WHAT’S IN THE WAY?

At this stage in the Universal Marketing Cycle, you are more than halfway home. With a full pipeline and consistent follow-up, you are bound to make plenty of sales, right? Well, usually that’s true. Finding the right people to contact, and persistently reaching out to them, will produce results in most cases. But sometimes, it’s not quite enough.

A sales conversation, whether it takes place in person, by phone, or even by e-mail, is a two-way exchange you have with a prospect to find out what he needs and describe to him what you can do. It’s a necessary step in almost every sale of professional services. If you’re not having sales conversations, it’s pretty likely that you’re not getting clients.

When you find yourself making lots of contacts but rarely getting to have an interactive conversation, there’s something in the way. Assuming that you have a service your target market needs in the first place, and it’s priced within the range your market can pay, what else might be preventing people from wanting to hear what you have to offer? Here are some possibilities:

1. You’re not using the right words. When you send a letter or call on the phone, or prospects contact you or visit your website, they don’t understand how you can help them.

2. Your telemarketing skills aren’t up to the task. You are nervous or unprepared when you get on the phone, and aren’t able to engage people in conversation.

3. The prospects you are talking to aren’t qualified enough. They don’t have a need, can’t pay, or are otherwise not ready to take action.

4. You aren’t well-known enough, or haven’t been recommended, so prospects are hesitant to take their time to talk with you.

5. Your competition seems to have the market locked up. No one wants to talk to you because they’re already being served by someone else.

6. You are offering what you think your prospects need instead of what they think they need. They don’t see how your service fits into their plans.

7. The way your services are packaged doesn’t make sense to your prospects. For example, they want to pay a flat fee, and you are charging by the hour.

8. You are offering so many services that your prospects can’t quite figure out what you actually do and how it matches up with their needs.

In the next two sections, you will find solutions to many of these problems. Suggestions for doing a better job at making contact with your prospects appear first, followed by some ideas for improving your strategic market position.