Need #3 on the Sales Level of the BHN is Client Conversion, and the question we ask is;
“Do you convert enough of the right prospects into clients to support your needed sales?”
Last time out we talked about what the “right prospects” for your business are. We know that not every lead we get in the door is going to become a client, that’s just business. But if you have truly taken care to make sure you are attracting quality prospects for your specific business, you should be converting them at a predictable rate.
In the book Fix This Next, author Mike Michalowicz writes “Conversion is consideration of both sides. What do they want and what do you want.” When those two things are in alignment, conversion naturally becomes easier.
We tend to focus on what the clients wants, which is natural. But have you put as much consideration into what you want out of the deal?
When we work with our clients using our Pumpkin Plan tools, one of the things we determine is your Sweet Spot. Do you get the most joy out of selling on price, convenience or quality? (hint: you can’t successfully do all three). What type of clients do you really enjoy serving? What products or services do you really love delivering?
Is that what your company is doing, right now?
It may seem strange to introduce the “joy” component so deeply into a discussion revolving around sales and client conversion. But life is too short to serve customers you don’t like with an offering you hate delivering at a price point that you know is too low. You didn’t start your business to get the life sucked out of you, but that’s sure to happen if you don’t nail your Sweet Spot down, like right now.
I’ll come out and say it. I strongly dislike delivering personal training, I like semi-private better, but I love coaching group fitness. Don’t be a hater, it’s just what I like doing. We’d been open a few years and were being encouraged by a coaching program I was in to start doing more semi-private and personal training, and I let myself get pressured into it.
The result?
We failed to get any traction, and it’s not a secret why. I didn’t like personal training, and I was convinced our group training was just as high quality as anything I could do semi-private. My heart wasn’t in it, I didn’t feel good about marketing it, and it didn’t get the attention it deserved.
Bottom line. I found no joy in it, so I self-sabotaged the effort. What a baby, huh?
Now you may love training clients one-on-one and have the most incredible semi-private offering ever. That’s awesome. You do you. And don’t let some expert tell you otherwise.
And once you find out what “doing you” means, ask these questions:
- Is my company story consistent with it?
- Is my pricing consistent with it?
- Is the experience I deliver consistent with it?
When these consistencies are achieved, when you have found your Sweet Spot and are living by it in your messaging, marketing and sales process, converting prospects into clients becomes a much, dare I say it, sweeter process.
And I’ll go one step further. If you don’t find alignment between the customers needs and your needs, you will continue to waste money on marketing that doesn’t work, a muddled sales message, and a stagnant business.
And life is too short for that too.
Make It Happen!