Q:
I've started an insurance business. I need my prospects to know
that the value I offer is different from my competitors, and I want
to get the most business from my advertising and prospecting
efforts. What do you suggest?
A:
Your question tugs at the essence of what's important for
thriving, and even surviving, in business today. Let me suggest
three power steps you can take to the street and the
bank:
Step 1: The power of
familiarity.
Help your prospect become extremely familiar with you and your
organization prior to meeting you. The key operative word here is
"prior."
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Marketing research tells us that if a person sees and/or
experiences a product or idea seven times, they are then familiar
with that item or concept. When answering prior questions, I've
shared the power of sending correspondence such as letters, faxes,
e-presentations and the like. What I'd like to suggest here is
that you create a wave of familiarity around you and your products,
services and solutions before your first prospecting call.
Truth be told, your organization would have to spend many
millions of dollars to establish that kind of brand awareness for
every prospect in your sales territory. But you and I can pull it
off at a mere fraction of that cost. I've always felt that it
should be a key priority to do this kind of local brand awareness
campaign. The following sequence of events can help you establish
the prospect's familiarity with you and your company and the
value you can deliver.
Create a "wave" of no less than seven pieces of
correspondence sent to your prospect as the relationship unfolds.
These can include, but need not be limited to, the following:
- A letter that either introduces your ideas and value or
announces an accomplishment in your prospect's niche or
industry. (Then you make a phone call.)
- An e-mail with a suggested "agenda" and the date and
time of the first appointment. (Then you make a phone call)
- A confirmation of the first appointment date, time and
location. Now you actually have your first appointment with the
prospect. Follow with:
- A thank-you note after the first appointment.
- A note confirming the action items from the first appointment.
(You may want to follow this with a phone call to make sure all is
agreed upon.)
- An e-mail with a suggested "agenda" for the second
appointment. (Then you make a phone call to confirm these
points.)
- A confirmation of the second appointment date, time and
location. (Did you hear that? I think it was the sound of a cash
register.)
Now that's what I call familiarity. Let's take a look at
the next power step to win the sale quickly.
Step 2: The power of
urgency.
For your prospects, the element of time is deeply interwoven with
every reward and every fear. Time is the critical factor. You must
clearly articulate how time intensifies the feeling of a specific
reward or a specific fear.
Before you show up for your first appointment, I urge you to
calculate your estimate of the total potential value of your
products, services and solutions to your prospect. Once you have
completed this task, you need only to find out what this prospect
is motivated by--reward or fear--and when they must take action to
achieve a specific reward or avoid a specific fear. You can
accomplish this by asking a question along these lines:
"Mr. Smith, what's personally important to you about
moving your operations to southern Florida between now and the end
of this fiscal year?" Notice the use of the word
"personally," which tells you the "what," and
the incorporation of time, which will give you an idea of the
"when."
If you hear something like this--"If I don't, the cost
of union labor here in New Jersey will drive me out of
business"--then Mr. Smith is making an attempt to avoid fear.
Position your solution as the antidote to that fear, and what you
propose will be perceived as urgently important.
If you hear this--"Being located in southern Florida will
put me closer to my Central American marketplace and keep me a step
ahead of my competition"--then Mr. Smith is making an attempt
to obtain a reward. Position your solution as the means to this
reward, and what you propose will be perceived as urgently
important. Once you set the urgency factor, you can move quickly to
peak the prospect's curiosity about you and your products,
services and solutions.
Step 3: The power of
curiosity.
Do everything you can (ethically, of course) to raise the level of
your prospect's curiosity in your business, whether it's in
your correspondence, over the phone or during in-person meetings.
In your correspondence, use phrases like: "There's much
more to discuss that I would prefer to go over in person," or
"We were able to deliver an X percent increase in sales for
ABC Co., while reducing their marketing expenses."
During a phone conversation, mention upfront that before the end
of the call, you'll want to disclose an important benefit to
this prospect for the over accomplishment of a certain goal, plan
or objective. Say, "Please remind me to cover..." or
"Before we reach the end of our call, we'll talk
about...".
In person, during your first appointment with your prospect, say
something very similar to the phrases below (and use them in place
of the typical ice-breaker we've all been taught to use):
"In just a moment, we can explore what 65 of the Fortune
100..." or "Before too long, let's make sure we talk
about...".
There you have it: three simple ways for substantially
increasing sales revenues with little increase in your cost of
sales.
Tony Parinello is the author of the bestselling book Selling to VITO, the Very Important Top
Officer. For additional information on his speeches and his
newest book, Secrets of VITO, call (800) 777-VITO or
visit www.sellingtovito.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are those
of the author, not of Entrepreneur.com. All answers are intended to
be general in nature, without regard to specific geographical areas
or circumstances, and should only be relied upon after consulting
an appropriate expert, such as an attorney or
accountant.