Tag: customers

Net gains (1)

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Can customers find you on Google?

Here's a test: type your name into Google and press search. Does it find you? Are you on the first page?

If, like me, you have an unusual surname, you are at an advantage here, so let's make it fairer and try a slightly revised test. Type your name and profession – journalist, actor, musician or whatever more specialist job description you like to use – into the Google search bar. Does Google find you? Are you on the first page?

Online presence

Adding a web presence is becoming increasingly important. No matter what we do for a living, we need to make sure the people who might want to buy our services can find us easily online.

There are a whole host of things you can do to boost your web presence. You certainly need your own website, you probably ought to blog, and you need to make sure all your online profiles are up to date and, wherever possible, linked together. That means making sure your LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, WordPress, Blogger and other profiles are up to date and linked together.

Google Profile

Perhaps the first profile you need to update is your Google profile. Google is the most popular search engine so it makes sense to start by getting your profile within its sprawling empire is correct. If you have not already done so, register your Google account and complete your profile. Provide as much detail as you can and make sure you make your profile public.

You will have the opportunity to link your profile to your YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts and many others. You can also add your own blogs and websites. Consider linking direct to pages that are about you or contain your CV. Separately, you can add links to relevant websites. These may be clients or other examples of your work.

All of this means having up-to-date accounts on social media outlets such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. We'll look at all of those next.

Creative selling (8)

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Post-match analysis

Analyse in detail how you succeeded when you were successful, and what went wrong when you failed - learn from your successes and your failures.

Before calling a potential new customer - a prospect - or an existing supplier, we should have in our mind a sequence of logically progressive steps that lead to a conclusion that can only be a sale – a close.

We should, therefore, decide:

  • What do we already know about the buyer and his/her business?
  • What else do we need to find out?
  • How can we find this out?
  • What benefits are most likely to appeal?
  • What is the most effective way in which we can present these benefits?
  • What problems, snags, objections are likely to arise?
  • How can we deal with them?
  • What sales aids, literature, examples of our work, do we need?
  • What is the specific objective to be achieved on this call?

Our checklist for successful creative selling is:

  • Focus - we must focus the attention of the customer on what we want to talk about.
  • Involvement - we involve the customer by asking questions.
  • Need - we must identify the buying motives of customers.
  • Suitability - we must match the benefits of our products or service to the buying motives of the customer.
  • Objections - objections must be handled.
  • Action - remember to ASK FOR THE ORDER (we're bad at this bit).

Good luck.

 

Creative selling (6)

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Coping with rejection

First, think of it as an objection, not a rejection. It’s not that final yet. And let’s embrace and welcome objections. Points of disagreement help us to know that the buyer is at least interested.

An objection at this stage means:

  • We have not chosen the right benefits for that particular buyer
  • We have failed to get full agreement at each stage

It means that we have failed to sell effectively.

Objections should not come as a surprise. We need to anticipate objections and plan how to handle them. If possible, we need to build the answers to objections into our sales presentation.

We also want to keep objections small. That means checking continuously that the buyer understands and agrees with all points made so far, so they can raise small objections or ask minor questions early on rather than save them all up to the end. A good salesperson asks for the order, sale or commission early and often to see if any objections remain.

When an objection is raised, we must first of all decide what sort of objection it is. Ask yourself:

  • Is it a real objection?
  • Is it an excuse, a smoke screen?
  • Is there a hidden objective? Are they really just trying to barter down the price?

The smoke-screen

Confronted by a smoke-screen objection our objective should be to get it out of the way as quickly as possible.

There are various techniques that enable us to do this:

Simply repeat it (with a slight tone of astonishment) and pause. We should at this stage be in control of the situation, and able to be frank, without being belligerent. In effect, we are throwing out a challenge to the buyer to substantiate the objection. If it is really only an excuse, it is likely to evaporate.

Switch immediately to another topic, and ignore it. By ignoring it we are saying that we recognise it to be an excuse and we hope it will not be raised again. If what we thought was a smoke-screen is in fact a real objection, you customer will repeat it. In either event we will have made progress.

The stall

Confronted by a stall, our objective should be to prove that nothing will be gained by delaying but that something will be lost. We need to confirm with the client that there are gains that have been discussed. We then need to get them to accept that a delay will be costly.

The price

Confronted by a price objection, our objective should be to get agreement that what we are offering is value for money and that the client’s need for our product is greater than the need for the money or for some alternative. One options to propose reducing your offering in order to cut the price and ask which bit of the service they want you to drop to come in at the price they seek.

Use "yes, but" to agree that you may seem expensive but there are excellent reasons for you being value for money, and why the client, in particular, would benefit in important and specific ways by using you rather than someone cheaper.

What about hidden objections ?

Ask whether there are any other objections. Ask whether the objection raised is the only objection. Above all, listen to every single thing the customer says. The customer is certain to give hints if there are hidden objections.

The most effective way to handle objections is to anticipate them and to tailor your presentation so you overcome them step by step.

Creative selling (4)

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Sticking to the script

It’s time for you to do some work. Think of a client you want to sell to (or you want to work for). Run through what might motivate them and how you might stress that what you provide or the way you provide it will meet their need.

Write yourself six short presentations that will convince them that using you as their freelance will help them:

  • Make money
  • Save time
  • Reduce effort
  • Get convenience
  • Get good quality
  • Get good service.

Now try it on someone you know and see what their reaction is. What questions do they ask – did you have an answer prepared? Are they convinced and if not, why not? Work out what more you’d need to say and how you’d need to demonstrate it to convince them.

Remember, you may have to repeat the same message several times, so think of different ways of getting your message across so you don’t use exactly the same words.

A good salesman may look like they have been forced into providing discounts or offering extra for free in an unplanned moment of madness but it is all a script. You need to have worked out everything you need to say in advance and what price you are prepared to sell at – and stick to it.

Creative Selling (3)

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The Hierarchy of Needs

Your potential buyer is an individual human being. Buyers bring with them their own motivations but they also have motivations inspired by their business. The business, as a corporate entity, will have its needs and these are not necessarily identical to the buyer’s needs.

You may have to try to satisfy both needs - perhaps flagging up different benefits.

And if that sounds complicated enough, people’s needs change so you may have to push different benefits each time you try to sell to the same buyer.

A psychologist, Abraham Maslow, famously suggested that there are only five reasons why anybody ever does anything. He expressed this theory in what he called The Hierarchy of Needs. Some of these needs are pretty basic – to eat, sleep, have sex, excrete etc - so we need not concern ourselves with those. Instead, we’ll simplify the important ones into two groups of needs.

1. People buy to save

  • Time - speed of delivery; availability; ease of use; punctuality; deadlines
  • Money – cheapness; low cost in use; quality giving long life; quantity discounts; economy
  • Labour - you have skills they don’t; you can work faster; you can work for a fixed time or longer hours
  • Worry - simpler to use a well-known and well-tried supplier; a strong brand name

2. People buy to gain

  • Prestige - quality supplier; well-known; brand name
  • Respect – high-quality work; speed, a well-known product
  • Reward - in business this is usually financial; but it can also be public recognition or recognition by their boss; cost savings bringing them in under budget; quality
  • Fulfilment - Usually related to a quality service where recognition is the main aim; quality materials; examples of supplying similar products in the past; knowledge of materials
  • Profit - cost in use; cheapness; quality; special offers; large discounts; demand; scarcity
  • Comfort - pleasant to use; easy to use; tried and tested product or service; sensory satisfaction
  • Love - in business, this usually means appreciation: appreciation of work, people, and from the supplying freelance

If you can identify the need that is uppermost in the customer’s mind, and demonstrate that you provide a particular benefit that will satisfy that need, it is likely that the customer will buy from you.

Let me give you real examples. I can produce highly researched financially literate articles including serious numerical analysis. I can also produce articles that have very little of that (or even none) but will be controversial. I have sold both to the same customer. With the first they will gain respect from running it - it will lend them an air of gravitas and enhance their reputation. The second I sold to them on the basis that it would wind up their audience and provoke a storm of comments, ensuring widespread engagement with their readers.

I have sold other pieces to the same customer on the basis that I am prepared to be available during anti-social hours or that I can turn round an article much faster than my competitors.

If someone is motivated by low cost, it may be possible to offer them a discount if they agree to one piece of work from you every month. For many freelances not knowing when the next pay cheque is coming, a regular monthly gig, even at a discount, can be enough to keep the wolves from the door.

Links (new windows)

 

Creative Selling (1)

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Why we must learn to sell

Selling – it’s almost a dirty word to us creative types. We tend to be artistic, have flair, create masterpieces. Our work should sell and our talents should be recognised just because. We’re good. We know we’re good. The world just needs to see that.

Unfortunately the world sometimes needs its eyes prised open. It needs to be sold the idea of just how great we are. The trouble is, we’re not very good at selling. It’s embarrassing. It’s uncomfortable. Selling is something that people who didn’t have our talent were forced to do.

Many of us use agents or intermediaries to sell for us. But even then, we all need to improve our selling skills. An agent can only get you so far – an audition, a screen test, an interview. Once there, we need to sell ourselves.

Why do people buy?

One of the key errors we freelances make is misunderstanding how to sell. To get it right we need to understand how people buy, and, in particular, how different people buy for different reasons. There is no one way to sell your skills – you need to tailor your approach to the buying motives of each potential customer.

Think why someone buys a particular make and model of car. The same car will be bought by one person for comfort and reliability, by a second for appearance and performance and by a third because the boot space is big enough for their golf clubs or their child’s buggy.

The salesman sells the same car in three different ways, pushing its different strengths to match the buying motivation of the customer. He sells the fully adjustable seats, the air conditioning and the arm rests to the first customer. He sells the engine size, acceleration and the alloy wheels to the second customer. And he sells the fold-away rear seats, boot width and luggage rack accessories to the third.

Customers have different reasons for buying

If you can work out which buying motives are influencing your potential customers you will know how best to present the benefits of your product or service to each customer.

 

Getting paid (1)

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Be careful about who you work for

Check out all new clients before you start working for them – avoid the pitfalls of working but not getting paid.

What could be better than getting a new client, you think. Maybe someone rang out of the blue, or emailed, or even called. They saw your name, liked a piece of work or yours, or you were recommended by a colleague – they can even tell you their colleague’s name and you are proud of the connection.

You’re chuffed, flattered, grateful. You could do with a bit more work right now, or you were wondering what you’d do when the current project comes to end. Here’s the answer and you haven’t even had to go looking for it.

But wait. It might be great news, but it might be more trouble than it’s worth. If this is a fly-by-night outfit on one on the verge of bankruptcy, you could be about to commit to working for free with no prospect of ever getting paid.

Credit checks?

Big corporates do credit checks and due diligence before accepting clients. For most of us freelance professionals buying credit reports and seeking references is not realistic. But we can - and should - check out customers before we sign up to work for them. If they don’t pay, or go bust on us, we will have lost out.

Google is your friend. A few minutes should find out a little about this potential new customer. What are people saying about them? Are there any complaints? Check forums, chat rooms, any websites criticising them for not paying their bills or trying to cut down agreed fees after accepting similar work?

Personal contacts are even better – do you know anyone who has worked for them? What were they like to work for, did they pay well and did they pay promptly? Are people still happy to work for them? One reason organisations are often looking for new talent is because they have alienated their old favourites who will not longer work for them – if not, warning bells should sound. Check with your union – have they had to help members squeeze money out of them?

Pay close attention to quickly growing companies or companies that have been, or are being, taken over.

Sooner, rather than later

Do all this before agreeing to work for them – afterwards will be too late. A sensible freelance will also monitor existing customers and review them twice a year. You need to spot if a client is getting into difficulties and adapt accordingly, perhaps billing smaller amounts more often so that, if they do stop paying, you’re left being owed less. Better still, cease working for them before they get into difficulties.

Grade your customers by risk levels and set credit limits and terms for each customer. You might normally expect to be paid 30-days after sending the bill but not every customer has to be treated the same. You might offer to bill monthly instead of weekly, for example, but only if you can be paid within a week. That might save both of you the hassle of dealing with lots of invoices.

There may also be times when you have to ask for payment up front – before you start. This might be part payment in advance and the rest when you finish the job, or, if you are worried about the client, you might ask for full payment in advance. You might even ask clients to apply for credit terms – a child entertainer or magician, for example, might do many jobs based on payment with the booking but have a corporate client that provides regular work who pays on invoice after each performance.

It’s a case of horses for courses.