Ready to close more business?
I changed something recently in the way I talk about the results of our services, and I saw an immediate increase in the number of sales we closed.
Now, don’t judge. When I tell you what I did, you might think this is obvious and wonder why I hadn’t been doing it before. As a matter of fact, I’ve been wondering that myself. But I figured if it didn’t occur to me until recently, maybe this could be a lightbulb moment for you too.
Lightbulb Moment
So, here you go. I started telling people how much extra money some of our current clients are making after implementing our services. ?
Told ya! Seems obvious, right? But honestly, I had been focusing on sharing numbers like increased organic visitors to your website. For a website marketing business, those numbers seem pretty relevant and something prospects might like to know. What I missed? Connecting those numbers to bottom-line results.
Stop Making People Think
I was assuming potential clients would connect the dots. That they would think about what new website visitors would mean to them. I thought everyone was going to do their own math and think, wow, that could mean serious revenue growth. And I was wrong.
I ran afoul of the very maxim I talk to my clients about all the time. Do NOT make your audience have to think. So, now I’ve been doing the math and sharing the dollar results with potential clients. Of course I start talking about increasing organic visitors to the site (1,500 new visitors per month!). But then I talk about what percentage of those visitors are converting into clients (1.5%), how much revenue an average client brings to the business over the course of a year ($500), and what that kind of revenue growth would mean if that trend continued over the course of a year ($135,000!!!!!).
BAM! That got immediate results. No more proposal sticker shock. The value is evident. Once I stopped making people think, and I made it obvious that website results equal real dollar results, we closed more contracts, faster than ever before. ??
Connect the Dots
So, maybe you’re already doing this…connecting all the dots for your potential clients. But my challenge to you is to think about your sales and lead nurture process. And if you’re assuming that your prospects are going to connect any dots…well, maybe think again. Your lead nurture sequence should paint a picture for prospects that includes all the successes they will achieve on their way to the final scene of bliss and happiness that only materializes if they use your product or service.
And we all live happily ever after!
Make it Work for You
So, maybe your clients won’t have a dollar amount as an ROI. It doesn’t have to be money, but if you’re trying to figure out how to connect the dots for your audience, think about the obvious results you know people can get. Then keep asking yourself, “and that means what?” until you don’t have any more answers. (e.g. One client lost 35 lbs with us in six months…”And that means what?” That they stopped taking their diabetic medication…”And that means what?” They don’t have to pay for prescriptions every month…”And that means what?” etc.) When you’re all out of answers, all the dots might finally be connected, and you might be at the end of the story.
