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How to provide the "wow" response to the age-old question.
Yesterday I received an email article from a sales training company based in the UK and it got me thinking...
If a client were to ask “what sets Liqui-Site apart from its competitors”, would I start rambling about our offerings and what we provide to clients as if reading from a teleprompter?
Clearly not the best approach, considering that a potential client is not concerned with what was done for another company with a different set of issues. The prospective client really wants to know how we can help address THEIR unique challenges.
I’ve actually been on the receiving end of the “standard response” and have, admittedly, completely tuned out.
Ask Questions First
If value is assessed by how you’re going to resolve a problem, you can’t provide much without a vast amount of detail. Unfortunately, this is where many website design and development companies fall short.
Presenting every client with the “takeout menu” of product and service offerings is a recipe for disaster – and a lost lead.
If a prospective client asks you up-front, “What sets your company apart from competitors”, let them know that you’ll “answer that once you find out more about what [their] challenges are”. You’re sure to get a strange look or comment, but that’s exactly what you’re looking for! Now, they’re paying attention because you’ve done something different from everyone else they’ve been speaking with. Guaranteed.
Now you’ve got to ask questions – from every angle. Leave no stone unturned. And don’t be afraid to engage them further, even after the initial discussion.
Listen Second
In order to effectively service your clients, you must be a great listener. And not just in listening to what they’ve described as their challenges or needs, but in reading between the lines, where deeper issues may live. Then think about ways to solve an issue that works best for each unique situation.
In order to find what the exact issues are, you’ve got to put the time in up-front on conference calls, web-based meetings, in-person consultations and email exchanges.
Since you wouldn’t ask a client to figure out how your company can help them, the role of a genuine salesperson or account manager is to figure out how to marry company offerings with resolution to prospective clients’ targeted issues.
Only after you know the entire scope of challenges, internal resources, technological requirements, allocated budget, etc. can you determine the root cause(s) of the issues. And now, you’re better prepared to diagnose and make relevant recommendations!
Conclusion
The best way to sell products and services is not to sell them at all. Converse, engage in valuable discussions, and your recommendations will sell themselves.
Finally, respond to the initial question: “What sets your company apart from competitors?”
“You mentioned that your current lead generation and online sales have been declining over the last 9 months, so improving these two key areas is very important to you. Well, we recently implemented a new e-commerce platform and lead capture forms on specific landing pages for ABC company facing exactly the same problem as what you’ve been describing. We addressed their organic SEO issues, added new content and re-purposed existing content, implemented a more user-friendly user experience (UX) and developed a social media strategy where none had existed. Three months after website re-launch, they have increased lead generation by 32% and online sales by 46% compared to the year prior. That's what sets us apart from our competition when it comes to needs like yours."
Wow.
by Melissa Finnegan
Liqui-Site Designs
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™
This past Tuesday was Valentine's Day, so we decided to do something special for our valued clients. Not exactly out-of-the-box, but creative and thoughtful just the same, we sent Godiva chocolates with a simple note: "When we say we love our clients, we're not kidding! Thank you for your business. From Liqui-Site Designs". There was no reference to Valentine's Day – other than the "love" and the fact that it was delivered on that day.
The response was both overwhelming and humbling. Some clients posted on our Facebook Page.
Many others emailed us, saying things like, "Hello and thank you for the nice Valentine's Day / Client Appreciation Godiva treat we received yesterday! It certainly perked up the afternoon!" and "Thank you for the Valentine's Day gift! It was both very thoughtful and a great marketing idea. I am really impressed with Liqui-Site's unique approach!"
In the last two days, we received a wonderful message from almost every client. It just goes to show that being authentic is always much appreciated. Being unexpected is even more powerful.
Unfortunately, most companies don't go the extra mile to show their clients how much they value their business. With most daily communication occurring via email or social media for maximum efficiency, it's the human interaction of a telephone call or the gesture of a special delivery that can further solidify relationships.
Comments, opinions? Would love to how other companies show sincere appreciation to their clients.
by Kelly Campbell
Liqui-Site Designs
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™
Search engine optimization has certainly changed over the years. In the 90’s, it was possible to keyword stuff your on-page SEO and be able to achieve multiple first page listings on Google. But since then, we’ve seen the rise of off-page SEO, or link building, which includes getting back links from various sources. This includes article directories, forums, blog comments, blog networks, social bookmarking and the list goes on.
Then Google came along and changed the whole SEO landscape again with Panda at the start of 2011. Low quality sites with low quality content dropped in the rankings while authoritative sites with original content were pushed up in the rankings.
Now the SEO landscape is changing again with the advent of community engagement (i.e. social media). There were rumblings in the SEO world that Google was going to take into account social media signals as part of their search ranking algorithm. Now, without a doubt, that time has come. SEOMoz surveyed hundreds of the world’s best search marketers in 2011 to present a report on what factors affect SEO the most along with future factors that would have the most impact. You can read the complete SEOMoz report here.
Quite clearly, social media is playing a huge part in the search rankings and will continue to play a bigger part. Alongside this, I’ve found from my own testing of ranking websites, you cannot ignore social media in your SEO strategy. In fact, what we are seeing is that Google are now recognizing that websites ranking at the top which may have thousands of back links need social proof. They need to have had people Facebook like their page, tweet their page, Google +1 their page or share their page on LinkedIn. This is where the human element comes into effect that people can now validate the quality of pages by using social media and sharing it amongst their followers and friends. This is what Google wants. By providing the best search results, more people will continue to use Google as their preferred search engine, and thus Google can continue to make money on their biggest money earner – Adwords.
Now some quick tips to utilize social media in your SEO strategy. First thing, understand that it takes effort! You’re building a brand presence with social media so it’s not set and forget. You need to be doing it daily. Secondly include social media sharing icons on your website for every page. Make it easier for people to share your content by providing this for them. Thirdly, produce great and engaging content that entices people to share your content. Content is king! Fourthly, add your social media links to your brand collateral such as email signatures, flyers, proposals etc. Fifth for a most advanced tip create a viral campaign using video and spread it amongst your social networks.
Based in Australia, Douglas Lim is passionate about social media marketing & search engine optimization, and helping clients leverage the two. He blogs about different topics within these niches and has a passion for building online communities. Check out his blog at www.douglaslim.org
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