Win/Win Marketing

I sent this out through the group email but I thought it was SO good that I wanted to post it here too.  Enjoy and please comment on what you think and how this applies to our Noah's Ark Workshop business.

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Win/Win Marketing by Robert Middleton
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One of the hardest things in business is to turn down a sale.

But if you rarely do this, you'll never really build a solid
foundation for your business. As Stephen Covey says in his Sixth
Habit: "Win/win or no deal." And sometimes if you make a sale, it
will be win/lose, lose/win or lose/lose.

I just turned down a sale today. I talked to someone who wanted
to be in my Certification Program and I recommended that he
take a different course of action.

He really wanted to get into marketing coaching but his current
business and financial situation were less than ideal. He was about
to go into a full time job and then wanted to transition into being
a marketing coach.

I won't go into all the details, but bottom line, I turned him down
because his likelihood of succeeding at this point was not high.

And anytime you accept a client or project where the chances of
success are not good, it's a set-up for a lose/lose situation. Your
client would lose because they wouldn't get the result they
contracted for and you would lose by damaging your reputation.

When you are engaged in the selling process and negotiating the
terms of the deal, unfortunately, it's easy to lose sight of this.
And as you know, it's all too common to use some kind of
manipulation to get the business. That's a "you win/client loses
deal."

On the other hand, if you put yourself in a position where you feel
you are begging for the business and make all kinds of
concessions, then it can end up as a "you lose/client wins deal."

Only a win/win deal should be acceptable.

How do you create a foundation for win/win deals? Two very
simple but powerful things:

1. Results-Oriented Services

Make sure your services are designed to produce results when
performed under normal conditions. This might sound funny to
you, but the truth is, many services are structured to only
produce results under perfect conditions. And since conditions are
rarely perfect, you'll end up with a lot of disappointed clients.

For instance lot of programs are presented like this: "If your
people are motivated, and if the management provides the
support, and if you follow our advice to the letter, you will get
results with this program."

That's a lot of ifs, and it's easy to underplay them and focus on
the potential results (which are rarely produced).

Instead, you need to offer a service that removes the ifs and
substitutes "requirements of the engagement." For instance, in
my Certification Program you must participate in all sessions for a
full year in order to get certified. There are no ifs.

Design your own requirements for engagement and stick to them.

2. Well-Qualified Clients

Clearly define an ideal, qualified client for your services. If you're
willing to sell to anyone who can pay your bill, the chances of
success plummet. You need to have a list of qualifications and
stick to them. Actually communicate these qualifications in detail
on your web site: "Clients who succeed with us are..."

Spend as much time as you need qualifying your prospects. And
in every conversation with a prospect, emphasize that "We work
with clients who..." You'll waste a lot less time trying to sell to
prospects who are not right for you, and you'll get out of the self-
destructive begging mindset.

Start by listing: a) the problems and challenges of an idea client,
b) the aspirations of this client and c) any other qualifications
required to increase your clients' chances of success.

Sure, you still need to implement marketing-oriented outreach
activities that increase your visibility and educate your prospects
about what you do, but if you don't build this solid win/win
foundation first, your business will never take off.

It all starts with this question: "What do I need to do to
consistently create win/wins with my clients?"

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The More Clients bottom line: If you make it a priority to deliver a
results-oriented service and carefully qualify your prospects, your
success rate will go up dramatically. You'll then get testimonials,
develop case studies and generate more word-of-mouth business.

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© 2007 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved.

"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit
Robert's web site at www.actionplan.com for additional
marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses."