You know how to sell STUFF—right? You’d talk about its virtues and demonstrate it and let the prospective buyer try it out. But much of what we sell are SERVICES, and the approach is a little different. Here are some new ideas for selling services. The more you do, the more you’ll sell!
Get a Pitch
Yes, that’s right! You need to be ready to sell at the drop of a hat. You’ll never know when the opportunity arises. But in the moment of needing to sell, it’s too late to craft your sales pitch, so get a head start and build one NOW!
The best pitch will be short. Remember the term “elevator pitch”? You get on at the first floor, see a prospect and need to finish the sale by floor nine. Go! You’ve got 6-10 seconds to capture the attention of the average adult. So how do you do this?
- Say what’s important right up front.
- Once you’ve got their attention, you have only a minute or two to actually sell.
What’s in pitch? Who are you? What do you do for your clients? How? Who is living proof of that success? Choose real hum-dinger success stories. Be sure your client is OK with you sharing their success, or create great statistics.
Follow up with an offer. Offering to email TODAY more info and your contact info. Offer to call. Offer something for free that this person will value.
Use your Network
You’ve got clients, friends and colleagues. What are they doing in your wider community? Get in there and lend a hand. If they’re having an event—a job fair or a community booth—show up! Look for ways you can use the event to promote who you are and what you do. Especially for those of you who can practically give away seats in classes—don’t throw that away. Use these opportunities to find more opportunities. Most people in your community won’t know your organization exists—you have to get the word out and this is one way to do it.
Collaborate
Put together a group of non-competitive businesses in your area and begin to cross-promote. You may not be able to blatantly promote other businesses, but you can talk about what great things they do. Social media is great for cross-promotion. If you can, use coupons, bundled promotions, website links and events to help put each other in contact with new clients.
Give a Talk
I know, you hate to give a speech. But don’t worry…here’s the key: Know who you’ll be talking to and tell them something of value. Then be sure you thank them for the opportunity to share and don’t hide your contact information! Use it on slides, give-aways like pens, pads and book marks. When you do a good job, people will think of you as a credible source of information in your area of work—training and related services. Always make yourself available afterwards. Say, “Hey thanks for the opportunity to share this information with you today—if there’s anything else I can do, or if you have questions, you can reach me here out in the hallway, or at..”
Stay in Touch
It’s so hard to get a new customer—much harder than keeping the ones you have. So use every opportunity to build your network by gathering the email addresses of people who visit your events, classes or website. The best way to get their email address is to offer something of value for free and require that they fill out an online form with their email address to get it. But you can also use your blog and even email to keep in touch with valuable tips and info. Remember—three solicitation-free contacts before you ‘advertise.’ You want to create the sense that you are in it for them.
Give it Away
The Grateful Dead knew what to do. Give it away! Empty seats in classes. Digital information. Speakers for events. Use of your space. A little free consulting or needs assessments. What can you give away that gives people a taste of the quality and impact of your training and other services? This generosity answers people’s questions and provides a sample of what it would be like to be in a business relationship with you. Be sure you maximize the freebies. They should be part of a larger marketing strategy. Follow up with contacts, offers of more freebies, and opportunities to meet with you or enroll in training. Give incentives for large contracts and quick turn-around. Make it urgent to get on the phone and connect.
Ask for Help and Advice
Advisory boards, surveys and simple one-question email surveys—these and more can net you higher participation from customers and potential customers. You need the information and if you don’t ask too often, they’ll be glad that you asked. To make this work best, let people know when you use their ideas, even in part. Feel free to stitch ideas together to make something super-effective.
Over-deliver
Yes. Listen to what they want. Deliver. Then, be ready to over-deliver. Promise an article? Give two. Promise a follow-on 10 minute consulting video to answer their top 5 questions? Make 2 videos and answer questions they didn’t know enough to ask. Keep a list of staff suggestions for 20 things you can give away with minimal impact on your bottom line. Expand your reach by posting videos and give-away documents on your website. Prove to your clients that they are worth their weight in gold—because compared to getting new clients, repeat customers are a cinch and will escalate their buying if you over-deliver.