Wouldn't it be nice if you could bypass the competition and get
in front of hundreds of qualified prospects who are looking
forward to talking with you? No cold-calling or expensive
advertising. No sales calls to people who don't understand what
you do or the value of it. No waiting months for people to decide
whether to trust you or not.
What would that do to your sales cycle? Your revenue? Your profit
margins?
Let's talk about a way you can accomplish this.
The principle is this: all your potential customers-the people
most likely to invest in your services or products-all have
advisors that they trust. These Trusted Advisors are
professionals that not only do their job well, but take a
pro-active role in identifying ways to increase clients'
profits. Generally, these Trusted Advisors have created such a
reputation for recommending profitable change that their clients
no longer question their recommendations. Now imagine what it
would be like if you had a team of these Trusted Advisors
recommending your services and products to their
customers-customers who have a genuine need for them.
Forming partnerships with professionals in these Trusted Advisor
positions would have four key advantages as a marketing model:
Collapse Your Sales Cycle:
This is not just a referral system. Your partners are in a
trusted position and know your customers' businesses intimately.
They've already identified a need for your service or product.
By the time you start talking to the client, a major part of your
sales process is already complete. Approval time within the
customer's company is also shortened because of the trust
relationship.
2. Increase Your Closing Ratio:
The customer is usually prepared to buy before you start talking
to them. Your sales reps have less convincing to do. The sales
role changes from convincing the customer to buy to identifying
the services and products needed.
3. Improve Customer Loyalty:
People do not stop using products and services recommended by
Trusted Advisors unless forced to by extreme circumstances. Doing
so risks losing the advantages gained through the recommendation
and possible alienation of their Trusted Advisor.
4. Make Competition Irrelevant:
There is no competition because the Trusted Advisor
recommendation trumps all other factors and he/she is only
recommending your company.
This model works because the level of trust between advisor and
customer is so high that it goes unquestioned. As a professional
recommended by a Trusted Advisor, the client accords you a
similar level of trust. You become associated with the profits
and success the advisor is known for achieving. In the
customer's mind, anything else risks decreased profits or
failure.
So how do you get started in using this marketing model?
Start by creating a profile of your ideal Trusted Advisor
partner. At a minimum, your profile should identify the kinds of
clients they work with and service areas that are complementary
to your service or product (so that it would make sense for them
to recommend you). Then interview your own clients and identify
their Trusted Advisors. If a Trusted Advisor services one client
who has need of you, it is likely they also service others. If
you are breaking into a new market, interview a select group of
potential customers in that market.
Once you've identified potential partners, it's time to contact
them and build relationships. Remember that you're not just
looking for a new sales rep. You're looking for someone who can
understand the value of what you do and has such confidence in
your ability to provide that value that he or she is willing to
stake their reputation on it. This takes more than a sales pitch
and a promise of great commissions.
Identifying these potential partners and gaining their trust will
take time and concentrated effort. In many ways, it is similar to
building a relationship with a client. But instead of one
relationship resulting in one customer, each relationship results
in potentially hundreds of customers. You'll be leveraging your
time and resources for exponential increases in sales, revenue,
and profits.
Joseph Skursky is Chief Game Changer at Market Leader Solutions,
a business growth consulting firm specializing in identifying
and forming strategic partnerships using the Trusted Advisor
Marketing model. To find out more about this marketing model
or developing Trusted Advisor partnerships, call him at
919-854-2788, email him at joseph(AT)marketleadersolutions.com,
or visit: http://www.marketleadersolutions.com/.
