Sep 26 2009
Are You Losing Clients Because of Your Pitch?
If you’re like many solo-business owners you started your business because you are enthusiastically passionate about your product or service. You love it, and you know that if people understood they would love it too. How could they not?
So why is it so hard to get people to make the decision to buy from you? You are truly puzzled because you know your stuff is good. You know they need your help and you know that they would benefit greatly. So what’s the problem? You are smart, out-going and committed and yet you still struggle to have enough money to buy food!
It could be just a simple adjustment you need to make in your pitch. Simple isn’t always easy because old habits die hard. If you ever tried to quit smoking or go on a diet you know what I’m talking about.
It may be that you are desperate to quit smoking and you know all the reasons you should, and yet you keep lighting up. A quit smoking expert corners you and starts to tell you all the facts about how bad smoking is and how he can help you with his wonderful program.
You listen and begin to fade into the wallpaper. You feel insulted because you already know all this. In fact, you could teach the class! He blabs on and on and you feel irritated because not once did he ask you about your situation, your awareness or your feelings.
Rule number one! Forget your pitch. Listen instead. Ask questions and determine what they already know, how they feel and what they need.
Never even invite them to work with you. Maybe you are thinking, “right, I’ll never get anymore clients this way!” Wrong. Once you listen and care about them, you are building a relationship. You may even find out some information about this person you didn’t know and discover they are not a good a match for you. Maybe they will like you then and refer others.
Forget your pitch and LISTEN instead. It’s amazing what will happen!
Do you want to learn rules two through seven as well? There are seven powerful steps to effective selling. When you learn them all, you will be unstoppable and people will love you, refer people to you and want to stay connected.
Sounds like a great tactic. I tend to be too enthusiastic and start dishing out all I know thus overwhelming them. Next time, I’ll keep m trap shut and ask questions.
So, what DO you know about search engine optimization and social media marketing?
Hi Aaron
Thanks so much for your comment and I’m glad I could help.
Asking questions is perfect. People love to talk about themselves.
They may never mention social media etc. but you’ll learn about what they do care about.
An even better questions is ” tell me about your business.” and see what they say