We work with a variety of clients, both selling and non-selling professionals, but the one common challenge we hear more than anything is that they all have difficulty with prospecting and getting net new appointments. How do we help?
We take a look at two key things:
- What is their game plan? Do they have a methodical approach outlined, including multiple touches and a planned cadence?
- What is their messaging? Are they focusing more on talking about what they do versus how they help?
Help vs. Sell
Nobody likes to be sold, but they do like to be helped. Whether it’s an email, a message on LinkedIn, a voicemail or a direct conversation, all prospect messaging should have at least three strong and ideally quantifiable benefit statements that speak directly to the prospect. A good benefit statement should give them a great indication of how you’ve helped past clients and how you will be able to help them, and will ultimately encourage them to set up a meeting with you.
For example, if you’re a sales representative for a digital marketing company it’s more impactful to talk about how you’ve helped your client grow by 40% and how that growth ultimately resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue than by simply saying that you help companies grow revenue or providing a list of your services.
It’s more powerful if you can mention the client you’ve helped by name, but if you can’t you can at least mention the industry and describe what they do so that your prospect can relate and appreciate the impact you’re illustrating.
Having difficulty with your own prospecting efforts? If you already have a solid game plan in place, chances are your messaging needs some work and you need to focus on the importance of utilizing good, strong benefit statements. Keep these in your back pocket so that the next time you meet with a prospect, you can bring out your benefit statements, gain instant credibility and move them forward in the sales process.