If you don't have one, you are fighting a losing battle.

 

Let me know if you’d like help with any of the above.

Now Take Your Next Step!

Are you ready to experience your next level sales breakthrough, thanks to support from real sales experts who specialize in this field?

Apply for a complimentary Sales Funnel Mapping Session, valued at $497.

You’ll Receive:

• An honest assessment of your current sales funnel

• A comprehensive status report, yours to keep

• A step-by-step plan for you to move forward with

 Apply here now.

 Here’s to your selling success!