What’s the Once Thing 35 out of 40 Businesses Forget to Do That Kills The Sale?

“I’m having trouble selling my hearing aids even though I discount them 30%. Should I sell it for even less?” — George R., MI

Why Prospects Don’t Buy

Ever wonder why your prospects aren’t buying?

You know the situation. You’ve got a qualified prospect on the phone or you’re meeting with them in person and they’ve agreed that your product or services are the perfect fit. Then you mention the price, and they don’t bite. They tell you that they want to think about it or they need to talk to X or they just flat out tell you its too expensive.

You could offer them a discount but is that the right thing to do or are you just shooting yourself in the foot.

When a prospect who needs your product or service walks away and doesn’t buy, typically it’s not price that’s the problem. And if your prospect isn’t buying, lowering the price won’t guarantee the sale.

Why Price Isn’t The Problem

Typically when your prospect doesn’t buy or objects to price, the real problem is that they don’t understand the value of your products or services. And it’s not their fault; it’s the fault of your small business marketing. Whether you sell consulting services, hand tools, hearing aids or chicken legs, the price you can charge is based on your prospect’s perception of its value to them.

Want your marketing to sell more? Go here >>

Don’t Make This Mistake

Want to avoid losing clients? Here’s an example of what not to do.

Last year I was planning a family reunion at a charming old inn in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. As part of the festivities, I wanted to organize a light breakfast buffet for the 50 or so relatives attending. The inn quoted me a price of $29 per person, without giving me any information about what was included. When I got the quote I was shocked. It was much more than I’d anticipated, and I decided to drop the whole idea.

What was the fatal mistake the Inn made?

Without a clear understanding of what I was going to get for $29 per head, I had no means of determining whether it was worth the money. I didn’t know whether the $29 per person charge included just a cup of coffee and a donut or a full buffet breakfast with a chef on hand to cook custom omelets.

Either way, the inn lost an opportunity to feed us another meal and profit from the presence of our large group.

When your prospects object to price or just leave without buying, it’s a signal that your marketing isn’t doing its job. You’re not giving your prospects the information they need to understand what your products or services can do for them. As a result, they don’t buy from you.

Want to discover the secret to overcoming prospects’ objections? Go here >>

How to Increase Sales

Want to avoid objections to price, sell to more people and even raise your prices?

Since the price a prospect is willing to pay for your products and services is directly related to their understanding of its value to them, then the higher the perceived value, the more you can charge.

One of my clients, Janice, was working way too hard at bringing new clients to her phone coaching business. She helps clients eliminate anxiety and replace it with self-confidence so they can be more productive in their work and lives. She had dozens of prospects, but when she quoted her fees, too many prospects opted not to sign up.

When I asked her to describe the things she does for her clients and the benefits of her services, she gave me a lot of information and many examples of her successes. Then I asked her how much of this information her prospects knew. Very little, she said. Whoops!

I find that most small business marketing managers and owners I’ve talked to make the same mistake. They have a great product or service but neglect help their prospects fully understand the value.

What’s the best way to define value so prospects become buyers? Go here >>

Define Value In Terms Of What Your Prospects Want

The solution was simple. I showed Janice how to structure her sales conversations and how to ask the right questions to get her prospects talking about their goals and needs. This sets the stage so that when she explains the services she provides, it’s clear that they are the perfect solution to her prospects’ problems.

The result? Instead of lowering her prices to get more business, Janice increased her fees. Within a week she was making 50% more money.

Wouldn’t you like to have prospects eager to pay the prices you charge? Sound impossible? It isn’t.

When your prospects fully understand of how much better off they’ll be or how much more successful they’ll be with your products and services, more people will want to work with you and buy from you and they’ll happily pay more to do so.

Interested in closing more sales? Go here >>

Charlie
Proven Small Business Marketing

Watch out! There is a lot of marketing information you’ll find on the internet touted by so called experts that isn’t fit to be feed to your dog. Take a look at the following and you be the judge.

Recently I found a post on a prominent marketing site that said “Every business - large or small - should have a “messaging platform” consisting of the following: A. Corporate positioning statement, B. Supporting key messages, C. Supporting proof points, D. Customer value propositions/statements. The author goes on to say that you shouldn’t leave the office without your messaging platform on a laminated cheat sheet.

Yikes! What a bunch of corporate speak and total crXX. My guess is most small business owners have no idea what a messaging platform is, what their supporting key messages or proof points are. Be honest, do you? Do you have it on a laminated cheat sheet?

If the goal is to make the simple complex and impossible to understand the author has succeeded. Imagine how well this process works to communicate with the prospect.

My dog has taught me more about marketing. Here’s the simple marketing lesson my dog teaches every night.

Each night we put out the usual dried dog food pellets with some canned dog food slime for our pet. Routinely our dog will give it a sniff and look at us with disgust and go lie down outside the kitchen door, leaving her meal untouched. I can’t say as I blame her. I wouldn’t eat that stuff either.

Later at the end of our family meal, my wife or myself will take a scrap from one our plates and add it to her meal. Once our pet sees she is getting the dinner she wants, (the one we are eating) she digs in and eats her whole meal.

What’s the simple lesson my dog teaches us every night?

Give a dog or people what they want to get the response you want.

Now I’m not suggesting that your company’s prospects are the same as dogs, though I know a lot of smart prospects. But, dogs and humans behave the same in certain ways.

If your marketing isn’t getting the response you want, forget all the corporate speak - the positioning statements, proof points, value propositions etc. The problem is your prospects don’t understand how you can help them, you haven’t given them the basic information they need to give you the response you want.

Running a business is complex - don’t make it any harder by buying into the nonsense that marketing is complicated. Marketing is simply about helping your prospects get what they want.

Its about action and response. Want more sales? Discover which actions to take to get the response you want. In most cases the solution is a lot simplier than you think.

Charlie Cook
Marketing That Works

“Mine’s a very different business, I’m the executive director of the National Dance Institute. Will your ideas work for my non-profit organization?” Leslee

It’s true your business is different, but here’s what every business needs to improve their marketing.

1. To get your prospect’s attention.

2. To get them to read your marketing materials including your web site.

3. To get them to respond by contacting you to learn more.

4. To send you money so you can continue to grow the business.

The better you can do steps 1-3, the more you’ll be able to do #4.

Discover how to do this with your web site with this link >>

Best,

Charlie Cook
The Small and Not So Small Business Marketing Guru

Want to know one of the most effective ways to generate sales? Use this small business marketing strategy!

Last week I needed to get a signature notarized so I walked over from my office to my bank. Most banks will notarize customers signatures at no cost. I walked in to find only one of the three bank representatives at their desks and she wasn’t a notary public. Her suggestion was to drive to another branch in the next town.

Is this a good way to market a business? Of course not.

What was my local small town bank has been bought and sold many times in the last few years and is now owned by a large corporation that is focused on increasing profits by cutting staff. They market to small businesses but they don’t back it up with service.

My response was to walk across the street to Wachovia, the competing bank in town. I asked about getting my document notarized and even though I’m not a customer, they instantly agreed and pointed out they had four employees currently in the bank who were notary publics.

When I left I started to wonder where I should be doing my banking - with a bank that is cutting back on service or with one that welcomes people and provides simple services like notarizing documents for free.

Giving away a service or information for free is one of the most powerful small business marketing strategies on the planet. Each time you use this marketing strategy you attract business and build loyalty moving prospects that much closer to becoming customers.

Want more clients and people buying your products? Use this simple - give to get - small business marketing stategy to get more prospects and more business.

Discover which small business marketing strategies work to attract clients with this link >>

- Charlie Cook
Helping you with small business marketing ideas that get results

Everyone wants to increase sales, but few small business owners do anything about it. What can you do to increase your sales?

Stop talking about your firm and your product.

Instead give your prospects a reason to read your marketing materials and then …

… give them a reason to buy.

Include specifics about what your product can do and support these with testimonials from clients.

Discover the best way to get your prospects to buy with The 15 Second Marketing Guide.
- Charlie Cook

“What’s the best way to motivate my sales staff? They’re not making as many calls as they could or making as many sales as I think they could?” - George, Colorado

In my experience the problem is most often not the sales reps or their motivation. The problem is that sales reps are given goals and often incentives but aren’t provided with the marketing strategies or tools they need to get the job done. A carpenter would have a tough time building a house without a hammer, a saw, lumber and nails. Sales reps are the same. They need the right marketing tools to get a prospect to the point of a sale.

The best way to motivate new and experienced sales people to sell more is to give them the tools they need. It’s hard to get excited about selling any service or product when the sales script your using, the company brochure and your other supporting materials don’t help you get the prospect’s attention, interest and their business. It’s no wonder so many sales reps lose motivation and drive. Just telling sales reps to sell more and offering larger incentives isn’t a long-term strategy for increasing sales.

If you want to motivate your sales force, you need to show them how to stop only selling and instead focus on helping their prospects get what they want. Few people I know are interested in being sold, but everyone needs a wide variety of products and services and most will happily pay for things they want.

Here are a three ways to motivate your sales force.

1. Provide you sales reps with a marketing plan and a marketing strategy that gives them with a steady stream of qualified leads.

2. Teach your sales reps how to talk about what your firm does so it prompts interest instead of a yawn with the 15 Second Marketing guide.

3. Show your sales reps how to use questions instead of a sales pitch to start conversations that lead to sales. Support them with marketing materials that will prompt prospects to contact your sales reps. Learn how to apply this proven marketing strategy using More Sales with Less Selling.

Give your sales reps a marketing plan and the marketing tools they need to help your prospects get what they want. You’ll see their motivation and your sales soar. - Charlie Cook