Here’s a question:
Is your sales structure leaving money behind on the table?
Earlier this week, we described the elements of a Value Ladder.
This is effectively, one simple way of mapping out your products/services:
- Along a level of “steps” your clients take,
- As they get closer to your business,
- Over time.
What does this do?
Well, it helps you justify selling free stuff and get your name out there in the marketplace.
It also helps create goodwill, and if done right, could triple your sales. See here below:
Our question today: How does it affect the way you sell?
And the answer feels like a resounding: “yes!” To which we’ll ask:
“Yeah? Well how?”
1. While You Are With Your Client, You Have To Set Expectations Well In Advance:
Let’s take the dentistry example.
Look, if you’re offering a FREE teeth cleaning session – Your client sitting in the dentist’s chair isn’t obtuse – They know they’re getting a ton of value and haven’t really doing much to earn it. They know they’re going to be offered something down the line.
And that’s okay! It’s the delightful part about being a business that genuinely wants to give value. This is just your time to shine while you have a captive audience (in your dentist’s chair) and give your client something to think about.
One way to do that is by means of assessment. Simply taking your expertise and running a few notes by your client. Like:
“I’m gonna be honest, I love this about your teeth (client’s pain point), but I can see the implications if we don’t fix this (something fixable, that is genuinely a concern.)
2. Could Your Goal Moves From Making Just This Big Sale? Or 5 Smaller, Yet Growing Sales Along Time?
Have you ever sat with a client that you knew for certain:
- Had been properly prospected,
- Knew about you for some time,
- Was genuinely interested in your products/services,
… And you never felt more at ease, knowing the value you could bring, and knowing you’ve put 6 months plus into this relationship, to get to this point.
And? How did this sale go?
We often see companies selling ONE product alone (their big ticket product), where, more often than not, they could have broken it up into individual, sellable parts.
3. The Beauty Of A Calendar
To the companies that want to create accountability, this one’s for you. “Great to do business with you. We’re booking our next consultation for one month from now, are you alright with that?”
If you are in the advisory position with your client, you would have the keen eye to see whether they’ll need help somewhere along the line.
In fact, they’re counting on YOU to say it. So why not book your next consultation with them right now? This’ll help you plan your next sale. And it’s again, an expected result (you get to consult with them) as a result of viewing your products in a Value Ladder Format.
The Value Ladder isn’t anything some crazy offshore concept. We all have bigger-ticket products we know require time, effort and relationship to sell, compared to our “free quote” or “50% off initial account” deals.
It does however, bring up all sorts of odd questions, that lead to better answers and ultimately, improved sales.