I have recently given a few free workshops (sponsored by the Contra Costa Small Business Development Center and the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce). In them I outlined how to increase profits without relying so heavily on generating new leads.
Check out the 4 minute clip above for an overview of what else you need to be doing to increase profits other than slogging it out trying to generate new leads from cold suspects.
Ah, the cocktail party question. How well do you do with it? Ever wish you had a better answer at that chamber mixer or networking lunch? There is lots of good advice out there to help you, and I encourage you to soak it all up. There is nothing more important than answering that simple question.
In fact, I contend that your internal and external answers to that question form the basis of all of your marketing and selling success — it is that fundamental. There is a simple reason we all stumble over that question…
It’s the wrong question!
Don’t be fooled, it’s a trap. A perfectly innocent trap laid by well-intentioned people, but a trap nonetheless. As I have talked about in this blog many times, we should not focus our message on the products or services we provide (what we do), but should instead focus on the benefits our clients realize by working with us (what they get). Answer the question “what do you do?” and you end up right where you don’t what to be.
Here is the question you wish they’d ask:
“What is the ultimate result your clients experience by doing business with you?”
So what can you do about it? Don’t answer the actual question…pretend he or she asked the other one. Here is an illustration using my own business:
Innocent conversationalist: “So, what do you do?”
Andy: “I develop marketing and selling strategies for small business owners.” Or even worse “I’m a marketing consultant.”
Innocent conversationalist: “{silent groan} Oh, I think I hear someone calling me. Nice to meet you Alfred.”
So here is another scenario:
Innocent conversationalist: “So, what do you do?”
Andy: {silently translates question to be “What is the ultimate result your clients experience by doing business with you?”} “I help business owners create more profitable companies that require less of their time, energy and stress.”
Innocent conversationalist: “Really, how do you do that?”
Not only is it a more powerful way to answer the question, it starts a conversation by making it natural for the other person to ask “how?” Another way to think about this situation is to not talk about what you do and how you do it. Instead, talk about what your clients get and why they’re excited about it.
Many of you know that I was originally an engineer and that I like to talk about that a lot (you’re probably really bored of me pointing it out). I think it just helps to explain how I think, and how I help people. But anyway, a characteristic of an engineer is precision, exactness… This translates into a desire for precise language for many of us. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I agree, but I also submit that the rightword says it all.
So I am often on a mission to find just the right word to express something. I recently had one of those moments where a single word unlocked so much for me — “enrollment.” So where did I hear about it and what am I talking about?
I have spent the last 5 months participating in a great group coaching program put on by Bill Baren of San Francisco. If you haven’t heard of him, he is one of the premier business coaches in the area — in the country for that matter. I have been part of an intensive “Client Mastery Blueprint” program where he has shared many of his proven methods for gaining more clients (and helping more in the process). One of the most transformational concepts I picked up was the notion of “enrolling” clients into your program, service, or even product for that matter.
What a great term! “Sales” and “selling” are focused on what we as the provider are doing, or want from the relationship. As I have written about in an a variety of posts, we really shouldn’t be “selling” anything — we should think of our “sales” task as simply providing an opportunity for our prospects to experience the benefits we are uniquely able to deliver. Bill gave me the single word I’ve been looking for!
So I am taking up that term — enrollment. Next time you are planning to meet with someone to determine if purchasing what you have to offer is a good fit for them or not, think of this term. Isn’t it a great mindset? You will not be there to sell them anything. You will be there to articulate how you, your company’s service, or your product could help them, explain the fees you charge, and provide them the opportunity to enroll or not!
Intrigued? I encourage you to check out a new program that Bill Baren will be running. A series of 6 teleconferences focused on this very topic called the “Master of Enrollment” program. Sorry for the tight notice, but I didn’t realize that as a Bill Baren Coaching client I am empowered to offer a discount of $200 to my friends and clients.
The program starts Wednesday April 7th (first teleconference) and the discount goes away at the end of tomorrow (April 6th). I can personally vouch for the quality of Bill’s methods and content. Feel free to call me at (925) 683-1685 to discuss. If you are having trouble with enrolling new clients into your business, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
This is Bill’s eighth year as a successful business coach and what he teaches in this program is what has made his business a success. I believe Bill will give you the BEST possible training you can get for your business. Here’s the reason why:
There is NOTHING more important to your business success than turning potential clients into paying clients. These are people who want your help and whose lives would be better off by working with you! So here’s your chance to create an authentic way for them to be enthused to say Yes to you. EVERYTHING else is in your business is secondary to your ability to enroll. Period.
And becoming a ”Master of Enrollment” will help you do this.
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