Why Doing Free Consulting Doesn’t Create Trust
Ari Galper
The World's #1 Authority On Trust-Based Selling & Leader Of The Global Trust Movement
Most advisors base their sales process to inform and educate their prospects.?
You have a discovery meeting, offer a free business plan, and then schedule another meeting to explain the plan and why it’s crucial to solve their challenges.?
Even if they attend all these meetings and understand your plan, there’s no guarantee they’ll become a paying client.?
Often, they’ll say: "Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you."?
This contrasts with other professionals like lawyers or doctors, who usually have a new client/patient pay at the end of the first consultation.?
Could it be that the entire free information/value-selling model is fundamentally mismatched to what prospects really want??
The decreasing conversion rates from first meeting to paying client suggest it is.?
If they just wanted information, they could search online.?
Lawyers and doctors don’t waste time educating clients about the legal code or biochemistry.?
The issue is, the more information you provide, the more questions are raised -- which leads to indecision.??
Your prospects may think they want information from you, but what they really want is to trust you to take their problem off their plate.??
Information alone doesn’t build trust.?
Selling isn’t an intellectual exercise.??
Your prospects aren’t looking for endless facts and data.??
They want clarity.??
They need someone who can simplify their decision-making and solve their problems.??
They want a trusted expert who understands them on a deeper level.?
Your job isn’t to impress with knowledge.??
It’s to clarify their situation in a way that makes them ask, "Can you help me?"??
Think of your sales process like a doctor’s appointment -- uncovering issues through an “x-ray” process and providing the right solution.?
It’s not a Discovery meeting; it’s a Diagnostic meeting.??
Prospects don’t need to like you to trust you.??
They don’t need to get to know you before trusting you either.??
Just like a doctor’s bedside manner doesn’t involve coffee dates, your pre-sale process should focus on diagnosing their issues and offering solutions -- not on building a social relationship.?
Ari Galper is the world's number one authority on trust-based selling and is the author of 6 best-selling books. Watch Ari’s latest interview with Kevin Harrington from “Shark Tank”, it will shift your mindset on how to grow your business based on trust: https://lnkd.in/g49M86ru?