Posted in REPUTATION, Character, Charisma, COMMUNICATIONS, Controls, Consistency, Cooperation, LEVERAGE, Compliance, ADVISORS' POSTS, Mark Bullock on Sep 10th, 2008 No Comments »
What do your clients think about you, but aren’t telling you? What comes to their minds when they think about making an appointment with you? What do they unconsciously know they can count on from you?
Posted in REPUTATION, Competency, Character, COMMUNICATIONS, Controls, COMMUNITY, Cooperation, Content, LEVERAGE, Compliance, ADVISORS' POSTS, Mark Bullock on Aug 17th, 2008 No Comments »
Ever engaged a new client, enrolled a new customer in a service, or sold a new customer a product, only to have the customer back-peddle or worse - cancel after making a purchase commitment because they said - “You didn’t tell me…!!!”?
Client’s back-peddling or canceling after the sale hurt. They hurt not only the bottom line and your confidence, but waste valuable time. Ultimately it hurts the client/customer as much or more than you, because in their minds they had their hopes & trust in you dashed, and have wasted their time too.
This thumb rule is in part an incredibly powerful sales tool, part “managing customer expectations”, and part practicing making a “complete sale” – that sticks.
Recent brain research has revealed that the human mind is a prediction machine. Always wanting to know what’s coming, what’s around the corner, and in respect to you and your service, wanting to predict what their experience of you, and your product and service will be like.
So here’s the short answer; People don’t expect perfection, they just want whatever they spend hard earned money on to work. They don’t really want “cheapest” they really want to solve a problem, or at least make it go away. They hate being misled and manipulated, they appreciate honesty and integrity. So the more you can paint an accurate and authentic picture in their minds of what engaging with you will be like, so that they sense they have a “real” idea about what’s coming, the more accountable they will be to honoring their commitment to buy.
Lastly, of course – they want value from you. Never pretend that there are no downsides – that there is ever a payoff without a cost. If you are the one to bring up not only the “pay off’s” (upsides) but also the “costs” (downsides) of what you are proposing – you will be perceived as trustworthy. The salesmanship comes in being able context those downsides for them, in advance, in a way that empowers them to make an educated choice, and stick with it.
Mark V. Bullock Partner/PMA PracticeMarketingAdvisors.com
Posted in REPUTATION, Controls, COMMUNITY, Compliance on Nov 18th, 2007 2 Comments »
It’s growing at an exponential rate: But I’ve found there is still a humongous part of the professional world — especially accountants and financial advisors — who aren’t into blogging & podcasting because they feel it doesn’t apply to them.
First of all, they don’t quite understand the technology - and that scares them. And then, these professionals rarely take part in such media (blogs, podcasts, on-line videos, communities). And when they do (like many those reading this), it’s a foreign experience. Hint: You’re supposed to leave a meaningful comment, and link back to your website.
Moreover, the vast majority of CPA’s, bookkeepers, tax professionals, investment advisors, insurance brokers, and financial planners don’t know if blogging & podcasting will bring more qualified prospects and referrals. They don’t know - and they’re afraid it won’t work….
Here’s how accountants & financial advisors can use “Web 2.0 social media” to market themselves better, even with all the compliance & ethics regulations.
On Friday, I was invited by a large financial services firm to address this question, in context of personal brand marketing. The full 42 minute session will be on Google Video shortly… a juicy 10-minute excerpt is now on YouTube:
Posted in COMMUNICATIONS, Compliance on Jul 31st, 2007 1 Comment »
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