As small business owners, when we’re seeking the best ways for how to sell services, a key aspect is discovering how to position our expertise/products/services in such a way that it would display true value for our prospects. And that true value would then turn those prospects into paying clients.
Here are two critical aspects of positioning your value and some misperceptions that may undermine that goal:
Speak to those who already value you
Every business owner I’ve worked with has had incredible talent with which they can create a lot of revenue. However, they are often trying to sell to folks who just aren’t a match and those people simply don’t value what they offer.
So the key then, is to discover what type of person or business would be an ideal match for what you offer. For example, one of my clients does social media marketing. If she’s talking to a person who has zero interest in understanding Facebook or Twitter, it’s unlikely that person would value her expertise. And her efforts would be futile to try to persuade that prospect to become interested. In fact, I would suggest that person’s not even a prospect at all because they’re simply not a match for her expertise or services.
As business owners, we often make it very hard on ourselves, and there’s a lot of wasted effort in marketing and sales when we continue to beat down the doors of folks we must first persuade to value what we do before they are willing to look at what we offer.
So the goal here is to first define who YOUR ideal prospect is and be sure your efforts are being spent with folks who are truly a match for what you do. This would be someone who already, at some level, appreciates the value of what you offer and they are in the place of simply being open to discovering who they would invest with in your area of expertise. There are plenty of them out there, so why not go after that crowd instead.
Increase value by speaking their language
Often when we describe our products and services to prospects, we do it in our lingo and from our place of expertise. We can get all caught up in talking about the technical aspects and features of what we do.
Instead, describe what you do using the words and phrases your clients use when they work with you. For example, an interior designer isn’t really designing the look and feel of a room. That’s not how a home-owner would describe that service. More than likely, a home-owner wants to feel a certain way or to create a certain environment in a room.
Before you describe what you do, the key then would be for you to ask enough questions to discover the true problem your prospects wants solved. Or the burning desire they are seeking to fulfill. This helps you to speak their language and convey what you do in a way they would readily understand and readily value.
About the Author:
Allison Babb is an author, speaker and Small Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs at: http://www.GreatSmallBusinessAdvice.com
