The big shift
Acquisition has changed.
Back in the day, buyers relied on sellers to feed them information.
Take bookstores as an example; you’d go directly to the bookstore, you’d speak to people inside the store to learn about new books or what a good recommendation was.
If you wanted a car, you’d go to a dealership and ask about specs, mileage, pros and cons, and who the car was tailored to.
The new way is that consumers do their research online. They educate themselves and come to their own conclusions. They go online and watch YouTube videos, read blog articles, read reviews on Amazon, etc, the information is all laid out for them
Realize that your buyers are not reliant on you for information.
What does this mean for your selling process?
Help your buyers make purchasing decisions, and in the process of making that buying decision, persuade them to buy from you.
By the time your prospect gets on the phone with a salesperson, they know more or less whether or not they’ll ever buy from that company or not.
So knowing that, with the amount of information your prospects have, along with the hundreds of different options they have, it’s safe to say that professional services are bought, not sold.
Because your prospects have the power, they have options, timing is according to them, and so the decision lies with them.
In order to stand out, realize how you develop components like trust, certainty, belief, or reassurance within the sales process matters.
All these things matter in buying decisions.
Most salespeople try to install these layers of emotion during the first sales call. That’s why sales conversations are also so uncomfortable for people — because they are trying to build on emotions that are just not there.
This is why we look at selling as a process. You build a better “container” for an offer to thrive when inside that container lives a professional relationship.
Professional relationships have layers of trust, belief, certainty, and reassurance etc.
We follow a 3-step framework to address these emotions and beliefs.
- Attention
- Demonstration
- Monetization
Step 1. Attention platforms is getting eyeballs onto your work. This could be:
- Organic (content)
- Paid ads
- Outbound
- Partners
Step 2. Demonstration pathways are educational assets that prove you’re really good at what you do. They’re delivered through assets such as:
- Online workshops
- Events (online and offline)
- Live trainings
- Webinars
- Books
- Digital products
- Social posts
- Communities
- Direct offers
Step 3. Monetization pathways is how you convert nurtured attention into revenue.
- Products
- Services
- Partnerships
- Programs
Why this process in this order?
Firstly: Because too many people are being pitched by people they don’t trust.
There is no trust, no authority, no belief, and no certainty that these so-called “professionals” can actually deliver on the promise they are making to these people with their offers.
Reality is that people have been burnt in the past. They’ve been burnt when someone has made them a promise or guarantee that their problem will be solved — and it never is. So they are naturally reluctant to believe everyone that comes after that experience.
But in the same way, in most cases you don’t give up driving after being in one accident. You’re just far more aware of your surroundings and environments. The first couple times will always be scary. The same principle applies.
People have been burnt — so you interact with these individuals with more empathy. They require stronger positive feelings that you are the right person to work with, and only then will they start to truly open up.
Secondly: The ‘level’ of your communication can give you better leverage.
Most content out there is mediocre and doesn’t “land” properly. Sometimes its the educational points in the discussion, many times it’s the delivery of the content. Things to look out for:
- Your teaching ability
- The quality of your illustrations
- Your tonality
- The cadence in your voice
- Your way of presenting etc
That’s why this 3-step process is so important — it provides you with a platform to educate your market, create connections with them, and develop relationships. Without these sorts of components at play, you’ll find it hard for your offer to even be considered.
Remember that we live in a time period that lacks trust. This is why companies want to work with acquisition systems that involve “borrowed trust” —like referral systems. When that is not always possible or reliable enough to provide steady streams of qualified opportunities, you’d look at how you can install layers of trust with a new audience.
Developing trust
Trust takes time to develop. I look at it as building blocks.
It takes multiple successful transactions to develop trust. You’re successfully applying one brick at a time. This matters if you’re after winning better clients.
You cannot also rush the process. Like someone who works with clay. Clay that is still wet can easily be torn apart. It needs time to set and harden. The same concept applies to new professional relationships, they can be fragile in the early stages — they also need time to set.
Knowing this, I take the proper time to develop demonstration pathways the right way, because I understand the importance of the component in our era.
Remember: Bigger problems will require more layers of trust.
There’s work to do, friends.
See you on the other side.
— Justin
Justin Booysen