No matter how good you are at closing the sale, sometimes a prospective client doesn’t bite on the first sales conversation. But instead of letting them walk away and never hearing from them again, you can use a technique I developed to stop them slipping through your fingers.
Sometimes, a prospect needs some time to make the decision on whether or when they’d like to start working with you. What I’ve noticed over the years is that when this happens, almost always, the sale never happens, probably because life gets in the way and what’s out of sight, is out of mind.
So I’ve come up with a fantastic remedy for this, which, in addition to my fool-proof closing the sale script, helps me close the deal 90% of the times I use it. I’ve called it “bookending” and here’s how it works.
Often, at the end of our initial consultation, prospects tell me that they need to talk to their spouse, need some time to decide, or want to ideally start in 2 months. Instead of letting them walk away without a plan, I propose scheduling a 5-minute “check-in” call with them to see where they are in their process.
Often, I’ll ask whether they need 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months to make a decision. Usually, the answer is next week, so we’ll set up a 5-minute chat for next Tuesday, at 3pm, for example. I explain this will help us follow up with each other, without having to play phone tag or having to follow up with one another unnecessarily.
The great thing about this technique is it puts a (self-imposed) time limit in the prospect’s mind as to when THEY would like to make the decision, and obviously, you let them choose when they’d like to have that 5-minute chat.
I essentially came up with this because I really dislike following up in this situation. It makes me feel like I’m chasing after them and I don’t feel this is Client Attractive. So instead, we agree they’ll call me on set date and 90% of the time they do, and out of those times, they don’t feel pressured, they’ve had time to think about what we talked about, crunched the numbers, and are ready to make a decision to move forward.
It’s a great tool, especially since it doesn’t make me have to pressure anyone into the sale! Whew!
If for whatever reason they don’t call during the time of your 5 minute check-in appointment, you can then call them or e-mail them asking if anything went wrong. This usually puts the prospect into a mode where they feel obliged to get back to you, as THEY were the one who missed the appointment. Again, this is much more Client Attractive and ends up saving you a lot of time.
Your Assignment:
If a client doesn’t sign up on the spot, make sure to ‘bookend’ another date so you don’t have to follow up on each other for weeks. Use it as a “let’s see where you are in your decision-making process then.” It works like a charm.
If you need to start closing the sale 90% of the time too, you’ll want to get a copy of the ‘Closing The Sale’ script I use detailed in the Client Attraction Home Study System™. Step by step, I take you through everything you need to do to pre-qualify prospects, get them ready for the close AND exactly what to say to turn them into paying clients. Get it today by going to www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com. You’ll also get hundreds of other ideas and resources to help YOU become a Client Attraction machine like thousands of my previous clients.
© 2006 Fabienne Fredrickson
Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Expert, is founder of the Client Attraction System™, the proven step-by-step program to help you attract more clients, in record time and consistently. To learn more about Fabienne's Client Attraction Home Study System™, sign up for her FREE client attraction tips and no-charge teleclasses on attracting more clients, visit http://www.ClientAttraction.com.
Article Source: ezinearticles.comIf someone asked me to summarise the Law of Attraction in a phrase, I would say:
"listen to and be guided by your emotions"
Because within them lies the essential truth - if we relinquish the judgement, the labelling and guilt about our emotions and look through for what they are telling us.
Most of reading this live in cultures where our emotions are often derided and our rational, logical, "problem solving skills" are applauded (I often wonder whether having problem solving ability leads you to create more problems in order to exercise that ability! Just a thought.......:.)
But our feelings about a given situation is the most reliable indicator and a fantastic boon when it comes to decision making.
The only difficulty is that we don't trust it. Or we strangle it at birth.
Haven't you noticed that the more reasons you create for following a course of action, the more "logical" reason you give is usually an indication that it's not the right path. When something is right for you then you usually just "know" it; reasons become redundant.
You know when things look "good on paper", but don't mesh in your reality.
In tennis, the centre of the racket is called the Sweet Spot. It is the area of the string bed that produces the best combination of feel and power. It is the perfect connection where the ball is hit most cleanly, most effectively; it resonates more deeply and just feels right. It is the area of the racket that tennis players aim for.
Hitting the ball outside the sweet spot often leads to mishits and mistakes and you can really feel the dissonant vibrations when you mishit a ball. You can often hear the jarring sound it makes. And there's a nice parallel when situations jar with us too.
Whenever I'm unsure of whether to follow a course of action, I ask myself: "Does it hit my sweet spot?". Invariably the answer is no, because asking the question itself reveals the answer. As such it is a useful internal barometer and shortcut.
Yet how many of us actually ask ourselves this kind of question?
Keep asking the question, heed your answer and keep following your sweet spot and watch the quality of your life soar!
Julie Plenty helps creative people achieve their goals using the Law of Attraction and authentic and inspired goal setting. Read more articles on how to make the Law of Attraction work for you by visiting: http://lawofattraction.blogharbor.com
Article Source: ezinearticles.comNot many marketing gurus out there talk to you about walking your talk. That said; it’s important to have your image fit what you do. Living your message makes all the difference in attracting clients. Your image is just as important as your marketing message and your claim in the marketplace.
If you are a seriously overweight, out-of-breath personal trainer or a consultant whose own company is struggling to succeed, you’re probably not going to attract many clients, no matter what you say or do.
Client example: a former client of mine was a fellow business coach helping small businesses. She came to me because she wasn’t attracting ANY clients and was at a loss as to what to do. It quickly became clear to me why this was happening.
She positioned herself as being the one to help you jumpstart your business and grow it to the next level. The problem was HER business was a mess. Her marketing materials were weak, her marketing message was murky, her materials were shoddy, she had old business cards with the phone number crossed off and written in pen, she used a hotmail e-mail address for business instead of a dedicated domain name and her e-mail newsletter was really vague.
It was difficult for me to tell her this, but no one else was telling her, and that’s why she was paying me, so I bit the bullet. (She was glad I did.) I told her that potential clients were probably not working with her because she wasn’t walking her talk. The image she was portraying was not one of a serious business coach who could help people jumpstart their business.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this often comes straight from the “cobbler’s kids don’t wear shoes” syndrome. Often we’re so busy working on our clients’ issues; we barely have time to work on our own. (I too have been known to need to carve serious time to work on my own marketing, after-hours, so I’m not throwing stones here.) But in this case, it was extreme and it was keeping this poor business coach from attracting ANY new clients.
We cleaned up her act by having her spend some time on her own business as if she were her own client. We scheduled a set number of hours per week where she would work on cleaning up her act and start walking her talk.
Your Assignment:
What message are you sending out about your business? Are you walking your talk?
To find out more about ways to attract clients in your practice using proven, tried-and-true marketing techniques, check out www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com for more info on the ultimate Client Attraction self-study manual.
© 2006 Fabienne Fredrickson
Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Expert, is founder of the Client Attraction System™, the proven step-by-step program to help you attract more clients, in record time and consistently. To learn more about Fabienne's Client Attraction Home Study System™, sign up for her FREE client attraction tips and no-charge teleclasses on attracting more clients, visit http://www.ClientAttraction.com.
Article Source: ezinearticles.com|
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