Talking about money on consult calls
Many solopreneurs are reluctant to have “the money conversation” on consultation calls with prospects. Their reluctancy can be rooted in several different scenarios:
They don’t believe in their product, service or value
They’re too focused on closing the sale
They’re afraid of rejection
They don’t know how to properly diagnose their prospect’s problem
They spend too much time teaching about their approach or product (features, benefits, etc.)
They do too much free consulting (oh, that’s me) and never get around to making an offer
They make their offer, get a price objection, and then don’t know how to deal with it and lose the potential sale
There are more, but this list should give you some frame of reference to the mindset of the solopreneur on a consult call who is unsuccessful at closing more new business.
This used to be me. But in the work I’ve been doing to get better at consultation calls, where I can really help people with what I do, I learned this simple technique.
Introduce money early in the conversation
I learned this from my current sales training with CK, so I have to give credit where credit is due.
What it did for me was made it easier to have a more quantitative conversation versus a theoretical one.
And I’m always saying to my audience, “Let’s get out of the stands and onto the court.” And I had to do it myself.
Let me expand on what I mean.
Sales calls will be much easier when you help your prospect connect the dots, in other words, that if they work with you, their problem goes away. That you are the solution. However you need to get them there, get them there.
Remember, the sale happens when your prospect has the perception that you understand (and can fix) their problem better than anyone else.
How I show up to calls now is I start quantifying my prospect’s problem super early in the conversation. It’s part of the exercise of probing through questions to understand their problem. Whether their problem is a behavior problem or a mindset problem, it doesn’t matter. Getting a good understanding of what is going on is important for you to establish early.
Why? Because it helps you correlate it to COST. What is the cost of their problem? What business are they losing? What extra work are they having to do because of the problem? What are they missing out on as a result of the problem not being solved? These are just some of the questions you need to quantify.
Once you are able to expose the cost of the problem and have them associate an amount with it, you’re set.
Most people don’t take the time to tie a problem to the cost because they are so focused on the problem and trying to solve it however they can, they totally miss the cost.
“Logically, would you not pay $1500 to make $10,000? It’s a very logical decision. But emotionally, ‘Oh, I can’t part with that right now’...they’re too scared to look at the numbers.”
— PIA SILVA (SIMPLIFY & MULTIPLY EPISODE 208)
It’s our job as providers of solutions to acquaint them with the cost, help them connect the dots and see that working with us will not cost them, but solve and provide a return on their investment. And in many cases, that return on investment is a new practice, mindset or behavior they do that they continue to deploy for years. So the compounding effect of what you bring through your solution is incredible.
Here’s an example of a call, generally speaking:
Me: “How much does one ideal client bring into your business in one year?”
Prospect: “About $20,000, if they’re ideal.”
Me: “Great. How long does that ideal client typically work with you? Or if all was perfect, how long could they work with you?”
Prospect: “Well, the best clients I’ve had over the years have stayed with me about four to five years.”
Me: “So, based on that, if one ideal client’s lifetime value in five years is $20,000 per year, that’s $100,000 from one client.”
Prospect: “Yes.”
Me: “And if you are able to acquire ten of these clients in one year, that’s one million dollars over five years, right?”
Prospect: “Yes, and boy, that sounds really good when you put it like that.”
Me: “Okay. So, if your ability to get those ten or more clients isn’t working, who is getting their money instead of you?”
Prospect: “My competitors.”
Me: “Right. And could they do as good a job as you at delivering the perfect solution for your ideal client?”
Prospect: “Probably not.”
Me: “Yes. So, what I’m hearing is that an ideal client of yours can bring $20,000 into your business. And retaining them over five years which you’ve already proven you can do, equals $100,000 out of that same ideal client. And if you had ten ideal clients like that, over those five years they would bring in one million dollars to your business, correct?”
Prospect: “Yes. You make it sound so easy.”
Me: “It can be that easy. Just as easy as you see solving their problem.”
Prospect: “Right. I know I can solve their problem and help them in some very specific ways.”
Me: “So then it makes sense to invest in what you need to be able to do that, right? Because you aren’t successfully bringing in new ideal clients at the rate to meet these or higher numbers, right?”
Prospect: “Yes. Of course.”
So you get the gist of where this is going. When you quantify the costs associated with your prospect’s problem and help them connect the dots to the potential revenue they could be making if they solved the problem, you’ve exposed the gap.
By introducing a money conversation early in the call, you not only relax yourself around talking about money, but you help the prospect identify the gap between where they are with the problem and where they could be if you were able to help them.
Try it. Let me know how it goes. The key to this technique is to PRACTICE. That’s what I force myself to do on every call. I notice how it relaxes me more because it enables me to quantify the conversation versus make it about convincing them that they have to work with you.
Be of service in helping your prospect see the gap. Even if they don’t choose to work with you, you are helping them realize the consequences of their inaction. 🍀
