When talking about what they do for clients, most people end up talking about the PROCESS of what they do, not what they really DO for clients, both in speaking to them and in written communication to them, i.e. their marketing materials. There’s a huge distinction there, and that distinction is costing them (and perhaps even you) lots of potential new clients.
When talking about their business, many professionals make the mistake of describing exactly what they do, in boring detail. “My company has been in business for X number of years and we use the newest technology systems. We use a complicated series of… blah blah blah.”
Hate to say this, but… SO WHAT! Nobody cares!
When I hear someone talk to prospects this way, it sends up a big red flag for me: these people don’t really know what they DO for clients and they’re losing potential clients every time they open their mouths and every time someone reads their materials! The problem is that they’re clearly not connected enough to their client base to see what honest-togoodness benefits they bring their clients.
There’s a saying that goes “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” And until you can tell someone what’s in it for THEM to work with you, they won’t pay attention to you or what you’re saying.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with you if you’ve been doing this wrong, but it’s something that you’ll want to work on quickly so you don’t let any more prospective clients slip through your fingers. It just takes asking yourself what you really DO for clients, what results and benefits you get for them and then to articulate that so that a prospective client looking for that particular problem will want to work with you.
Real client attraction is based on creating client-centered marketing and messages. You may have heard of the phrase “features vs. benefits” but have never really known what they mean or how to apply them to you business to get clients. We’ll do this now.
An example of a product’s FEATURE is its color, shape, size, usage or capacity, etc.
An example of a BENEFIT or a RESULT is what it does for you—its solution. It helps you lose weight, makes you more money, saves you more money, makes you happier, helps you attract clients, helps you grow your hair back, solves your particular frustration or ends that chronic health concern you’ve been dealing with. This is what you want to focus on when describing what you really DO for clients, not what you think you do.
Your Client Attraction Assignment:
Write out the specific and numerous benefits, results and solutions clients receive when using your services. At the end of the day, what do you really DO for your clients? What are the results and benefits you bring to them? What do they walk away with? Make a list of all the tangible results and measurable benefits people get from working with you.
Think: “What do I really do for them in the end?” and “What’s REALLY in it for them?” If you don’t know what that is, ask your current and former clients, “What have I done for you? What specific and tangible results have you gotten from our work?” They’ll tell you, in a language that OTHER prospective clients will understand.
Then create a series of statements from these benefits and solutions simple enough for a 6-year old child to understand and repeat.
Then combine them into a captivating 3 or 4-sentence statement that you’ll use in all your marketing communications and every time you meet someone new.
