Maybe you’re familiar with the serenity prayer.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.”
In business, there are things you can control and things you can’t.
You can’t control peoples’ perception of the economy. That they’re holding on to their wallets. Becoming more discerning. Or when they’re ready to buy.
What you can control is how you go to market. How you present your products and services. How you attract and engage your audience so that when they’re ready to move forward, you’re the obvious choice.
But before you rush headlong into a marketing frenzy, ask these critical questions.
- “What problem am I really solving for my audience?”
- “Do they care?”
- “Will they pay for solution?”
- “How could I get my message in front of them cost effectively?”
- And “How would I differentiate myself from everyone else?”
One caveat. Don’t ask yourself and assume the answers. The only person who counts is your prospect.
So you need to ask them directly. “Are you facing this problem? And if not, what are you facing?” And then the rest of the questions.
Anything else and you risk inventing another mousetrap.
Our accountant, one of Australia’s leading property tax specialists did exactly this and found clients wanted his strategic tax advice but were worried about the clock ticking every time they called.
With our help he put together fixed price packages which include tax returns, advice, and other structuring which allow his clients to know exactly what they get for their money.
Now that you’ve identified the problem, clarified there is a desire, you need to attract their attention. Then spark interest and a desire to know more.
How? By providing value first.
No one wants to be “sold to”.
Find ways of adding value to each interaction with your prospect. What’s happening in their world. What challenges are they facing? What interests them. This could be personal as well as professional.
With every contact point, share valuable information or an insight that helps them in some way.
You could use a combination of articles, white papers, seminars, webinars, podcasts and even write a book.
Our proven mechanism is articles which lead to white papers, seminars/webinars and consistent educational value add which leads to sales meetings.
Yes, it takes considerable time and effort. And I’m willing to bet most people reading this won’t make the effort. By not doing so, you miss out on a veritable gold mine.
Realise that…
- At any time only 3% of your prospects are ready to buy right now if you present an offer to them.
- A further 7% are open to the offer and will give it active consideration.
- 30% aren’t talking about the issue, even if they’re looking for a solution in the back of their minds.
- A further 30% think they’re not interested – but could become so over time.
- And the final 30% are definitely not interested, no matter what you tell them.
How will you know who falls into which camp?
The answer is you don’t!
You must consistently keep in touch. Keep adding value. And when they’re ready, they’ll buy.
You can see examples of top of funnel educational material we’ve created for our clients here.
These White Papers, coupled with our follow up and sales strategies have been responsible for bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars for our clients.
Our own example of a top of funnel offer is here.
Check out these other examples we’ve created – including the infrastructure to deliver them:
If you sell a high value product or service and want better quality clients, contact us. We can help you determine exactly what your prospects are looking for. Then create a complete marketing and sales funnel which will attract and help you convert them into high value, long term clients.
Call Rashid on 0414-913-334 to get the ball rolling.
