The More Clients Blog

Law of the Ultimate Outcome - Persuasion Strategies - Pt. 9

What's the most important law of persuasion? I think it's the "Law of the Ultimate Outcome," because no other marketing law impacts every single part of your business.

Everyone's heard of a 'marketing message' or a 'unique selling proposition.' Those are what make your business unique and has it stand out amongst a crowd of look-alike services.

But an Ultimate Outcome goes beyond that.

Let me demonstrate what this means to you in one simple example. You might say this is the difference between talking about your business in a general way and talking about it in an outcome-oriented way.

Two people have very similar businesses. They are Human Resource consultants. They have similar backgrounds, similar knowledge and similar skills. But how they talk about their businesses and how they've structured their services is very different.

One of the specialties that both work on are issues regarding retention of key employees. This is an important area for all companies, because if you lose your top talent, you lose your competitive advantage as a company.

HR Consultant #1

She talks about her retention services in these terms: "We work with companies who are concerned about retaining their top people. We work with our clients, to implement strategies that help to both attract the best people and then to retain these employees for the long term. We use tools such as assessments, incentives, culture-matching and management and supervisory skill training."

OK, that sounds pretty good. Sounds like she knows what she's doing and has the understanding, skills and expertise to help her clients. I'd say her overall marketing is pretty clear. Now let's look at how our next consultant helps with retention.

HR Consultant #2

He talks about his retention services in very different terms: "Our average client company is losing between one and twenty million dollars each year due to attrition. These costs are mostly for rehiring and training and add up to an average of $227K per executive. We provide a turnkey "Attrition Turnaround" Program that is guaranteed to do the following: a) cut attrition by 37% or more in the first year and by 63% in the second year. Our "Smart Hiring" Program guarantees a retention rate of 87% over a three-year period. We save our average client $4.2 million in the first year.

Guess who's going to get more business? (And who's going to be able to charge a whole lot more for their services?)

HR Consultant #2 sells an Ultimate Outcome, not a service. In fact all of his services have Ultimate Outcomes. They are relevant and measurable. They grab immediate attention. The solve a pressing problem and offer a turnkey solution. There is no 'process' in an Ultimate Outcome, it's all about 'results.'

Now, I know your objection to all of this. You have no idea how you could possibly structure your business to offer an Ultimate Outcome like this. How is it possible? After all, you don't have those figures and results to point to, for a start.

Sadly, most Independent Professionals have gone down the "this is my process" path for so long that they don't even think about what the client gets. They only know what they do. They haven't tried to produce bottom-line for clients, but have settled with implementing various processes to the best of their ability.

Would you accept such an approach from your doctor?

Doctor #1

"Well, we work with sick people and we do all kinds of operations. You have some kind of cancer, not sure what. It's hard to tell what the outcome will be but we're really good with our surgical instruments and will give it our best shot. I don't know what your budget is, but we'll try to make it as affordable as possible."

Doctor #2

"We are cancer experts. You need to have an operation immediately to remove that tumor. In cases like yours, we have a 79% success rate, so the prognosis is good. We've done dozens of these operations before and we are confident this one won't present us with any major complications. The fee for the operation is $20,000."

Let me see, I think I'll take Doctor #2, thank you very much!

So my answer to, "I don't know how to do this," is, "Learn!! and make it the primary focus of your business." If you don't learn how to deliver Ultimate Outcomes to your clients, you will never reach the level of professionalism that is possible.

Here's the basic process you need to follow:

- Determine the biggest, most pressing problems of your clients. What's a major concern that's costing them dearly? 

- Can you offer a turnkey solution to that problem? Do you have the knowledge and skills to offer an Ultimate Outcome? 

- Develop a program to deliver that Ultimate Outcome. Don't think of what the client can afford but how your Ultimate Outcome will pay for itself many times over. 

- Create compelling marketing materials and strategies that communicate the value (not so much the process) of your Ultimate Outcome. Make sure to create a case study for each client success story. 

- Develop a "selling conversation process" that engages a prospect, determines the cost of their problem and then presents your program as the desired Ultimate Outcome. 

- Deliver your program with every ounce of professional skill that you possess. Don't cut corners. You're there to produce an Ultimate Outcome for a client, not to "render a service."

Get my bestselling Audio Program, "Creating an Ultimate Outcome and Unique Service Offering." This program gives you an even more step-by step methodology to develop Ultimate Outcomes for your business. Only $29.

www.actionplan.com/tc/tc_ultoutcome.html

I wish you the best in creating programs that deliver powerful Ultimate Outcomes. Your success depends on it!

P.S. Look for our program later this year on creating "High-End, Outcome Based Programs." This program is for those who already have the basics of marketing in place. If you don't, I recommend you start with the InfoGuru Marketing Manual (in addition to the audio program above).

www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html

*

The More Clients bottom line: If you are not marketing and selling an Ultimate Outcome, you are missing huge opportunities to not only expand your business, but to make the lasting impact with your clients that you've always wanted.

*

Do you offer an Ultimate Outcome to your clients? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Law of Follow-Up - Persuasion Strategies Pt. 8

Did you know that one of the most important marketing activities is also a law of persuasion? This activity is one of the most feared of all marketing activities, and this law is one of the most important laws of persuasion.

What is this activity and Law? It's FOLLOW-UP.

I'm sure you've heard in many places that the number one fear of most people is standing up and giving a talk to a group. Not in my experience. Sure, it's an issue for some, but a much bigger fear is making follow-up calls. I've seen grown men tremble with terror at the prospect of making these calls!

It's such a tough thing for most people because it brings up the fear of rejection more than anything else. When we connect with someone, just the thought of making that follow-up call fills us with dread. Here are some of the thoughts that stream through our heads. Are some familiar to you?

- They won't be interested anyway
- If I call, I'll be seen as pushy
- It will be better if I wait a few weeks
- If they were interested, they'd call me
- I don't know what to say on the call
- I'll be rejected anyway, so why bother
- I don't like getting calls, why should they?
- Maybe they'll forget who I am
- Prospects see these kind of call as begging
- I'm really above making follow-up calls
- Nobody else makes follow-up calls
- Follow-up calls just don't work
- I don't have time to make follow up calls

Before I refute every single one of these thoughts, I want to remind you of the purpose of a follow-up call. The purpose of a follow-up call is to explore whether or not it makes sense to pursue a business relationship. That's it.

Follow-up calls are made after an initial connection, say at a networking event. They are made when someone shows some interest in our services. They are NOT sales calls. They are not always calls to set up appointments. They are opportunities to connect and explore possibilities.

If done correctly, people actually like getting follow-up calls. The key is 'correctly', because so many people blow the follow-up call and then decide that they are a waste of time. They never learn how to make successful follow-up calls.

Good follow-up calls are simple:

"Hi, this is Robert Middleton, we met at the networking event a couple days ago. I wanted the chance to find out more about your business and also tell you a little about my business. Maybe we'll find some common ground. Is this a good time to talk for a few minutes?"

Would a call like that kill you? I don't think so. So let's go back to all those thoughts that stop you from making these calls and let me refute them one by one:

They won't be interested anyway
How do you know? You don't. You are calling to discover mutual interests and see if there is a possible next step. You can only know if there is interest if you actually make the call.

If I call, I'll be seen as pushy
Will you? Only if you act pushy when you're on the call. You're not that kind of person are you? Be yourself, prepare what to say and make the call. Most will be happy to receive it.

It will be better if I wait a few weeks
No you won't. There's a good chance they'll forget you if you wait too long. Strike when the iron is not. One to three days is good.

If they were interested, they'd call me
Oh, no they wouldn't. Because they are as afraid of making follow-up calls as you are and they don't want to betray that they are interested in your services as you might be too pushy!

I don't know what to say on the call
Well, learn, then practice and then make the damn call. You don't have to be a professional tele-marketer. Just be you.

I'll be rejected anyway, so why bother
Will you? That's not my experience. Will they send a hit man to take you out? Not gonna happen. They will welcome the call.

I don't like getting calls, why should they?
You don't like getting cold calls from strangers and inept follow-up calls from boobies. But that's not you is it? Make the call.

Maybe they'll forget who I am
They will if you call apologetically six months later. If you call a few days after meeting and remind them of your conversation, they'll remember who you are.

Prospects see these kind of call as begging
Again, only if you beg on the call. "I'm calling you to beg you to do business with me because I'm desperate and need your business." Don't do that and you'll be fine.

I'm really above making follow-up calls
Are you? Are you above growing your business and getting new clients who will rave about your services? Then you are not above making calls like this. They are an honorable thing to do.

Nobody else makes follow-up calls
Exactly. Everyone is scared stiff to make them. So you're actually not getting a lot of them, are you? But the few who really get it, have fun making these calls and grow their business because of it.

Follow-up calls just don't work
Don't they? When I want to grow my business I offer a new program, do some kind of intro such as a teleclass and then follow up with those who show interest. It works, believe me.

I don't have time to make follow-up calls
Do you have time to succeed at your business? If you can't find the time, my recommendation is to throw in the towel NOW! Why torture yourself with thoughts like these?

Do you have any other objections about making follow-up calls? Instead, give yourself a break and actually make some calls!

How about a few reasons to make them? If you create a mindset that follow-up calls are necessary, useful, effective, and can grow your business, you'll discover the following when you start to make follow-up calls:

1. People appreciate that you took the initiative to make a follow-up; it makes you look like a professional, committed to service.

2. Follow-up calls will catch a ton of business that would otherwise have fallen between the cracks.

3. Follow-up calls will open up opportunities you would never have suspected. They not only lead to new business from those you call, but to referrals and other connections.

4. Making follow-up calls will make you a sharper business person. You'll learn to think on your feet, answer challenging questions and come up with innovative solutions.

5. When you master follow-up calls, nothing, literally nothing, will stop you from growing your business at a rate you thought was impossible before.

Want to know more about making follow-up calls that will help you grow your business? Check out this audio program today:

The Art and Science of TelePhone Follow-Up

The Art and Science of Telephone Follow-Up

*

The More Clients bottom line: The ability to make follow-up calls is what separates the winners from the losers in business. Show me someone willing to master the job of making follow-up calls and I'll show you someone with a growing business.

*

What's your lameest excuse for not making follow-up calls? Better yet, give us a follow-up success story. Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Marketing in a Tough Economy

I'm taking a break from my Persuasion Series to discuss an issue that's on everyone's mind right now. "What is going to happen to my business if the economy keeps spiraling downwards?"

There's a lot of shocking financial news recently. The two major mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were just taken over by the federal government, the brokerage Lehman Brothers is in bankruptcy, foreclosures are at an all-time high, the stock market is plummeting and consumer prices are up all around.

Add to that a couple of major hurricanes and the uncertainty of the presidential elections, and a lot of people are reacting with fear, uncertainty and hesitation.

Are you finding that your clients are reluctant to pay for professional services right now? Are contracts not being renewed? Are referrals drying up?

Perhaps it's not that dire for you right now, but when the economy tanks, professional service businesses are often hit hard.

Are there specific things you can do to market yourself in a down economy? Yes there are. Let me share a few with you.

1. Have an actual marketing plan. That is, a plan to carry out specific marketing activities. Most professionals have no plan at all. Nothing! We wait for referrals and perhaps call up past clients to see if the have any work. A plan is a definite strategy developed for the purpose of connecting with new prospects and converting them into clients. What's your plan? This will help:

www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html

2. Accelerate and multiply your marketing. Most businesses cut back on marketing when the economy slows. If you accelerate your marketing, you will be more visible than ever. You don't have to do expensive activities, you just need to be out there more. Networking, speaking, events and teleclasses are all relatively inexpensive. Get out there, don't hide!

3. Deliver programs, not services. The best way to market and sell an intangible service is to make it tangible. Don't just sell "management consulting services." That's too vague. Create programs that have very defined parameters and promised outcomes. Sell this program at a fixed price with clear deliverables and guarantees. Increase your perception of value.

4. Be willing to negotiate. It's always better to sell "something for less than nothing for more." Your clients are going to be looking for deals as well as great value. For instance, let them know that you've re-structured your services so that they will need to invest less if they are willing to do more of the implementation.

5. Go to the bottom line. All professional services need to be seen as an investment, not an expense. But that needs to be more than a cliché. How exactly will your services pay for themselves? If you can document increases in revenue or decreases in costs, you'll get the attention of prospects. But you need to prove it. Do some case studies of past clients showing the bottom-line value of your work.

6. Work on your mindset. This might be the most important of all. Negative external circumstances tend to trigger "Constrictive Marketing Mindsets." That is, you start buying into the bad news and you start to panic, avoid taking action, and retreat to a place of worry and paralysis. Question those negative mindsets and find your place of power and innovation. I invite you to download this "Getting Unstuck With the Work Worksheet" below:

www.actionplan.com/pdf/getunstuck.pdf

These are just a beginning. Above all else, don't stick your head in the sand and hope the economy will change. Things may get worse before they get better, and those who are proactive about their marketing (and their thinking) will do better in both good times and bad.

*

The More Clients bottom line: The key to marketing in tough times is to work at adding more value. Prove that your services are a wise investment. Communicate about your services in more depth and with more clarity. These are things you should be doing anyway, but when the economy is suffering, these marketing approaches are more important than ever.

*

What are some ways you market yourself when the economy is bad? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

The Law of Consistency - Persuasion Strategies Part 7

This is one of my favorite laws of persuasion and I've used it many times very effectively. You might also call it "the law of small requests."

The essence of the law is this: If you make a small request of someone to do something and then follow-up later with a bigger request about something similar, you will get a much better response than if you made the big request first.

The difference is often dramatic.

This law is the foundation of my approach to marketing. Like many people, I discovered that making big requests ended up in a lot of rejection. Over time, I discovered how small or incremental requests made the process a whole lot easier.

This is called "The Law of Consistency" because once people agree to do something small, they tend to be consistent with their words and actions when asked to do something bigger.

One of the biggest keys to marketing success is to offer small things, make small requests and then follow these up with bigger things and bigger requests.

Let me give you several examples:

You've just joined a chamber of commerce and many members are good potential clients. Contact them and say you'd like to take them out for coffee as you're a new chamber member and want to learn more about their business. If there's a good connection, it will be much easier to ask for a sales appointment later.

After a talk, you want to get the participants to sign up for your email newsletter. You hold up an article at the end and say, "I have an article that covers much of the material in today's talk. Who would like a copy?" When you get a show of hands (the small request), you then make a bigger request: "OK, please give me your business cards; I'll send you the article and also give you a complimentary subscription to my weekly eZine."

You want to get some good testimonials from your best clients. Instead of asking for them directly (which is often a problem as people have a hard time writing them), you say, "I'm putting together a series of client testimonials. Can I show you a few I've gotten so far?" You send them and call back in a few days and say, "I'd like to have someone interview you for a similar testimonial. May I have them call you?"

You have very few prospects from networking and have concluded you need to go after prospects directly. But cold calling and asking for appointments is a big request and results in lots of rejection. Instead, you make "introductory calls" and ask if you can send a special article and complimentary subscription to your eZine. A few weeks later you call back, make a deeper connection and set several appointments.

Do you see how powerful this law of consistency can be?

Think of all the times you haven't approached a prospect because you didn't understand this law. You were afraid to make a big request (understandably), but felt that a small request wouldn't get you anywhere. I hope you see the major difference this could make in all your marketing efforts.

*

The More Clients bottom line: Remember that it's always easier to make small requests of prospects than bigger ones. But you can't leave it at that. You then need to follow those small requests with bigger ones if you want marketing results.

*

What are some ways you've applied the "Law of Consistency" in your marketing? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Law of Personalization - Persuasion Strategies - Pt. 6

Last week I talked about the Law of Reciprocity, and now the Law of Personalization takes this one step further. If you personalize your marketing communications you will find your ability to persuade increases dramatically.

The book that is the source material for most of these principles, "Yes! 50 Scientifically Ways to Be Persuasive," gives an example that's perfect for Independent Professionals, as well as tying into my example of free articles from last week.

The book reports that when a survey was sent out with a square Post-it Note affixed with a personalized message on the note, the response rate to the survey went up from 36% to 75%.

That's more than double the response!

A few things are happening here. It seems the Post-it Note made a real difference, because when a personalized note was written on the cover letter to the survey, the response was only 48%.

I suspect that this is just the visual "attention factor" of the Post-it Note that made the note stand out and seem more personal. It clearly took some effort to affix the note and write it.

But why is personalization so persuasive?

There's no mystery here. A direct, focused communication is always more persuasive than a general communication. People pay more attention when you are speaking to them directly.

Don't you open hand-written letters first? Don't you respond when your name is called? Don't you feel delighted when someone sends you a personalized thank-you note?

Of course you do, to all three.

So how can you apply this to the articles and reports you send to prospects when they show interest in your services?

I'd say the immediate conclusion is to send the article by mail (not email), have a personalized cover letter that goes with it (originally from a template but with some details personalized), and then stick a Post-it Note on the cover letter that says something like:

"Dear Tina, Great meeting you at the Chamber Meeting. Here's an article I wrote that I think you'll find valuable. Looking forward to speaking to you next week. Cheers, Robert"

I predict that this simple extra step will dramatically increase the success of your follow-up call. Because of the connection you made with that little Post-it Note message, Tina is much more likely to read the article and engage with you when you call.

If you do send the article by email, it's important that you personalize the email as much as possible. Show that it came from someone who has recognized you, connected with you and cared enough to follow-up with you.

This isn't hard to do; it only takes a couple extra minutes.

Believe it or not, personalization even works if you send a mass email to your list. I've proven it dozens of times. When I launch a new product or program, in addition to announcing it in the eZine, I send a personalized "stand-alone" email.

These emails dramatically increase sales. What people missed in the eZine, they notice when the email is both personalized and only focused on one thing.

In this case, it takes NO extra time and effort to personalize.

In other words, there is virtually NO downside to personalization. The only mistake you can make is to "over personalize" where you merge the recipient's name over and over in the email. 

But {insert_name_here}, of course, you know I'd never do that!

*

The More Clients bottom line: Personalization is such a simple and powerful persuasion tool that it should become an automatic habit to personalize as much as you possibly can in your marketing.

*

What things do you personalize in your marketing (and how does it work for you)? Please share on the More Clients Blog.