The Disappearing Boss - Issue 11

So far in our journey through Share Promise, we've Shown Up, helped prospects to Qualify us, and had an opportunity to Qualify whether we are right for them.

The next stage in the journey is to Demonstrate Value.

Every time we buy, we take a risk.??That we won’t get what we want.?What we’ve paid for.??

So, where possible, as buyers, we like to have a no-risk, or low-risk way to test out whether we're making the right choice.?

This is even more important when what we’re buying is a relationship.???So we often hold back with our first purchase, and look to buy something small.

This means that if you aren’t giving your prospects the opportunity to try you out, you may be losing people who would be very happy with you, even though they might be a bit unsure right now.

So your job is to give them a way of finding that out.?

But it's not just a matter of offering?a free sample, or a low-cost, no-obligation meeting.?The way you let people try you out has to Demonstrate the Value of working with you. They need to experience a key benefit of working with you that will convince them that you are the best possible choice right now.

There are many ways to do this.?

You can do it for free, or charge for it.??It can be a free sample, or a free trial, a meeting, or a workshop.?

It doesn’t have to be in-person.?It may even follow on seamlessly from Qualify.?

One of my clients does the whole of Qualify and Demonstrate Value in a single phone call or Zoom meeting.??

It doesn’t have to be in real time.?It could be a video or a set of videos, or a virtual experience that people can access to their own schedule.

It does need to be done on purpose.

However you choose to Demonstrate Value, it helps if it fits with the way your prospects get convinced.?And you won't be surprised to know that not everyone gets convinced in the same way.

So, how do people become convinced of something?

Well, there are two components, the 'channel', and the 'mode' - the way people take in the information that may convince them, and how much of that information they need to see to become convinced.

There are four common 'channels':

1. See - These people need to see it, but not necessarily ‘in the flesh’. They might be convinced by images, or by visiting a?showroom or by videos. Most people (around 55%) have this preference.
2. Hear – These people need to hear about it. They might be convinced by listening to what?other owners think or by talking to a salesperson, or listening to a radio, video or TV?programme. Around 30% of people prefer to hear.
3. Do – These people need to physically experience it. They would definitely want a test drive.?This preference is shared by 12% of people.
4. Read – These people need to read about it. They might get convinced by reading articles and?reviews in magazines or online. Only around 3% of people prefer to acquire information by?reading.

And four 'modes':

1. Number of Times - Most people (52%) get convinced (one way or the other) after taking in information a certain number of times. The number varies from individual to individual, but most only need 3 or fewer.
2. Period of time -A fair proportion (25%) get convinced after taking in information for a period of time beforehand. As with Number of Times, the duration varies from person to person.
3. Consistent - Others (15%) are never quite convinced. They re-evaluate every time.
4. Automatic - A small proportion of people (around 8%) get convinced very quickly, based on a very small amount of information.

Acknowledging someone’s preferred convincer mode and channel in the way you Demonstrate Value will really help them to make up their mind.

Obviously you can also use this information to make Show Up and Qualify more effective.?Having videos on your website makes it easier for 'See' and 'Hear' people to qualify you.?

If some of your videos capture the experience of using your product or service, you may find these people convince themselves to buy before you even hear from them - especially if you have several videos for them to watch a number of times, or over a period of time.?

If you can include videos of customers or clients actually using your product or service, then you may even convince the 'Do' people too.???

However, some people will need more than this, especially for a big purchase, so you may need to design an additional Demonstrate Value step.?And this step also needs to take account of these preferences.

For example, say I’m a 'Number of Times' person, with a 'See' channel.??I’d want to see what I’m going to get – what your meeting room is like, who I’ll be working with, what any outputs - end of year accounts, monthly management reports – actually look like.??And I’m going to want to have that repeated to match my number of times.

Or say I’m a 'Period of Time person', with a 'Do' channel. A good way to convince me might be to encourage me to ‘have a go’, or ‘give it a try’ for a period of time, with a get-out clause if I'm not convinced by then.

Remember, you’re not changing anything about the offer, only the way you present it, to make the decision as easy as possible for the person in front of you.

The options may seem daunting, but after all there are only 16 potential combinations, and they overlap considerably.?It would be relatively straightforward to work out how you can present your offer to suit each potential combination.

You could then cater for the most common combinations in recorded material - on your website, or to be sent in response to an enquiry, or with a proposal.?

What about the 'Consistent' people??Who are never quite convinced?

The only way to keep these people happy is to make it easy for them to try you out safely, then keep convincing them after they buy.?

Not such a bad discipline to follow with all your clients.

Now, have a go at working out what you could do for your business.???Using the following question as a prompt, see how many different ways you could demonstrate the value of your offer.?Aim for at least 50 different things you could do.?

I know, that's a challenge, but the more you do, the better your ideas will get.

"If I wanted to demonstrate the value of my service to a prospect with a Hear, Number of Times preference, so that they gladly sign up for the long-term, I could..."

Then repeat for a different convincer profile:

"If I wanted to demonstrate the value of my service to a prospect with a Do, Number of Times preference, so that they gladly sign up with me for the long-term, I could..."

Then generalise it:

"If I wanted to demonstrate the value of my service to a prospect with a (channel), (mode) preference, so that they gladly sign up for the long-term, I could..."

Why not get your team involved.?Not only will it be fun, there's a good chance there'll be some differnt profiles who can give you excellent feedback.

Go on, have a go, and let me know how you get on.

Thanks for reading,

PS if you want to read more about convincer channels and modes, and much more besides, I recommend "Words that Change Minds" by Shelle Rose Charvet.?It's my most recommended book.