How Big Are The Hurdles To Do Business With You?

If you look at what it takes for clients to do business with you it might seem like there is a line of hurdles between you and the client.  But are they big hurdles?  Or little hurdles.

If I'm selling a product I might have a $20 eBook as the first hurdle.  I might have a $97 course as the second hurdle.  I might have a consultation package for a couple hundred dollars as a third hurdle.  

If all I had was a multi-hundred dollar package as the first hurdle I'd be missing a lot of people because most people don't want to commit that much on the first go around with you.  They want to dip their toe in the water first.

Today I went to a Pilates instructor for an initial visit.  The initial visit was $65 for fifty minutes.  A manageable amount for a first visit.  But ongoing visits are $95 per fifty minute session.  Ouch!

If that first visit was $95 I may have balked and looked elsewhere.  But because that first visit was manageable I went and had a great time.  Now that $95 doesn't seem so much even though it's above average.

Think about how you can offer a sampling, a taste if you will, of your service.  Lower that initial hurdle so you can at least get in the game with more clients.  You'll be glad you did.

Jonathan -

Stand Up and Smile When You're On The Phone

Since most of us make our first real contact with a client over the phone I'd like to pass on a little tip I learned when conducting radio interviews.  

Back during my days as an Olympic athlete I did a lot of radio interviews.  One I remember vividly was with a radio station from the midwest during the Olympics from Norway.)  But our media trainer taught us to stand up and smile even if we were on the phone and no one could see us.

It's amazing how you can tell what the person is doing on the other end of the phone just from their voice.  When you stand up you tend to be more alive, more animated, and it translates into your voice.  But if you are sitting down, slumping over that will come  through in your voice too.

So if you're looking to give a great impression to your prospect over the phone get off your butt!

Jonathan -

Tell People About Your Way Of Doing Things

There is a very famous marketing story I'd like to share with you.  And it has to do with beer.

Now you might be wondering what the hell beer, and you, have in common.  Or you're thinking that you and beer have a lot in common.  Let me explain.

A man by the name of Claude Hopkins was hired to write advertising copy for a beer company that was sitting about number ten on the list of beer companies.  They wasnted to turn things around so they hired Claude and had him visit their company.

During the tour Claude asked what one of the workers was doing.  The executives answered that he was washing the inside of the glass bottles with water prior to having them filled with beer.  Claude's response was that he never knew that they did that.  The Executives answer was that all beer companies did that.  Claude knew he was on to something.

So Claude went out and told the world about how this company did what they did.  From the washing of the bottles to ensure cleanliness.  To the filtering processes.  To the bottling.  He laid it all out for the consumer.  What seemed so mundane and boring to everyone in the beer industry was the thing that mattered.  It was the education of the process that set them apart.

I'd like you to educate your prospects about your process.  How do you do what YOU do.  

I don't care if you think it's boring.  Or if you think that it is so basic that EVERYONE will know it already.  The truth is that your prospects don't care about it.  They care that you care about it and the fact that you care will make them want to do business with you.

When I hire an accountant I don't really care about accounting.  I do care about how they are going to do my books and how they are going to save me money.  But when I search for an accountant they all look the same to me.  But the one I go with is the one who educates me on their process.  How they drill through the details and get things done right.

If you are a personal trainer the world needs to know how you get your clients in shape.  If you think that there are already others who do what you do and why would that be of interest to your clients think about this...Have a look at the fitness section of the local bookstore.  Have you ever seen so many books based on the same topic? Eat well.  Move a little.  Same principle but there are literally thousands of books based on the same topic.  Get your process out there so you can attract your clients.

Sometimes just talking about your process can be the differentiating factor between your business and everyone else's.  The truth is that about two percent of the service providers will even take the time to do what I'm asking you to do.  So get out there and explain your process to the world.  It will gain the respect from your ideal client I guarantee it.

Find Your School of Fish

We live in a pretty competitive society.  

We also tend to believe that the pie from which we can eat is a fixed size.  I get a piece...you get a piece.  If I want more of a piece then you will get less of a piece.  

I want you to stop thinking like that for a moment and think of this.

Out there, in the World, are enough clients to make us all happy.  Your goal is to find the ones that want to listen to what you have to say and charge them the rates you want to charge.

I used to feel that if I wanted to create a big business then others would suffer.  What I learned was that by providing quality information and spreading that information to others I actually raised everyones awareness of what good information and service was all about.  By doing so we all made more money and I was a happy boy.

You have a message.  You may feel it is not that different than others who are spreading a similar message.  But the major difference is that the person who is spreading the message (you) is what is different.  And YOU will attract a school of fish who likes you, and only you.  And not the other guy. 

I was watching a show a while back called "What's Your Time Worth."  Before the commercial they teased me by saying that, "After the break we'll introduce you to a time management coach who'll help you get more done in less time." So I waited through the commercial to see this Life Coach who had this crazy hair, a white bow tied in a ribbon around her head, a wrist brace on her wrist, and I believe she was a little chubby.  Now there is nothing wrong with any of those things, but to me this was not someone who I thought oozed "time-management-got-your-life-together" sort of image.  I wasn't impressed but obviously this woman has a client base worthy enough of getting her on a national TV show.  It was just proof to me that anyone can have a successful client base.

Your goal is to not be THE expert.  It's to be THEIR expert.  I'll talk more about that in our next post.

Jonathan -

There Is No Relationship Between Being Good At What You Do And Getting Paid

This may come as a bit of a surprise but it's true.  There really is no difference between being good at what you do and getting paid.

Think I'm crazy?  Think about this...

Can you tell me about someone in your industry who makes more money than you do but you feel knows less than you do about your particular expertise?  I bet you can.

Now why does that person make more money than you do?  

Because his or her client base feels that they are worth it, that's why.  It's simple really.  That individual has drawn the attention of those particular clients while those clients have not had their attention drawn to anything better.  

And while it's frustrating for you to know that those people could be getting better information or service from you, they still go to that other guy who you think isn't very good.

We've all seen great marketing sell poor services.  But that should be an exciting fact to you.  Because if you have a better service, and you develop equal marketing to compete with that other guy...you too will ultimately have a more profitable business.  So get out there and start spreading the word about what's good about you!  And stop worrying that there are people out there who aren't nearly as good as you, who are making money.