21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition
9780312284541
Jay Abraham
Notes
Three ways to increase your business:
- Increase the number of clients.
- Increase the average size of the sale per client.
- Increase the number of times clients return and buy again.
The people above you (bosses, management, and organization leaders) want one thing most of all—they want solutions to problems. Solutions that make them look good and help them achieve their goals. They want the people who report to them to be problem solvers…Once you know what final outcome they need, you lead them to that outcome—you become a trusted adviser who protects them…The more value or wealth you can create for your client, the greater the power of that breakthrough…Be a problem solver, not a problem bringer. Add value to every task you undertake on your employer’s behalf.
…whenever two parties come together to transact business of any kind, one side is always asking the other (consciously or otherwise) to assume more or all of the risk…Your goal is to eliminate as much, if not all, of the risk in the transaction for your client…The Strategy of Preeminence is quite simply the ability to put your clients’ needs always ahead of your own. When you master that your success will naturally follow…it will be no contest for you against your competition if you incorporate strong risk reversal into your business operation.
Before Henry Ford would hire anyone for an important position, he would have lunch with them. If the potential employee would salt the food before tasting it, Mr. Ford would not hire the person. The reason? Salting the food before tasting it indicated the person would implement a plan before testing it—ergo, no job.
Every time clients deal with you in person, through your sales staff, by letter, E-mail, or on the phone, diplomatically ask them for client referrals…Tell your clients that you enjoy doing business with them and that they probably associate with other people like themselves who mirror their values and quality.
When you get the letter in the hands of the intended recipients, they’ve got the complete message, from beginning to end. Every question is answered, every issue addressed, every problem solved, every reservation overcome, every application made, and every call to action expressed…The focus of your concern should state to the client, in essence, “You matter. Your well-being is important to me.”
Acquiring clients at a breakeven or a slight loss and making substantial profits on back-end repurchasing is one of the most overlooked and underutilized methods of client growth and generation…Remember, the goal isn’t just to cut the price of the first purchase. The goal is to make that first purchase so much more appealing that people find it harder to say no than yes . . . please!
Think about what your clients want most (results-wise) from purchasing your product or service. Then guarantee them that outcome—or they can have their money back…an architect offers a simple pledge: If his client isn’t happy at any stage of the project, the architect refunds any previously paid fees and reperforms the unsatisfactory work for free. He very successfully incorporates this fact into his selling activities and, since starting to do it, his practice has thrived.
…the more specific the performance expectations you make, the more people will buy. It’s that simple…clients don’t buy products or services; they buy end results.