Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could “build it and they will come”. Unfortunately that only happens in Kevin Costner movies.
In business if you wait around for clients, you’re likely to be waiting a long time (and going out of business in the meantime).
So you have to get out and sell.
Which is an anathema to many professional consultants.
Often because they have a self-belief about their own value and exchanging money for results they deliver.
The late Zig Ziglar insisted the first sale is always to yourself.
When training people selling expensive pots and pans, he insisted they buy them at full price for themselves and use them every day. That was the only way salespeople would be convinced of the value and could honestly tell a prospect the product was great.
Would you buy whatever it is for the price you’re asking? If not, why would you think someone else would?
Given this one of the first things you must do is have complete conviction regarding the value of what you’re selling. That clients will get the outcomes you promise and be mad not to buy into your solution.
But that belief doesn’t always come easily. Especially for experts who by the very nature of their expertise think that what they do is “easy” and therefore don’t value it.
It’s a trap I’ve fallen into. I’d write some copy and say, “that was easy” only to have Barbara kick me and say, “yeah, after 20 years of solid learning and experience – so stop underselling yourself”.
So if you fall into this camp the first thing you need to do is unpack your own value.
This is an exercise we do with every client.
List everything you do for your clients and then look at exactly what knowledge and experience you need for each.
For each item think about what problem that solves. For each problem go up levels and ask “so what?” What else does this solve? What ultimately do your clients get from this? Look for both logical and emotional payoffs. This will highlight the value in your client’s eyes.
Then drill down.
Break each item down into what’s involved in delivering it.
Explain it in these terms:
The overall context – Where does it fit in in the overall scheme of your solutions?
The concept – what is this particular item about. What are the underlying principles that make this work?
The content – what are the actual steps to accomplishing this piece of work.
Force yourself to list all the steps in detail. Don’t judge anything or devalue a step. Just put it on paper. The more the better.
Now go over all the material and get a sense for just how much you know and how much you can help your clients and the value you bring to the table.
Let it sink in. Keep going over it until you really believe it.
Now go out and talk to prospects. Use what you’ve created to demonstrate your value.
Ironically you’ll find yourself not having to “sell”. By having an absolute conviction regarding your value, you’ll exude a level of quiet confidence which will attract people to you. You’ll never have to “sell” again.
Finally, if you would like help “unpacking your value” my expertise is in expressing complex ideas simply and presenting them in terms that has your prospects going, “I really get it and want your solution”.
Come join us for our next Effortless Selling Masterclass Series where we’ll go into a lot of depth on how to maximise your business results. More details at: https://revealedresources.com/masterclass-maximising-growth/