We all know that selling features is a thing of the past. Today, in order to sell any products or services, we need to sell benefits, based on emotions, rather than features. I just came across an article by Clate Mask, CEO of Infusionsoft this week and I wanted to share it with you because it’s not only very relevant, but it’s totally accurate.
As we sell the emotional benefits of our product or service, it is that much more important to know a thing or two about our prospects to better understand their needs and desires. So here is Clate’s list of 7 things you absolutely MUST know about your prospects.
1. Age: Everything you say and write, including slang, allusions, word difficulty, and topics should be adjusted to meet age appropriateness.
2. Gender: Despite the dual roles men and women tend to fill, most individuals can be segmented (and sold to) based on gender-specific interests or needs.
3. Location: Values and culture tend to vary based on demographics. Having a clear understanding of regional difference will improve your targeted messages.
4. Education Level: Similar to age appropriateness, education levels should determine how you address your prospects and what benefits they will find in your product or service.
5. Income: The needs and wants from one social class to another should be a guide to the types of products and services you should be selling them.
6. Marital Status: The values, needs, and desires of married persons greatly differ from those that are single. Marketing family messages to single persons (and vice versa) can lose the deal for you.
And last but certainly not least…
7. What Keeps Them Up At Night: This is the most important one. You’ve got to know your prospect’s fears, worries, concerns, excitements, hopes and dreams. When you know the conversation inside your prospect’s head, you can enter it, speak to it, and build a relationship that leads to a loyal customer.
Got 3 minutes? Want to find out the Key Ingredient to becoming more successful at reaching your goals and delivering on your priorities? Want to find out “the one thing” that will help you win the game of business in 2010?
This quickie video is for you.
To learn more about how LeapZone Strategies can help you increase brand equity and profitability through business and branding strategies, strategic planning, performance coaching and brand development, fill out our free Needs Assessment today.
“…to make an end is to make a beginning.”
— T.S. Eliot
As we face a new year, a new decade in fact, could there be anything more true? This quote from T.S. Eliot brings it home for me on two levels:
1. It is so important to really take the time to appreciate our past accomplishments and be grateful for where we have been and what we have done. This allows us to more effortlessly let go of the past to move forward.
2. It is equally important not to fear endings because ultimately they make room for new beginnings, which most often are even better.
I entered 2010 with the intention of exploring what I REALLY have to offer, to myself, and therefore to this world. I believe that by truly serving your inner being first, you will then automatically offer the best of you to others. Now this may not be news to you, but let me tell you that for me, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. I have this innate mechanism that is set to serving others first, which is only a problem when you forget yourself in the mix. A dear friend of mine calls it my “Virgo thing”. And maybe that’s true.
Exploring this intention means I have to let go of a lot of my everyday tasks and responsibilities to make room for this exploration to flourish. Some I have been more than overjoyed to let go of, others….not so easy. Really not, but I am persevering. And what I have to tell you, with not even the first month of 2010 over with, is that I am already beginning to feel the greatness that lies ahead. And the biggest lesson so far is once you open yourself up to the unknown, it instantly begins to become familiar.
Fully live. Appreciate the moment. Let go. Begin again. Experience the shift.
Let me start by sharing our core values with you to set the stage. At LeapZone we stand for: Guts, Spark, Digging Deeper, Keeping it Simple and Freedom to Excel. Our entire business model and lifestyle are guided by these 5 commandments.
Well…so I thought. But here is the brutal truth. I woke up one morning a few weeks ago feeling tired, frustrated, stressed (actually borderline angry), overwhelmed, and feeling mentally and physically heavy. I had not felt that way in a very, very long time. Maybe some of you know the feeling…
I could go on and give you a thousand reasons why I felt that way like, “September was an extraordinarily busy month and I stretched myself thin to be accommodating”; or “I decided to play computer techie and add a few major technical elements to the mix ’cause I’m obviously sadistic”; or the kicker “I started a 5-day cleanse to reset my metabolism as well as a 30-day yoga challenge because that last hour in my day I could maybe have spared just had to be filled”…blah, blah, blah…you get the point right?
Was September difficult? Yes, it sure was. Was it also the greatest catalyst for me to realize that it is NOT AT ALL how I want to feel in my business or my life? You bet.
What happened next took a lot of guts and involved a lot of tears (Kleenex sure made a huge profit that week!). Margarita and I took the necessary time (with our coach) to completely re-assess and re-evaluate it all, and zap ourselves with a jolt of perspective. We totally hit the RESET button and realized that although September was the last drop that spilled the milk, the real “spark killer” was all the little, cumulative, non-necessary, non-profitable To Dos (admin or otherwise) that we thought were important.
So, we decided to get rid of a huge chunk of “noise”, re-connected with our ideal work schedule and totally simplified our business model to suit the lifestyle we really want. After all, if we are to choose to play the game of business, might as well play it our way right?
Here is the thing. The gem in all of this is that I was out of balance with the majority of my core values. Keeping it Simple was getting overcrowded with a whole bunch of ToDos – simple mind you – but To Dos nonetheless that were contributing to the noise. Freedom to Excel was getting buried under a heavily loaded schedule…therefore leaving me feeling like I had no time and energy left to do what I do best: Digging Deeper.
Today, I feel a lot lighter despite the work ahead that is necessary to implement all our changes…because I know that it will be much, much better on the other side.
What do you need to “stop” or “reset” in your life and in your business to increase your level of freedom and fulfillment?
“Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” - Author Unknown
3. A willingness to change.
Are you willing to let go of your old comfortable patterns that don’t work and learn new ways of doing things?
Once you’ve honestly discovered where change is needed, the fun begins. Now it’s time to take action and change what isn’t working and create the life you want.
Before you can move forward, you need to be willing to change. There is a difference between recognizing a need to change and your willingness to do something about it.
Sometimes that means changing the dynamics of a significant relationship or perhaps even ending a relationship. It may require you to change careers even without knowing what’s next, or perhaps make new choices for your health and wellbeing which are not supported by others.
Be careful to stay out of the trap of analyzing what you’ve discovered. That will only keep you stuck. Sometimes an avoidance strategy is wanting to know “why” things happened or “why” you do what you do? “Why” will only keep you stuck. “Why” justifies behaviour that isn’t working.
Focusing on the “why” keeps you focused on the problem and what isn’t working, rather than focusing on how you want to be instead.
If you find yourself saying “I’ll change when……. Or I’ll change if……….I know I should change but……. It means you’re not willing to change.
No one can make you change.
It takes courage to change now. The courage comes at the stage of willingness. Once you are willing, things move easily and quickly to align with your willingness.
At this stage, it isn’t necessary to know “how”. The “how” will come.
A willingness to change comes with a deep desire to live your life differently. It’s also linked with a deep knowing that it can be different. That’s the feeling you want to trust because it will help you to courageously take the steps necessary to make the change and create a new way of life.
Are you willing to change? Questions to contemplate to give you insight:
1. What will happen if I am willing to change?
2. What will happen if I’m not willing to change?
3. What won’t happen if I’m willing to change?
4. What won’t happen if I’m not willing to change?
5. What will you gain by letting go of the old patterns that don’t work?
6. What will you lose by letting go of the old patterns that don’t work?
Take time to think about these questions and contemplate your answers. This is an opportunity for you to make sure there is nothing getting in the way of your willingness to change.
If you are willing to change, remember, now is the perfect time to take action to change the direction of your life and Design Your Destiny.
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