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Have you ever had that thought before?

The people you speak with just don’t “see” how your service is worth the investment.

And you find it really hard to convince them they need it, because they’re getting on fine without you.

So what to do when no-one you speak to seems to share YOUR level of enthusiasm for what you do?

Here’s a quick tip:

First, understand why people buy.

It’s not because they want to own the “thing”.

(Services aren’t even tangible so that was never going to be valid anyway.)

It’s because they want to solve a problem and achieve a certain outcome.

There’s so much relief in knowing this because,

You no longer have to spend your days arguing or convincing to earn a living.

All you need to do is demonstrate how your service solves their problems,

It’s really as simple as that.

When you make this change, you’ll quickly see how previous “hard-sells” become “easy yesses”.

If this makes sense “intellectually”, but you feel like you need help putting it into practice and making it all work,

you should check out the 13+ training videos I’ve recorded, detailing exactly how to do it, step by step.

You’ve probably heard of KLT?

Short for “know, like and trust”.

Many Marketers swear by it.

It’s said your prospects should feel this way about you in order to buy.

And while there’s no denying how important it is to be seen in this regard,

They are not prerequisites for making sales like a lot of people say they are.

Here’s a simple litmus test:

How many of the hundreds, if not thousands of people in your network that you KLT, have you ever bought something from?

A handful, maybe a little more or less? How so?

Sometimes you may even choose to buy from someone that isn’t so close to home.

For example, you might want to avoid risking a relationship due to the product/service failing to meet your standards.

The point is not to get distracted from what actually makes people buy, due to a myopic focus on getting KLT’d.

The priority should be to solve the right problems; if you can do that, people will buy.

KLT will give you the edge when a prospect is deciding between almost-identical options.

In that case, of course, it’s easier to go with the provider that they most connect with.

But not without first ensuring the problem and solutions match.

A good meal rarely consists of just one or two ingredients,

Even though they might be the “main” ones.

For example: chicken and potatoes.

If I was to present you with a plate of chicken and potatoes,

It probably wouldn’t be appetising to you.

It would look bare and dry.

You might ask “Where’s the salad? Where’s the veg? Where’s the cream?”

Or if you’re anything like me: “Where’s the ketchup?”

These aren’t the essentials, they don’t even contribute much to the macros or calories.

And if someone asked you what you had for lunch, you’d probably omit these items.

But, they are important to your experience of the meal.

This is also the case with your meetings with prospects.

The main ingredients for a deal is a problem and a solution.

If you have those, a deal can happen.

But if that’s all you focus on, as in, if that’s the only thing you cover,

Your prospect will sense that something is missing, even though they can’t quite put their finger on it.

And it will probably end with the usual: “let me think about it”, “I’ll review it with x”… “I’ll go do some numbers”.

While in some cases these responses are totally warranted, I’d counsel you to ensure it’s not due to a bone dry conversation.

And if it is, next time don’t forget the sides (or ketchup!)

Some questions are more valuable than a mountain of gold.

That’s one of the reasons I collect them, and teach them to clients.

Case in point: I shared one of these well-constructed questions in a presentation not too long ago,

And someone came back to me just this week saying how they landed a high-paying contract because of it.

They simply asked the prospect this one question and they spoke and spoke for over ten minutes!

They literally sold themselves into his service in their own train of thought.

What a relief it is to do this in lieu of “convincing” and “persuading”.

Just ask, and listen… so simple.

This is something that my client can use to help him earn a livelihood for the rest of his life.

And what I find the most fascinating about it is that questions are free!

You’ve gone right to the tip of the mountain, then you’ve just said: “Okay, well, that’s enough let’s go back home”…

At least get to the mountain top, plant your flag there and say “we did it!”

☝️ My response to a client’s strange behaviour on a recent call.

He shared lots of really valuable stuff, and made a super compelling case to hire him,

But when it came to asking for the next step: it was flatter than a can of soda left sitting for a week.

“And this is what I help you do… OK, now for questions!…”

What an anticlimax!

Coaching him through this, I was reminded of how many of us do the same thing.

We have no problem teaching, story-telling and solving problems but when it comes to the bit that counts (requesting action), we shy away and quickly switch topic:

Unknowingly creating an obstacle course for prospects to go further.

This can be seen throughout every stage of the customer journey and accounts for a huge proportion of missed opportunities.

Literally, the only ones left are where the prospect is determined enough to jump through hoops to figure out what to do next.

Lesson learned: make it easy for prospects to buy.

We all need to ring our chime.

That’s what marketing’s all about.

What’s fascinating is that the overwhelming majority of professionals who turn to me for help share the same problem:

They simply aren’t playing their chime (enough).

In fact, many haven’t even switched the engine on and pulled out of the driveway.

This manifests as doing little to no activity to share what they do and offer help to those who need it.

If you can relate to their sentiments, here’s my advice to them (and now to you):

Take the liberty to play your chime in the best way you know how.