USING THE PHONE!
We’re going to learn how to sell another funnel product to any customer. Subscriber forms, funnels, email marketing, automation, traffic. You name it.
NO. This is not about cold calling. This is how you’re going to have a conversation about how you can help.
Here’s the deal. You should really want to talk to your customers. I get it, it can be scary.
We all fear rejection, honestly I know. In fact, even though I’m happy to cold call, knock on doors and pitch, I fear rejection more than most. Maybe that’s why I try so hard to beat it.
We’re not “selling” here in the traditional sense. We’re having a conversation with a customer and pointing out if there’s something we can help with.
You have to remember that many customers don’t have even 1% of the knowledge you have. They don’t know about list building, subscriber bases, conversion rate optimisation, code updates, plugin and theme updates, security and backups.
They’re ignorant. But as soon as you identify the problem, they won’t be able to “un-see” it.
Low subscriber rates mean they’re not filling their lead lists. No email marketing means they can’t attract the sales they need. Insecure plugins and themes means they’re more likely to break down and lose revenue.
It’s about understanding what’s important to their business and what they need to accelerate, attract and protect.
Follow this guide and I promise you’ll make a sale, from a current customer.
Note: Lots of people have told me, since I’ve started publishing and writing this post, that they feel cheeky calling up a customer and asking them to buy. That’s not what we’re doing.
What we’re doing with customers is demonstrating that we understand their situation. We’re identifying a problem, showing them the consequences of that problem and offering to fix it.
You’re not being cheeky, you’re being helpful. Besides, no one is going to think you’re taking the piss if you follow this guide. Because it’s brilliant.
Do your research
This first and second step are going to blow your competition out of the water. None of your competitors are doing this.
Do your research. We’re going to do three levels of research.
Internal, first hand and second hand.
Internal research is looking at your customer’s data, website and business to identify opportunities.
First hand research is talking to customers to understand their business better. They’ll have an understanding of where they want to go and what they want to do.
Second hand research is looking on Google, Facebook and other websites for advice on what to position next.
First, lets do some internal research.
Have a look around the websites of your customers and look at their plugins, themes and core updates. It’s possible that they have never updated their site.
Check out their analytics to see their traffic sources, keyword hits and other data issues. If they’re getting a lot of spam traffic, there’s something you can do about this. If one post is doing really well, then you know you can exploit that.
Finally, use their website and look for obvious improvements that could be made. Subscriber optin forms, mobile optimisation, missing images and broken links.
What we want to do is build a case study. What’s the potential for their website and what are they doing now? For example, if they’re getting traffic to the site, but they’re not capturing leads, they’re leaving money on the table.
If they’re not email marketing their subscribers, they’re not attracting the revenue that they could find.
Make a list of who you’ve investigated and mark down what they could do better. Write down the problem they’re facing, the consequence of that problem and how it could be better.
Next, pick 5 – 10 customers and give them a quick phone call. Nothing heavy, just checking in. Say you’ve got some new services coming out and you want to see what other businesses are doing. We’re not going to tell them that we’ve looked at their site yet. We’re just around for a chat.
Ask them if they’re still looking to grow in the same markets. Or if they have any new products. It could even be over a coffee or in their office. Just ask for a 20 minute catch up.
Just making the effort to talk will yield great results anyway. And we’re not even through the rest of the stages yet.
Mark down on your list, the goals and growth that these customers want. Compare that to the problems they’re facing and see what’s stopping them getting there.
Finally, do some secondary research. This is you exploring the internet, finding out what Moz, Social Media Examiner, Sell Your Service, Digital Marketer and others are saying about the future.
Changes in SEO strategy, new social guidelines. This is the environment that your customers are facing. You’re going to help them exploit or survive it.
Flagship content
This is the second killer strategy that your competition aren’t doing. It’s also going to blow your customers away.
Putting together your research and combining it with a product that you want to sell, you need a piece of flagship content.
This is a killer guide on whatever topic suits you. You’re going to write up a post like this or this.
If you need a guide on thinking of a topic, check out our post on content funnels.
You’re going to introduce the problem in the first half of the post. Talk about the consequences, problems and roadblocks faced by many businesses.
Then, you’re going to outline every single step the reader needs to take to solve that problem.
Worried about “if I do that, they won’t need me?” Read this. Because they WILL need you. They’ll need you to DO the thing you’re explaining.
When you’ve got a useful piece of killer content, we’re ready to start our outreach program.
Send an email
We’re going to email that same list of clients. What we’re going to do is show them a problem they can’t unsee.
We need our research and flagship content.
Follow the email below and we’ll explain it later.
* * *
Hey Mike
We spoke about ManClothes’ goals to grow. I know that the website is almost 100% of your revenue.
However I noticed that your website is in bad need of a security and performance update.
In order to keep websites secure and running smooth, the code and platforms need updates. Otherwise you open yourself to hackers, spam traffic and losing customers.
WordFence published a piece about the awful things that happen to unsecured websites. https://www.wordfence.com/learn/how-to-protect-yourself-from-wordpress-security-issues/
If you lost your websites functionality, I’m guessing that would impact your sales?
I think it’d be best if I give you a call and showed you how we can protect your site and protect your revenue and income.
Can I suggest next Tuesday at 3pm?
Mike
* * *
I’ve got a template below that you can fill in the blanks.
Hey [name]
We spoke about [busines name] goals to [goal]. I know that [current status]
However I noticed that [current problem or something that’s missing].
In order to keep [benefit and result], we need to [take action]. Otherwise [consequence of not addressing that problem].
Blog post from secondary research with link.
If you lost/experienced [problem and consequence of problem], I’m guessing that would impact your sales?
I think it’d be best if I give you a call and showed you how we can [give you a benefit and result].
Can I suggest next Tuesday at 3pm?
Mike
What we’ve done here is explain the journey that someone could go on. We’ve got a positive outcome, which is something that they want. Or we have a tragic story where the worst thing happens.
All we’re doing is planting the idea that there is a problem. It really exists, it will impact their business and we can do something about it.
Know the benefits
Just to start, you could give them a call or you could pop into their office. Or meet up in a quiet place. But we have just as much success talking to customers over the phone.
What we need to know now, is the benefits behind what you’re going to pitch.
It’s vital that you know what people are going to get from working with you. Your new products…
*Someone wanted a list of products that you could sell to current customer. Check out this post on what types of products to sell*
…have benefits and results that they get. You’re going to focus on those. Those benefits and results are what sell the products and service.
Make a list of all the benefits your product provides. If you spoke about spam traffic in your email, talk about spam referral protection. Then list every benefit and result they can get.
Your secondary research and product knowledge should be able to tell you what the benefits are.
Better SEO results
Higher search rankings
More accurate data
More high quality traffic
Faster website performance
Keep this list of benefits with you when you make the call.
Book the call
Book the call. Get a confirmed time and date. Try to get as many calls booked in for one day.
I like to bulk my customer calls into 2 days every week. It means it’s out of the way and I can plan for the next round.
Say these words
Follow this script. Go off-piste if you like, totally up to you.
Say hello
Small talk
Remind them of their goal
Outline the problem
Where most people go wrong
Promise to solve it
Consequence of problem
Result you can get
Benefits of that result
Can I set you up?
Objection turn
Close
Hey Mike
How was your weekend? We went for a run, although I had a beer after! (Keep this short).
Thanks for taking the call. Can I check that you’re still looking to grow the online sales of ManClothes?
#yeah that’s right
Cool, well as I mentioned, the problem is that your website needs updating and it’s insecure.
Most businesses will just ignore the problem. However I can promise that we can fix it.
#ok, why do I need to do it?
Great question, if your site remains insecure. You open yourselves up to hacks, spam traffic, SEO ranking drops and worst of all, your site could break where you lose your source of income.
However, we can keep the site secure, backed up and protect it from any changes.
If you secure a site like we do, you don’t only protect your traffic and customers, I mean think of all that customer data, but you also protect your revenue stream.
If the worst happens, we can get your site back up and running within 1 hour.
#Ok, that sounds good. How much does it cost?
Ha ha, yeah of course. We do all of this for £82 a month. Absolutely everything you need to secure and backup your site. We even have a task team that can carry out small tasks for you, if you need it.
Can I set you up?
#Can’t we update it ourselves?
I understand how you feel. A lot of our customers felt the same way. What they found is that updating a site isn’t as simple as pressing a button. If you get a setting wrong, it can break the site worse than an attack.
Does this sound like something we can help with?
#Yeah, send over the details.
Epic, great to talk to you Mike. Speak soon
It’s as simple as that. Don’t over complicate it. Talk about the benefits. Go on a journey with your customer and talk them through.
A common misconception that that when people say “what about the price” or “why can’t we do it ourselves?” they don’t want to buy.
This is what we call an objection. It’s actually a buying signal. They’re exploring the reasons to buy and they just want an idea of what they’re getting. They want to justify the sale in their mind. Objections help you and your sales call.
The easiest method to turn an objection, is Feel Felt Found. I totally understand how you feel (about repeat objection). A lot of our customers felt the same way (but they’re customers now and they don’t feel like that now). But what they found is …. (truth and outcome of doing it your way).
Wrap up
We absolutely love these calls. Your customers aren’t being approached like this by your competition. Most people actually LIKE to be sold to. As long as you do it properly.
Does this look like a sleazy sales call or hard sell? Not to me, we’re just helping customers solve their problems.
Have you used a call like this before? Do you have any customer in mind that you could test this on? Let me know in the comments below.
