Appreciation Marketing – What Did You Say?

Did you ever walk away from someone with whom you have had a discussion and ask yourself what it was all about? Did you ever ask anyone for information about their product or service and wonder what they told you after they replied? You should never let a prospect leave a discussion without knowing what you said and what you meant.

When we meet with our prospects, our clients, or our networking relationships, we must explain ourselves in clear, concise terms. We must never allow anyone to be mystified by what we have said or by what we meant when we speak with them. Whenever we are asked about our products, our prices, or anything else, we need to be very precise and provide the basic, true facts about what we offer.

Have you ever met with someone who could never give you a straight answer to your questions? When they talk about their services or products or prices, they cannot seem to be pinned down to specifics. They have a different “package” or “level” for every customer that buys from them. If it was a Tuesday and you decided to buy before Noon, the price would be different than if you made a choice on Friday?

It is imperative that we take our customer service seriously and treat all our clients and prospects, as well as all our networking relationships, as intelligent adults and as human beings. We must not insult them by trying to confuse, baffle, or mislead them, especially about products, services, and prices. To try to do so is bad business and bad karma.

There are lots of people who will never buy from you. They don’t need what you have. Discover what your prospects need before you attempt to market what you have to them. You should never attempt to overcome their objections if they don’t need what you have. It’s like trying to sell a pickup truck to a lady without a driver’s license. She doesn’t need it and cannot use it; you are unprofessional if you sell it to her.

Once you establish a need for whatever you have, proceed to advise your prospect about your offerings and your prices. You also should counsel them on whether it is the wise move to actually purchase from you or not, what the alternatives are, and what you can do to assist them. If they need what you have, but cannot successfully use your products or services, then you should not market to them.

You must become a consultant instead of a sales person. Selling anything to those who do not need it, or cannot successfully implement it, is irresponsible and not professional. Consulting with your prospects, like everyone else in your realm of relationships, is what makes you successful. It is what makes you the person who will receive referrals for the future. These referrals are more important than the immediate sale.

In the past we have discussed what referrals can do for your business success. Referrals are the currency of successful businesses, not the sales made in place of referrals. The prospect who will never purchase from you because they don’t need what you have and who refers others to you is more important than the prospect who buys from you once and never purchases anything else.

Be clear when you market to anyone; then market what your prospects need. You are a consultant, not a sales person. Karma will reward you. Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.