Budgets are FROZEN, but their thinking is not! If that is the case, challenge your customers or prospects thinking. Clear, concise questions on assumptions that you have on their NEEDS(your opportunity) will unfreeze a lot of budgets.
How do you know what their needs may be? You are calling on people in your area of expertise? A Lean Six Sigma Consultant cannot be to specific. Are you an expert in Health-care, Accounting, Manufacturing or Marketing(that’s me)? Even these fields should be more specific. If you are truly an expert in your field, you will have some very direct questions that you can ask? Examples:
1. Don’t ask what keeps them up at night…Ask: About the key issues facing their industry today?
2. Don’t ask if things are running smoothly…Ask: Due to the change in the economy, what bottlenecks have appeared?
3. Don’t ask if they are downsizing or up-sizing…Ask: Due to the recent changes, I would imagine this ___Department may be having these issues?
4. Don’t ask if they want to improve supply chain efficiencies…Ask: What tools have you implemented to balance the increased reliance on outsourcing?
If you want to be perceived as an expert, ask expert questions. Do your homework. Become a valuable source of information and melt that ice cube with some thought-provoking questions. Find out more: Marketing your Black Belt is a 30-minute webinar based specifically on addressing these issues:
- Customer Acquisition
- Marketing
- Customer Retention
- Communication & Collaboration
- Covering All Aspects Of Marketing
Ask yourself: How Good are you at Marketing Yourself?
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Webinar: Marketing Your Black belt