Become a Must-Have Expert
Everyone Wants to Work With
RainToday.com, May 2010
By Vickie K. Sullivan
In these days of free webinars, free speaking, even free
projects to "build the relationships," buyers have
plenty of opportunities to discover your value. They take
that content and either 1) file you under "not a good
fit" and move on, 2) keep in touch to pick up more free
stuff, 3) pick up the phone and call you with their latest
challenge.
How do they decide who is a "go-to" person and
who has nice ideas but aren't worth paying for? One word:
relevance. Let's explore these three comparisons buyers use
to separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves. Buyers
use these filters to decide who is relevant now and who can
wait for next year's budget.
Your Priority
Most of you are pretty good about being clear on what you
do. Once buyers know your offer, two questions determine if
they need to act now. The first question they ask themselves:
will your expertise help them with something they know they
need right now? Will you help them get something they already
covet? You must be a conduit for something they already want
badly.
Here's an example: one of my Turbo Charge clients is a best-selling
author who wanted to expand his brand into a new area. He
wrote another book that publishers wanted so badly that they
started a bidding war. Why did the winning publisher fight
for that book? Because they wanted to expand into business
books and they saw my client's project as the conduit to make
that happen. Yes, they liked the author's brand, but they
also saw what the book could do for the CEO's top priority.
So before writing that article, ask yourself this: what do
the decision makers already covet and how can your expertise
help them get that?
The second question buyers ask themselves: is solving the
problem worth this price point? Here's where your fee strategy
really plays a role. Your investment forces buyers to explore
what the solution is worth to them. And they compare your
fee with what else they can do with the money. Even in this
recovery, there's a lot of competition for the same pot of
dollars.
I'll use myself as an example. I just heard from a prospective
client that she's weighing two options: working with me or
hiring staff. Isn't that interesting? My competition isn't
other brand consultants -- it's administrative help. In the
got-to-have space, your competition is not only other experts;
it's also other priorities. Everyone has more things to do
then money to spend. This is why the got-to-have experts position
their focus as a conduit for something bigger than themselves.
Your Scarcity
The second things buyers do to determine whether they must
have your services is compare your expertise with theirs.
There are two assessments buyers make that can put you into
nice-to-have status. First comparison: our insights vs. what
they already know. I call this the invisible Vulcan mind meld.
Decision makers invest in what they don't already have. So
the question buyers ask themselves is do you know something
they don't?
Must-have experts show the market that they have something
not readily available. Many talented, nice-to-have folks focus
on the clever title or analogy. Buyers see right through that.
They are looking at the insight, the point you are making.
The analogy, the story, and the cleverness make your point
come alive. If your writing is better than your insights,
you are a nice read but not worth reaching out to. If you
give a speech and hear, "Hey, nice reminder of what I
already knew," you failed the invisible Vulcan mind meld
and are in the nice-to-have category.
After passing that test, buyers make a second comparison:
your high-end services vs. information they don't have but
can easily get from you. The second bias -- all things being
"good enough," the low-cost or free route will prevail.
Notice what I didn't say: equal. Even if you are better than
the free resources you provide, even when prospects have a
budget, buyers want to make sure they are getting the best
option for their money. So another question they ask is can
they get your insights from other free sources such as your
book or white papers on your website? Is that "good enough"
help for them?
This economy has created a lot of free and low-cost education.
And it's good stuff. A must-have expert provide high-quality
content but always leaves the impression that "there's
more where that came from." My favorite example of this
strategy is Steven Levitt, co-author of Freakonimics.
His way of thinking appeals to so many situations that folks
can't get enough of him. And yet everyone knows that if they
want their situation examined, they have to pay him his fees.
Your Approach
The third thing buyers look for is agreement. Before hiring
you, even before talking to you, buyers want to get a sense
of your approach and the way you think. The question they
ask themselves: do they agree with your world view? They want
to know this because they plan to implement your recommendations.
Think about it: we facilitate change, and change is confronting
at the very least. Clients are willing to go on that journey
with us as long as we don't throw them under the bus. And
that's what buyers are really afraid of. They want to make
sure your solutions won't create too much brain damage. Your
approach is their early-warning system.
And just saying your solutions are easy won't cut it. Buyers
are now in what I call "discovery" mode. They credit
you with any discoveries they make about themselves while
reading your materials or hearing you speak. They believe
their opinions about you more than they believe what you say.
No More Spaghetti on the Wall
The days of just getting your insights or story out there
and hoping for the best are over. In this noisy marketplace,
either you are relevant or you are ignored. When we tap into
the three things that buyers look for -- priority, comparisons,
and agreement in approach -- not only will we get attention,
but we will get the incoming emails and calls, too. And isn't
that the whole point of getting our message out there?
Since 1987, Vickie K. Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker
Services, has generated millions of dollars in speaking fees,
book advances and ancillary income for her clients. Sign up
for her free market intelligence at http://www.SullivanSpeaker.com
|
