Maximize Your Revenue by Offering It for Free
Give Away Your Top Secrets to Make Yourself Stand Out
In comparison to your rivals, what sets you apart? It has nothing to do with your low prices or excellent customer service, I'll give you that much. Your sales will soar when you begin freely sharing your ideas and services with the world.
People can choose. The truth is that people are more spoiled for choice now than in the past. Plus, you'll be overwhelmed with choices after just a few mouse clicks.
What can you do to differentiate yourself when competition is so fierce? It seems like around every corner there's someone similar to them at most companies. How then can you stand out? Envision yourself standing in a large gathering of people. No one differs from the others in terms of height, clothing, or skin tone. That's the standard practice for most businesses. They blend in with the crowd.
How therefore can one stand out? Numerous tasks necessitate attention. Creating a genuine brand, developing a positioning statement or distinctive selling point, selecting the optimal Bull's Eye Market, and conveying your message clearly are all topics that many consultants cover. However, there is another factor that I would want to bring out. With comparable offerings, how can you outdo the competitors in terms of value creation? Then how can you make your unique offering known to the world? Instead of being just another vendor, how can you establish yourself as a reliable and trustworthy resource?
Data provides the solution. I trust you. Just put it in a box and distribute it. Take a look at the sheer volume of internet users. Can you tell me what they're after? Information.
I'm not referring to any old piece of data here. The data I'm referring about will be extremely helpful and valuable for your potential customers and clients. Begin harping on the fact that XYZ will lead to more business and easier work for everyone. Do not skimp because you are afraid you will lose all of your sales; instead, provide them the meat that will benefit them.
--- Drop All of Your Sweets—Donate Crucial Details, Assist Your Client in Obtaining Details
People who teach sales have told me things like, "don't spill your candy on the floor in the lobby." What they mean is the worry that your expertise would be rendered obsolete if you divulge all of your secrets. They think you've already revealed everything, therefore there's no use in hiring you. When we shift our focus from selling to providing knowledge and assistance, we unexpectedly become an integral part of our customers' requirements. They are insatiably curious.
Information that teaches them how to fix their major difficulties. To choose the optimal course of action for resolving their issue, they require that data. Additionally, individuals that supply such essential assistance will be regarded as reliable allies and assets by them.
People buy from people they trust, not from salespeople, therefore it's important to establish relationships with clients before making any sales pitches. Once they're familiar with you and trust you, the next step is for them to believe that your solution will address their issue. Lastly, they need to perceive you as reliable and trustworthy. Those things are all part of "building rapport." You're also willing to lend a hand if asked. Putting sales on pause is a good idea.
Giving information instead of holding it until payment is made builds rapport, credibility, and demonstrates a want to assist. You genuinely are there to lend a hand.
--- Share as Much Data as You Can With Many People At Once
Now, I'd want to inquire about your marketing initiatives. Has the purpose of making a sale always been at the forefront of your mind while sending out direct marketing materials? What would happen if you advertised the free knowledge you are giving away with them? Call a lecture on "How to..." and have everyone there. in any case
Your direct mail response rates will skyrocket by a factor of ten, as I can attest from personal experience as well as that of clients who have used this strategy. Make sure you provide them with some solid suggestions for how to enhance whatever it is they are demanding during the presentation. Your recent rise to the position of "the expert" in your field, region, and town is quite remarkable. Everyone will seek you out first when they need assistance, guidance, or even just want to make a purchase.
--- Instead of spending time in a one-on-one sales meeting, you will have demonstrated your worth to a group of individuals.
When it comes to my sales coaching and training, it works something like this: To promote my upcoming "Double Your Business in Weeks" workshop, I distribute a thousand postcards. There will be fifty to sixty phone calls, with a response rate of five percent or more; this percentage was only one percent or less before the information was leaked. Twenty-five or thirty people will eventually fill the seats. Ten to fifteen people will enrol in the upcoming sales training session. In addition, I will compile a list of the 50-60 callers who are interested in my ongoing helpful newsletters (more information giveaway) and add them to my "qualified leads" list. Within three to six months, a significant number of these individuals will either contact me to join a later session or provide me with referrals. I was able to accomplish everything in the time it takes to conduct a single sales call.
Numerous options exist for making this information freely available or even charging a nominal fee for it. There are various ways to disseminate information: public seminars, white papers online, email newsletters, chamber events (propose to speak at a chamber event or give a free training), electronic files, CDs, the entire chamber via email or phone, and so on. The possibilities are limitless. You are not limited to using only one method of expression. The trick is to make them want more from you—a lot more—by using the information as an incentive to contact you, give you their contact info, and so on. They will be turned off if you try to market to them. Show yourself to be the sought-after aid.
Offering introductory seminars, webinars, and teleseminars has proven to be a successful strategy for many firms, especially those with sophisticated or expensive products or services. Your prospective customers can try it out before they buy it. They can tell if your principles and outlook are congruent with theirs.
Your value will increase and your ability to stand out from the crowd will improve if you can identify and provide the information that your buyers desire. Obviously, you need to check that your information is both relevant and unbiased. While nobody likes to be pitched an ad, people are interested in helpful information that might improve or simplify their lives.
Now, let's examine a few instances: As a staffing agency, you could compile a list of "Five Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring," "10 Interview Tips To Learn What Your Job Candidates Won't Tell You," or "Now You've Hired Them..." A Guide to Employee Retention That Won't Break the Bank. "How to get the lowest interest rates," "How to Fix Up your house for best resell," and similar seminars and white papers could be offered by mortgage companies. You may even team up with a nearby real estate agent to host mutually beneficial seminars. Massage therapy: provide resources that address the most common complaints, such as aches and pains in the muscles and back, and how to alleviate them. Massages and other procedures that your intimate partner could perform for you are one possibility.
You are becoming known as THE EXPERT that people will go to when they need your skills, so don't be scared to give them out. You can always count on a portion of your audience to never purchase your services; that's just how I see it. The free knowledge is their motivation for being here. Who cares? Everyone needs someone like you, don't they? Whether it's 10% or 50%, the percentage of people you speak to that end up making a purchase is relatively constant. Since you are now seen as an expert rather than a salesman, your sales rate, which was 10% in a one-on-one, will be substantially higher in a room full of people. In the time it normally takes you to speak with a single customer, you managed to engage a whole room.
--- Marketing Generates More Leads, and Sales Finally Closing
When you talk to twenty or thirty people at once, not only does everything improve, but so do your marketing response and sales closing rates.
What if, instead of going door to door and talking to people one-on-one, you had twenty to thirty people come to you weekly or monthly?
Wow, that's funny!
