I have run my marketing consultancy since 2003. I realised very early on with my obsession of growing my clients’ businesses, that before I even put more of their ideal prospects into their world, I had to ensure that they converted every client already finding them as well as they possibly could. This led to me creating my Meaningful Conversation training, which is still, I believe, my most important training out there.
If you fail to have a Meaningful Conversation with prospects already finding you, you can put as many leads as you like into your system but still never grow your business to the levels that you desire (and deserve).
What is the Meaningful Conversation?
Let’s look at it in action, with two examples.
Prospect One – House Purchase
“Oh I am sorry, I really can’t afford your quoted fees for finding me a mortgage for my house purchase.”
The Backstory: The same week they have been to the pub three times, and whilst eating there, have bought their dog those expensive treats they keep on the bar.
The house they were buying was their dream house. They had walked past it on their dog walks for many years, and finally it was going to be theirs…
The Outcome: They went with a much cheaper mortgage broker that their estate agent had recommended.
However, they took an age to find a mortgage deal for them, and by the time they did, the house had been sold to someone else.
Prospect Two – Business Coach
“Oh no, I am not paying that for your coaching.”
The Backstory: The business owner in question has reached an impasse in her business. She is turning over £300,000 a year, but she has become the roadblock in her business growth.
Everything relies on here.
She simply cannot grow beyond her current level without new systems and support in place.
She has an expensive all inclusive trip to the Caribbean coming up, but isn’t looking forward to it as she will not be able to relax.
You specialise in helping to take business owners out of their own way by using proven processes and outsourcing many of the menial tasks to freelancers and other specialists.
However, you didn’t explain this to the client or take the time to ask enough questions to find this out.
The Outcome: She duly went with a cheaper business coach who helped the business owner to make some small changes, but not enough to allow them to enjoy their holiday.
The Meaningful Conversation
Everyone is busy, aren’t they?
So it is perhaps not suprising that people try and get to the sale as quickly as they can every time, but this leaves untold opportunities on the table.
How can you sell a service when you do not know what really matters to the prospect?
How can you convey the value that you can add to their life and this particular transaction when you do not take the time to really get to grips with their wants and desires?
The Meaningful Conversation is all about asking lots of questions and doing lots of listening.
In the conversations above, there is no questioning, just straight to the price and that is it.
Sadly, this is how most conversations with prospects go, which is why many people need to speak with 10 prospects to make one sale.
My number is closer to 1 to 1 than it is 1 to 10, not just because I understand The Meaningful Conversation, but also because I cannot work with everyone who comes to me.
I am, by choice, a one man band, which means that my time is limited.
Therefore, I only want to work with business owners who I really connect with and who are genuinely keen to grow their business (not just vaguely interested in it).
When I find the right person, I will say yes to them, and nine times out of 10, they will say yes to me too.
The Meaningful Conversation is not some sort of trick, it is about finding out everything that you can about your prospect, so that you can then tell them precisely why you are the right (and only) person or business to help them right now.
Summary
It is never just the business that loses out when they fail to have the Meaningful Conversation with a prospect, which gets to the desired outcome the client wants from your help and how important it is to them, but also the prospect.
Whilst they might think that they are winning by going with a cheaper provider, the reality is that so frequently they lose.
I have always believed that the Meaningful Conversation is the most important aspect of growing any business.
Asking more questions about the prospect and their desired outcomes always gives you all of the information that you need to sell your services for the fee that you are worth.
Failing to ask enough questions means that you miss out on people who would otherwise benefit from your services.
Recently, I have seen been listening to a lot of conversations with prospects and realised that the Meaningful Conversation is often not taking place (using my Samson Lead Flow software which automatically records inbound calls).
It is a game changer as I can see where the problems lie and how to fix them.
Please take a moment to think whether you are having The Meaningful Conversation with all prospects, and if you have team, ensure that they are too, by monitoring and improving your front of house conversations with prospects every single month.
The time invested will repay you handsomely….
