We have a simple axiom in business. Provide as much value as possible to your clients. And get paid well for doing so.
But many businesses stop short. Sure you solve the immediate issue, but I’m willing to bet you’re leaving money on the table by not selling additional products or services that would enhance your client’s experience.
A simple example is buying paint at your local hardware store. A smart salesperson would ensure you have rollers/brushes, tarps, masking tape and paint trays. All of which add profit to the business’ bottom line while helping you.
So your job is to think really hard about everything you could possibly sell to this client and then make sure you put an offer in front of them. Anything else is not actually serving them.
There are two ways of looking at this.
The first is an ascension model.
Prospects are naturally suspicious. They’re wondering “Will this work? Will I get value? Can I trust them to deliver?”
Have a number of different levels that clients can engage with you on.
Offer something relatively small where they can dip their toes into the water.
In our case, we offer a 2 Heads consultation where clients spend a couple of hours working on a specific issue they’re facing. Gives them a taste and allows us to see if we want to work with them.
From there a client can ascend to a full day strategy session where we work on their vision/mindset, 5 year strategy, marketing or sales systems.
Then we move into either specific projects or a retainer based coaching/mentoring system where we work on their business holistically.
Each stage builds on the previous one.
A financial planning client of ours offers a paid introductory session where they give substantial advice while determining whether they can add value long term. Prospects get a taste of what working together would be like.
They then offer various service levels all the way up to acting like a CFO for the family business.
The second is the 4 Axis method.
Essentially your aim is to become a one stop shop.
Start with your core offering and think about:
Moving up a level:
What’s your offering a subset of? Is there a bigger program you can offer that covers more bases?
Move down:
Then go down a level. Is there something more detailed you could provide but aren’t? If you’re program is mainly advice based, could you offer implementation services?
What comes before:
Is there something your clients need before they engage with your core offering? Do they know they need this? If they’re getting it from another provider, do they know you can provide it too?
What comes after:
Same deal.
Analyse what your clients are really trying to achieve. What steps do they have to take to get the results?
Obviously this takes thinking on your part.
Take the time to really nut this out and I’m sure you’ll find areas you could add value but aren’t. These are your opportunities to sell more and keep the client in your orbit rather than lose business to a competitor.
And finally, if you’d like help creating an ascension system where you create a value ladder for your clients, and/or want to work on your 4 Axis, drop me a line.
We can start with a 2 Heads where we’ll spend a couple of hours nutting out where you’ll need to get to.
Call me on 0414 913 334.
