Never before are so many people opening their own business, to sell their products and services as they are nowadays. This is a wonderful thing, because 1) more people choose to live by their own rules, becoming happier doing work they are passionate about and 2) the market is so competitive that me and you, the customers, can choose to buy from the best.
The way we define ‘the best’ has also changed. When we had less choice, we bough what we could find as long as the product satisfied the need. Now when there’s more choices and various products satisfy the same need, we make choices based on new values such as authenticity, the mission of the selling company, the experience of the purchase or of the product or service itself, etc. Whether we are aware of it of not, we make decisions and choices based on how we feel, our choices and decisions are unconscious.
Therefore, an interminable list of features and benefits of a product or service is no longer enough to determine us to buy. Neither is a list of the things that can go wrong if we don’t buy, after all not buying from you doesn’t mean I won’t buy from someone else. This approach doesn’t cut it anymore, not today when we have so much choice.
One missed opportunity
I’ve recently joined a gym. I am the kind of gal who likes classes, especially if they involve zumba, so joining with the intention to use gym equipment for the first time in my life was quite intimidating. The good news was that part of the package are three sessions with a personal trainer, which I thought would give me a kick start for my new workout routine.
I went to the gym with the conviction that a free session is a perfect opportunity for a personal trainer to find out what I wanted to achieve, what was important to me about my goal and for him to match that so well that I would buy his services on the spot. I expected my free session to be an amazing workout experience and an excellent lesson into selling strategies.
I was wrong.
Yes, I had a pick into how to use the gym equipment. And I understood that I need a more complex workout to reach my goal than the generic workout routine suggested by the gym, that working with a personal trainer prevents injuries because I can learn how to use the gym equipment correctly.
I can also do research online to find a suitable workout routine for myself (hold on, I already have!), I can join forums where I can discuss any issues related to my workout routine and goals and I can learn how to use the gym equipment watching youtube videos.
Yes, there are more ways to satisfy the same need. The question is “How do you convince the client that you hold the perfect choice of service or product for them?”
How to provide value before asking for money
I went on a skiing holiday this year, which is funny considering that I could not ski. On the second day a guy watched me going down the kiddy ski slope, slowly and clumsily, nearly falling off a few times. Then he patiently watched me climb up, skis in my hand, jacket unzipped, feeling hot and tired, and yet, determined to have another go. That’s when he approached me, smiling and telling me that I look like someone who needs a bit of help. He corrected my body posture on skis, advised me on how to use my legs better, stood in front of me, holding my hands, going down the slope, backwards, his full attention on me. Every sentence that came out of his mouth created a positive and empowering internal representation within me. I knew I could do it!
This was another way of pitching services as a ski instructor. He provided value before I bought, he led with showing me that I can do better, how I can do better and how fun it can be to do better. He painted a picture where I, Anca, could ski and love it at the same time. And yes, I did buy his services (and ditched the other ski instructor who I had booked when renting my equipment).
