Answers Clients Understand
Do you like when things make sense?
When you hear something or learn something for the first time, have you ever noticed you often recall a similar experience from your past to help you make sense of it all?
This is known as association. According to the Encyclopedia of NLP, “Association refers to the natural process by which our internal representations of experiences or events become linked together in our models of the world. Association is the basis for all memory and learning.”
Years ago I read somewhere if you teach a toddler how to open just a few types of door knobs, the toddler will then be able to associate and open any type of door knob.
Understanding association and how to use it to help your clients remember and/or learn about your product/service is an effective selling tool.
The mistake many business professionals make is they're too general when talking about what they do. They don’t give the prospective client something specific to associate too.
Your Savvy Sales Tip this week: Help clients learn and remember information about your product/service by giving specific examples so the client can make an association.
Here are some examples. Which do you think are more effective for helping clients make associations?
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Example A: I’m a financial planner helping people with money.
Example B: As a financial planner, I specifically help clients wanting to retire before the age of 55.
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Example A: My products improve people’s overall health and well-being.
Example B: One of the advantages clients report after taking my product is they no longer feel exhausted at 3 pm. They’re maintaining their energy throughout the full work day, being more productive and having more fun.
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Example A: The advantage of being a VIP Client is the sessions are tailored for your business.
Example B: Each VIP client’s sessions are tailored for their business, for example in one VIP session we were able to map out the clients traditional selling cycle. By making small tweaks to the process and the language my client was using, we reduced the selling cycle from 4 meetings to 1 meeting to get a signed contract. This resulted in my client closing $8000 in new business within 2 weeks of our first session.
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Now it’s your turn. What specific example can you give when talking about your product/service to make it easy for clients to associate.
You may be wondering if by giving a specific example clients assume that's all you do. Are you missing out on business by using associations? You’re not. If someone says to you they help people retire before the age of 55, do you assume they can’t help you with your 401K? Probably not, you associate and wonder how their service would apply to you. It’s easier for clients to make the jump to how your product/service applies to them when you give them something specific to start with.
Talking in general terms might be asking too much of your client to come up with their own example to start with and then make an association. It's your job to make it easy for your client to understand what you do and how you might help them.
Wishing you a successful selling week.
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