Sales situations create barriers in the minds of most prospects that have to be overcome. But if you pre-frame yourself the right way, prospects will come to you with a completely different mindset. Read on for one pre-framing strategy that can change your sales conversations.
Let me share something that could be the difference between filling your pipeline with happy, excited prospects, and chasing leads who resent being sold.
Picture this…
You decide you want another car that will look good for clients, but that’s used so you don’t care that much about wear and tear.
You know that you’re going to be getting this car from a used car dealership. And of course, this brings up all sorts of images and feelings…
Most of these images and feelings aren’t good and cause you to tense up, and build a wall between you and the used car salesman who you feel is gonna try to swindle you for this used car.
Think about that for a second …
You’ve never met the salesperson before. For all you know, the salesperson might be one of the kindest, most honest, servant-minded individuals you’ve ever encountered.
But the problem is you have a preconceived notion about what the experience will be like before you ever get there.
Preconceptions Will Kill a Sale Before You Ever Meet Your Prospect
What this means for the salesperson is that he or she is going to need to build a relationship with you and defeat that barrier before you’ll trust what they have to say. The odds are stacked against them before you even step foot on the lot.
Even if they can breakdown that barrier in the back of your mind you’ll probably still feel like you’re being “sold”.
That’s not a good experience for you, and it’s a terrible experience for the salesperson.
If that’s how you feel when you walk into a situation where you feel like you are going to be sold, imagine how your prospects feel when they get a sense that you are trying to sell them.
The feeling may not be as dramatic as the used car situation I described above, but there’s still a barrier between you and the prospect that you’ll need to break through if you want to establish trust and build goodwill with the prospect before the sale, during the sale, and after the sale– especially if you want referrals or repeat business from this new client.
How to Pre-Frame Your Prospect so They Have a Positive Vision of You and What You Sell
Now, let’s picture another scenario…
You produce content that guides your best prospects and teaches them how to make good decisions around the products you sell.
Because of your consistent and dedicated and helpful content creation, you’ve built a platform where people look up to you as an expert in your field.
Instead of looking at you as somebody who’s trying to sell them, the people who look to your platform as a valuable resource see you as an expert guide with their best interest at heart.
- Yes, they may know that you sell the products that you’re talking about
- Yes, they are aware that you stand to gain if they choose to do business with you
The difference here is that you are not chasing them and putting them into psychological NLP headlocks to box them in where they have to become a client.
Instead, you’re serving them by making them more informed prospects who can make better decisions about the products you sell regardless of whether they buy their products from you or from your competitors.
You don’t hold back…
You give them the goods…
And when they are ready to purchase who do you think they’re going to go to?
The person who is hounding them like a hungry dog?
Or the expert who’s been using their platform to guide and assist them through their decision-making process?
Do you see the difference?
The first person is needy. And what do you know about needy people? Well, if you’re like most people I know, needy people repel others. Neediness is not attractive whether we’re talking about romantic relationships or business relationships. Neediness is the antidote to lots of sales.
Someone who is not needy, and is secure enough in their own knowledge, skills, and abilities to help their prospects without worrying about whether those people will buy from them or their competitors is attractive. Prospects sense the confidence that mindset requires, and see you as a giver… not a taker.
The Teaching Way
So let me ask you…
What barriers do you think you’ve created by helping your prospects make good decisions?
If anything, your prospects will be hounding you when they’ve decided it’s the right time to buy.
Now, how do you build this platform?
How do you get your message in front of your best prospects?
These are important questions, and I will cover them on another video.
But for now, just remember this…
Creating content, and creating a platform that is dedicated to helping your prospects navigate the confusing landscape of your industry so they can make the best decision for themselves and their business is the best way I know to eliminate barriers and pre-frame you and what you sell in a way that attracts your prospects to you.
On a future article I’ll talk about how to get your prospect’s eyes on your content…
But next we’re going to talk about how you can produce a year’s worth of content in 3 or 4 days.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in a marketing strategy that uses what I talked about today to attract your best prospects, email my assistant at [email protected]. She’ll send you some questions and we can schedule a call.
