Best Hacks To Convert Prospect Leads Into Right-Fit Clients

Are we teaching prejudice to prospects?

There’s an old joke that says there are three times you can lie and still go to heaven: one, when you are an actor in a play; two, when you are telling a joke; and three when you are talking to a salesperson.

The punchline that it is "okay to lie to a salesperson" is because dishonest salespeople have burned buyers, so prospects approach all purchases with the learned prejudice of distrust.

When you are perceived as a salesperson, defenses are up and prospects withhold honest sharing about the problem they want to solve.

This is an agency owner rainmaking dilemma. The same is true for executive coaches and strategic consultants.

In my recent book with Craig Lowder, Trusted Advisor Confidential, we discuss lead generation and lead conversion strategies to land right-fit clients.

When you are trying to convert a lead, the potential right-fit prospects might say things like “Show me what you have,” and “What can you do for me?” or “Why should I buy from you?”

These questions pressure trusted advisors to prove themselves but don’t give prospects what they really need to make a good decision.?

“Sellers are feeling the pressure, too, not just from buyers,” says fellow author and sales expert Deb Brown Mayer.

Here is a rainmaking question to ponder: Do you sell, or do you enroll?

If you want to attract more high-paying clients, a great deal is riding on your answer. (Watch for my new book on Bringing In The Business this year, which is all about enrollment conversations.)

Prospective clients do not want to feel they are being sold—especially if you offer a high-end service. If you can learn how to enroll clients, you will be able to get more clients without them feeling you are selling them at all.

Brown Maher, the author of Sell Like Jesus, is a sales relationship expert featured on numerous radio and podcast shows.

She says all that pressure on both sides can be neutralized?by taking three actions during the conversations:

Set the stage for mutual benefit. ?Start the enrollment process by stating that what’s about to take place is a conversation designed “to help us both discover together whether it makes sense to do business or not, and if not, that’s okay,” says Brown Maher.

Ask questions vs. making assumptions. “You know what they say about assumptions,” says Brown Maher. “Instead of assuming, take on the mindset that ‘I don’t know anything until the buyer tells me in their own words.’ Instead of assuming, ask."

Recognize the buyer’s right to say no. ?“The high-pressure tactic of ‘collecting yeses’ is so easy to spot buyers get immediately turned off when it’s done to them,” says Brown Maher. “Instead, acknowledge the buyer’s right to decide for themselves instead of manipulating them into saying yes."

Bottom line: Learn how to remove the pressure and you will close more deals. And that’s no joke.