We were recently reminded about how easy it is for specialist professionals to be overlooked by prospective clients.
We had met with an award-winning business with credentials up to their eyeballs, who enjoy preferred partner status for local government AND they have a raft of out-of-the-box innovative runs on the board… and yet, they found that the prospective clients who needed their help the most, constantly overlooked them. And often for lesser providers!
Why? Because this firm, and other super-specialists like them, revert to selling their tools rather than promising to deliver what their clients really want.
Tools are just tools. It’s how professionals use them in context of what their clients really want, that makes the difference.
Take for example a client who really wants to buy a house. The tool is the house loan, but what your client really wants is the dream home. Similarly, the end game for a client may be the prestige and comfort of a five-star retirement, the tool is financial advice.
It’s important to recognise that what a client really wants is often far greater and more personal than they may be indicating.
Say for example, you’re a recruiter and you have a client that needs to fill a job vacancy.
The client is an employer, working hard to operate a business that will generate the profits that enable them to enjoy a luxury lifestyle. While they may not be saying it to you directly, they want more than just someone to fill a job vacancy. They want productivity, increased profits, innovation and so on that will help them to achieve the lucrative business and type of lifestyle that’s important to them.
When you demonstrate how you can help your clients achieve the big picture, they’ll get it.
They’ll know there’s more to you than simply selling a service and that you actually want to help them to achieve what they consider to be important. Keep that up, and they’ll be a client for life who values your expertise and commitment.
Here’s FIVE quick insights that can help you implement a successful marketing (and ‘education’) campaign, that will help you stand out from the crowd:
- Get specific – identify your ideal client and their needs. No more fluffing about the edges, get straight to the point and express how you achieve what they REALLY want.
- Demonstrate it – articulate and share your expertise and your outcomes-based process.
- Collect evidence – prepare a case study, video a success story, collect testimonials, share your awards and achievements.
- Spread the word – at the very least, implement a regular and relevant email campaign directed at your current, past and prospective client databases and implement meaningful social media that extends your reach.
- Follow up – don’t wait for the phone to ring, be proactive and use your email campaign reports to make contact, send additional worthwhile information or offer to HELP! Don’t be put off by a few ‘no thank yous’, prospects may not need your help just yet, but you’re now on their radar.
If you’re an expert in your field and you feel you’re being passed over, we can help. We understand that when it comes to marketing there are three things that are likely holding you back: Time to implement; Affordability (budget is important); and the big one – Accountability.
You need to understand and measure the performance of your marketing activities. Over the years we’ve developed what we call our Do-Able Marketing model and it’s underpinned by a 7-step framework, FIVE key marketing resources, and meaningful Email and Social Media campaigns. It’s as straight forward as that!
Please visit www.boldcorp.com.au to find out more or call us on 07 5477 0197.
