I was reading some sales tips the other day and the author said “Selling services is selling an intangible. You can’t put it in their hands to hold and they can’t take it for a test drive.” Or can they? (Keep reading.)
While I agree that selling a service can often be more challenging than selling a product, there are a number of things you can do to make your service promise more tangible to your prospective clients.
5 Sales Tips You Can Use to Provide Overwhelming Evidence that You Will Deliver on Your Service Promise
SALES TIP #1: Meet prospects through referrals and – even better – personal introductions.
Are you surprised I put this one first? I hope not. When you meet prospects through solid introductions, someone that prospect trusts is vouching for you. Never ever… ever… overlook the “selling power” of referrals and personal introductions.
SALES TIP #2: Your marketing collateral needs to reflect the quality service you are promising.
Use a high standard of quality when developing your printed and/or digital support materials – in both content and design.
Example: Click this sentence for the new digital brochure that we are using that has helped secure new business. (You’ll be prompted to open this file using PowerPoint. If, so some reason, you can link to it – let me know and I’ll send the file to you as an attachment.)
SALES TIP #3: Promote Your Expertise.
Articles, reports and whitepapers – that YOU have written – show you as an expert in your field and create tremendous credibility.
SALES TIP #4: Providing a “test drive” is powerful evidence that you will deliver on your promise.
Find creative ways for your prospects to sample your service. First, how you handle your sales process – I call this your “Prospect Experience” – speaks volumes about the future relationship.
Using visual representations of your service, walk your prospects through the steps you go through to provide your service experience. You can do this over the phone, but in person is always better.
SALES TIP #5: Testimonials and references make powerful evidence.
Many of my readers are financial professionals who are not able to use testimonials. If you can use testimonials, do your best to use the photo of that person who is vouching for you.
Even if you can’t use direct testimonials, you can provide references that your prospects can contact, should they choose. Be sure you are always nurturing 5 to 10 clients who are ready, willing, and able to serve as a reference for your business.