American Chamber of Commerce 'Attracting your Ideal client' workshop

Editor's Notes

1. Key message; Comm. of value (& awareness of client value perception) which positions you to attract ideal clients. NB: Understand your own value, how to communicate it & what’s valuable to ideal clients Preso structure; Why this?/Why now?/What’s changed? (why a great Pitch is now more important than ever) Why me (?) & thinking built on/Your challenges/What’s wrong with the topic (Pitch)/Our obsession (?) (common message mistakes) What we do/why you should care/what’s it all about/what’s in it for you (how to structure your message so you’re easy to buy & refer) AMCHAM story (CP pitch event & getting CP as a client) – prepare, have intent, deliver value & follow up (message, backed by action) (Why this?) Life’s a Pitch (big decisions & ongoing comms.) Pitch (‘hinge’) – pivotal moment which determines success or failure…if you get it right, everything follows & if you don’t, nothing follows… Definition of pitch – selling services, ideas (DF) – present case/you, feel differently about you afterwards Biz & Life (big & small pitches - snapshot) – understand audience, good listener, confident & express yourself simply & quickly – charm.
2. (Why this?) Ever asked someone this question & immediately regretted it?! Problem with passion, need for focus/brevity & relevance (find out about them first) If we can’t explain what we do in a clear, credible & compelling manner, we can’t expect others to buy or refer us. Is it easy or hard for the prospect to ascertain who is the best? Hard – Pitch gives you the benefit of the doubt (‘shortcut’…he/she sounded like they’re know their stuff…) 3 c’s of value - comms bridges gap between value creation & commercialisation & attracting ideal clients & referrals you deserve.
3. (Why this?/Why now?) Too many conversations end in apathetic indifference – lack of brevity & relevance, focusing on the solution & not how you could solve a problem & make their life easier.
4. NB: Need Diagram of - Logical (left) Brain (in red) vs. Emotive (right) Brain (in green) NB: 1 liner – ‘People buy emotionally and then justify logically’ Key message – Most people pitch using too much logic & not enough emotion, but business & decision making involves more emotion than we realise
5. (Why now?/What’s changed?) ‘Pens Activity’ – there’s only so many messages the prospect/client can remember (‘cut through’) – Vahe – 719 word pitch reduced to 156. Apathy (& memory loss) is our biggest competitor…3-5000 messages (remember 3-5)…if we’re not crystal clear about the problems we solve & why others should buy from us, then how can we expect others to be? We’re being rude…making others work too hard to understand us, while still expecting them to buy! Is there message alignment within the business (& is it delivered eg: CBA bank branch example)? Prospects want consistency!!! (risk averse) Impact (Mark Jackson) – people don’t buy what you do, it’s the impact of what you do for them – how does what you do help them get what they want? (purpose) (Why me? & thinking built on) MMgt… Won Pitch comp… Over 10 000 client interviews – know why people buy, stay & refer (help clients focus on the right things & get alignment) - value is not what we think, but what our clients think… 4th business in 22 years…(41)
6. NB: Need diagram of – a half open door NB: 1 Liner – ‘Our Pitch either opens or closes the door’ Key message – Our pitch is the crucial first step/hurdle in the sales process
7. NB: Add ‘Sweet Spot’ diagram – 3 overlapping circles (Venn diagram) with heart symbol (top middle with ‘Why’ above it), tick symbol (bottom left with ‘What’ & ‘Who’ below it) & $ sign (bottom right with ‘How’ below it) NB: 1 liner – ‘Heart, head and hand’ Key message – we do our best work when what we do is fuelled by who we are
8. (Your challenges/What’s wrong with the topic) Need a central message to drives sales & referrals (what ultimate benefit/result is your call to action?) – message should be predatory with regards to competition & what’s important to consumers. Eg: Qantas – Safety & Service (airline rankings), CBA – cust service rankings Think in bumper stickers’ eg: Politics – Obama – ‘Change’ (against John McKain – Bush 2) (what do you want people to remember, feel & do?)
9. (Your challenges/What’s wrong with the topic) Pitch v Proposition Benefits - Absolute/Relative/Parity + CI/10 = relevance/importance to marketing message & impact on ‘buying reasons’ Values alignment between staff – impact on delivery of value proposition Clients are your ‘Market Research Department’ & your ‘Extended Sales Team’ – service is part of your Pitch/message (‘new snapshot’)
10. (Our obsession & what we do) Helping businesses who create a lot of value, best communicate it…so they can attract more of their clients faster (& commercialise it)…alleviates their frustration eg: Message evaluation, Verbal – Written – Sales Pitch (Pitch & Sales - get the client)…Perfect Pitch Program …service (keep the client)…Sales Support Program …referrals (grow the client value)…Referral Plus Program NB: Deliberately (with intent – AMCHAM story) designing businesses…so they can get positioned in the market (see whiteboard) (Why should you care?) You may be the best at what you do, but if you can’t communicate your value clearly you won’t get the business you deserve (Positioning ladder)
11. (Why you should care) Always pitching (just because we do it regularly, doesn’t mean we do it well…eg: driving) - defn of negotiation – ‘The exchange of information between 2 or more people with the intent to change a relationship’ Subject line email pitch – utility/curiosity and specificity Research into ‘non – sales selling’ (41%) – lots of opps to get it right & not! (‘To sell is human’) Examples of Pitches - Social, Networking, Meeting, Presentation pitches etc… - 1 word pitch – Optus, CBA, Qantas (‘Rain Man’ film) - Question pitch – Reagan – 1980 election – ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’ - Rhyming pitch – ‘If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit’ (O.J Simpson trial)
12. (What’s it all about/what’s in it for you) - More Ideal Clients, Faster - Don’t be rude - be easy to buy from & easy to refer - an 8 & 80 year old should be able to explain what you do…don’t make people to understand your message Eg: Introductory referral email pitch…don’t leave it up to them to position your business.
13. (What’s it all about/what’s in it for you) Leverage…making the most of every opportunity (email, phone call, meeting etc…) so we’re not resigned to soul destroying cold calls & following up people that just don’t…care.