As we enter Q4 of a year we will all remember for a number of reasons, take a minute to think about what sets you apart from your competitors. Certainly you adapted your client service over the last 6 months. How did you do it? What did you do better? What is your sales pitch? Is it based on client needs or your own? Is it aggressive and a turnoff? Or, is it thoughtful and compelling?
Don’t Do This
I was asked by one of my clients to join her on a call with a social media company. It was an interesting sales pitch until the very end. The salesman had a slide with all of the “benefits” my client would receive – totaling over $30,000.00 (which included a $6,000 referral fee that she would only receive if she referred a client that retained the company at a certain commitment level, and stayed on over a full 12 months). The following slide said he could offer all of this at $3,900/month with a $3,000 one-time set up fee. BUT, if she signed up RIGHT NOW, he could waive the set up fee and offer it at $2,900/month.
My client, being the savvy lawyer that she is, said that she hates sales pitches like this and if he could offer her $2,900/month with no set up fee today, he could offer it to her tomorrow, next week, or next month when she had time to digest the 75 minutes of info he threw at us.
Well, this guy was ready. His NEXT slide said, “for a $100 fully refundable deposit” she could lock in the $2,900/month rate have 72 hours to think about it.
I immediately called Ed and told him about this call. This stuff. This salesy “marketing-mill” behavior is what sets us apart.
We want to get to know you.
When we connect for the first time we dig deep. We want to find out what you need now, next month, and next year to make your business grow. We get into the nitty-gritty of what is working, and what isn’t. What you have tried and don’t do anymore, what you are doing now, and what you want to do. Who your ideal client is and what your business goals are – right now, and your end game.
We are not one size fits all, nor are we everyone’s cup of tea.
None of our clients are the same. Some want to see everything we do before it is sent, posted, published, etc. Others let us run with it. Some want scheduled weekly calls, others a monthly call, and one gives us a buzz when he wants. Some want content, others strategy, one training. We build our proposal to fit your needs. When your needs change, we reevaluate.
Our “offers” don’t expire.
After we identify your ACTUAL needs, we give you a written proposal. Take all the time you need to read it, digest it, and get back to us. Will we follow up with you? Of course. That’s what we do. Lawyers, accountants, financial planners… all of you are busy. We will check in once or twice. Then we will take the hint. If you call us back in 6 days, 6 weeks, or 6 months, we don’t jack up our rate on the proposal because you didn’t respond immediately. Investing in a marketing company is a business decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. We respect that.
We don’t charge a set up fee.
What would we charge that for? Adding you to our Quickbooks account? Downloading your logos? Setting up your social media management platform or CRM email software? No! Does this make us bad salespeople? Maybe. But we look at it as providing value. It is the cost of onboarding a new client. The above is how we do it, what is your sales pitch?
What sets you apart from your competition? Write a blog on your value-add. Or a LinkedIn article. Need someone to write it for you? I know a guy…