Converting a prospect into a customer always involves certain unknowns.
Primarily, a reader seeking the right solution for themselves landed on your page and took a purchase-based step. Perhaps someone (who had already chosen your company) recommended your solution to them, and they reached out to you. Or even better.
After your first attempt, your prospect informed you that it was a no-go because they’re using a competitor’s solution. Not better, not worse. They simply already have something that you offer. But you didn’t give up.
You went through the decision-making process and highlighted 4 key elements that made your reader become (or at least—are becoming) your client.
How do you do that?
The answer to this question can be found in this post.
How to Know Who’s My Customer?
The entire journey in email marketing begins with selecting the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), meaning who is potentially my customer?
A common mistake in the low performance of marketing campaigns is the inadequate matching of the target audience to your product.
How can this be changed?
Conduct the proper research before sending an email or making a cold call.
The traditional approach involves considering factors such as:
- Their geographical location
- Defining your target audience
- The income level of your audience
- The age range of your target demographic
- The occupations of your audience members
- The professional roles held by audience members
- Whether they have a spouse or children, and the number of children
Conversely, the modern approach segments the creation of an ideal customer profile (ICP) into five main categories:
1/ Psychographics:
—> What are their hobbies and interests?
—> What lifestyle preferences do they have?
—> What values and beliefs are important to them?
2/ Purchasing Habits:
—> What influences their buying decisions?
—> What reservations do they typically have before a purchase?
—> How do they prefer to purchase products or services (online, in-store, etc.)?
3/ Media Preferences:
—> What social media platforms do they use?
—> What types of blogs, magazines, or news sources do they read?
—> What kinds of media do they consume and share, like videos, articles, or podcasts?
4/ Goals and Obstacles:
—> What are their major goals in life and work?
—> What challenges do they face in achieving their goals?
—> How can your product or service help them overcome these challenges or achieve their goals?
5/ Consumer Journey:
—> When do they interact with your brand?
—> What are their expectations and experiences at each stage of the purchase process?
—> What does their journey look like from recognizing a need to making a purchase?
Answer the above questions while identifying your target group, and I guarantee you that you will never again ask yourself who my customer is.
How to Reach Out to Your Prospect?
The first contact is crucial because it’s through this lens that your prospect will position you and value your company.
If you send them an email that is:
- not personalized
- without a call to action
- without proper research
- with no effort in word choice
Then the prospect will assume that your skills are poor, and consequently, that the quality of your product is lacking.
Change that.
What to do? Prepare appropriately.
Yes, I know you’ve probably heard this advice somewhere before, but the most obvious tips are the least applied.
Before you contact your recipient, prepare:
1/ Research: The more you know, the better
Who is my prospect, and what does their company do?
2/ Personalization: Show that you are well prepared
Include info such as:
—> job title
—> company name
—> prospect’s name
—> clients they work with
—> main services/products they provide
3/ Call to Action (CTA)
At the end of every email, there must be an appropriate CTA. Whether it’s a proposal to schedule a meeting, sign up for a newsletter, or confirm receipt of the email. The applied call to action makes the prospect take the next step to contact you. Even if they are not interested; they will also inform you about it.
Become an Expert in Your Industry: How to Gain Credibility?
We love talking to experts because it gives us confidence that our choices will be better thanks to their knowledge. And this is the truth. Therefore, if you want to influence your client’s decisions, you need to be an expert in your field. And it doesn’t matter whether you sell SaaS, computers, or coffee; you can (and indeed, you need to) build expertise in your given area.
Social Proof: Show Case Studies
Case studies are the major step that influences your client’s decision-making.
The more dedicated testimonials you have in your sales deck or on your website, the higher the likelihood of generating better conversions.
References act as catalysts for us because they inform our brains that if 100 other customers, in various industries—including mine—have purchased before me, it means that:
a) The company I am talking to provides professional services, as it is acquiring clients.
b) The risk of failure is minimized; if the majority have chosen this company and continue to work with it, then it means that I will also succeed.
Remember, case studies are the key to success in sales.
Note: Send references only within your prospect’s industry & in their business location. If your prospect has a fintech app and their main market is Columbia, then testimonials from the food tech industry in Indonesia won’t be trigger. You see the difference.
How to Sale More? Gain More Expertise
If you want to sell more, get to know your product and your industry better.
Sales skills are also crucial; I couldn’t question that.
If you know how to:
- be likable
- communicate
- listen attentively
- build relationships
- argue with witticism
- negotiate & paraphrase
- adapt to the character of your interlocutor
Your chances definitely increase.
However, if you are a ‘nice guy’ but you know almost nothing about your product, your prospect will rather choose a competitor who might be less likeable but is definitely more knowledgeable. Your customer feels that they’re investing their money wisely; a nice conversation would just be a bonus, not a necessity.
Being more knowledgeable means more sales.
Send Free Materials
Do you want your customer to give you something in favor? Give them first something for free.
It could be anything:
- a free e-book
- an invitation to your webinar
- posting a review on Google Maps
By giving something to the customer for free, you create in them a need to give something back to you.
In this situation, the best way they can reciprocate is by purchasing your product.
It really works.
Your Social Media = Your Credibility
Besides your LinkedIn profile and (possibly) an online meeting, your client knows nothing about you. Your social media is a reflection of you and your expertise.
So, how do you expect to sell yourself if you are invisible or completely absent on social media, especially on LinkedIn?
I’m not necessarily talking about building a personal brand on LinkedIn, posting lengthy posts daily, and caring about every detail in your comments. However, a well-developed profile with a detailed description of your experience and education will definitely enhance your credibility, which is crucial to how your prospect perceives you.
If you’re reading this post, it means that, like me, you are in the B2B industry. Therefore, when developing your profile on LinkedIn, pay special attention to:
- bio description (about you)
- information about courses
- information about your skills
- detailed description of education
- detailed description of experience
- regularly add new members to your network, especially those you know
- ask a few friends (e.g., 5) to exchange reviews on LinkedIn. This always increases credibility.
The above-mentioned actions are basic and free ways to enhance your LinkedIn to make it appealing in the eyes of your prospect (and eventually a client). I definitely recommend it.
4 Arguments to Convert a Prospect Into a Customer
Convincing a prospect who writes that they are already using a competitor’s services is never easy. However, you wouldn’t be a seasoned and hungry salesperson if you simply said, ‘thanks for letting me know, I get it.’
Receiving an open door in the form of a question like “what do you do better/differently than your competitors” always provides room for argumentation. And that’s one of the elements that allow you to convert your prospect (or even a reader) into a customer.
Here are my four elements that I applied in this situation.
#1 Working Only on Performance
Every client loves to hear that your business model is only based on performance. The calculation is really simple and tangible: no met KPIs = client doesn’t pay you. The real paradise, isn’t it?
However, not every business can afford this, and not every client will be suitable for such a business model.
The above situation concerns a performance-based CPA (cost per acquisition) model and applications. The more users, the higher the earnings for the agency—sure.
The simplest example where this must be double-checked: SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
If a client comes to you with a brand-new ecommerce, and he requires working on a performance-based model, it won’t work out. However, if a client in the same industry comes to you wanting 40 keywords to be in the TOP10, and they currently rank at positions 11-13, then you should definitely take that risk.
A quick conclusion: if your service and the client’s situation predict work based on results, make use of it. Nothing convinces a client more than results. And if your company provides real results, that client will stay with you as long as possible, believe me.
#2 Client-Oriented Contract
Safe and effective management of your business is fundamental, but the client always sees themselves as the priority. You must understand them.
Therefore, if you want to convince them, prepare a contract that is as efficient as possible, yet still client-oriented.
The length and conditions of the contract are crucial.
If the client has to sign a contract for 12 months with no possibility of cancellation, then your conversion will be minimal, even if you are a brilliant salesperson. Conversely, if your product meets market demands and the contract is tailored to their needs, then it will sell, even if your sales team is not particularly skilled.
A flexible and effective contract = a certain conversion increase.
#3 Transparency
Everyone loves transparency. Personally, I’m a huge fan of transparency in collaboration, and even involving the client (or prospect) in the bidding process.
Let me explain.
The way you create and present your product directly affects the rules within the organization. If you explain the entire process to the client, ask them many open-ended questions, and if you’re open to modernizing the contract, you maximize the percentage of closing sales. By the same token, you increase the number of new clients and lower the retention rate.
Transparency is a principle that prevails not only in sales, but also in life; would you prefer if your friend deceives you or is honest with you?
This question has an obvious answer.
Build a transparent sales and client bidding process from the very beginning. And what’s the best part? Feedback. If your client tells you what is missing or what you should emphasize, this way you minimize the risk of reduced sales among customers who would otherwise say NO. Of course, provided that you implement this feedback in your life.
A transparent offer and sales process leads to more customers. There is nothing more to add.
#4 Working with Big (and Small) Players
It’s a simple way to show that you are flexible and adapted to the market.
If you work with both large and small clients, you can serve someone for $500 and for $50,000. That’s great.
However, I’m not saying this is the only option for creating a target group—you can be a premium agency and serve only large clients or just focus on SMBs. That’s also fine.
Nevertheless, if you’re talking to a prospect who belongs to a large (or small) group, pay attention to it. This is another element that shows you are flexible and versatile.
What I don’t recommend: do not mention the number of clients. Saying “We work with 5,000 clients” doesn’t add value and only builds objections: how many employees must they have to serve everyone properly? If the number isn’t adequate, the client won’t buy from you (because they will fear that the quality of service is low).
What I do recommend: talk about working with both large and small clients (provided that it’s true).
P.S. Finally, don’t forget about the strong & visible CTA (Call to Action). Otherwise, there’s little chance that your prospect will actually become a client 😉
Apollo.io: This One Outreach Tool Will Solve Your Doubts
Choosing the right tool for email marketing & outreach is fundamental.
Even though, I’ve been wondering which tool should I choose that would:
—> Be my CRM with access to my database & performance.
—> Find (correct) email addresses of my prospects.
—> Allow me to create email sequences.
—> Facilitates & allows making cold calls.
After using various tools, I finally found the right one: Apollo.io.
I’ve been using it for more than 2.5 years now, and I wouldn’t change it.
Access to data and creating sequences are fundamental in email marketing and sales, and I know what it means to use the wrong tool (or not use one at all).
Try it for free.
And here you’ll find why Apollo.io Review: The Best Outreach Tool on the Market.
Takeaways
Prospecting is the bread and butter of the sales process that sellers around the world perform every day. No matter if they’re selling heating units or SaaS solutions. Good prospecting leads to more sales. Period.
Systematic work is very important, but the proper, substantive preparation and smart usage of adequate tools (such as the one above—Apollo.io) that will turn your effort into leads. Not just hard, but work hard & smart.
Now you know the 4 arguments to convert a prospect into a customer. What are your arguments?
If you use any tricks that increase your sales—let me know in the comments, I’d be very pleased.
Last but not least—if you liked this post, feel free to fill my cup of coffee. 😉 👇
Thank you for reading and contributing,
Simon
Author Profile
- Simon Gorlak is a Digital Marketing Expert with over 8 years of experience. He specializes in 3 areas: SEO, Copywriting, and Email Marketing. Simon's blog gathers knowledge that helps Marketers & C-level to increase profits from their online businesses. Also, his content helps to reach the most difficult customers, make others' content to be read & purchased. Besides digital marketing, Simon speaks 4 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish & works as a Head of Business at an Indian Start-up.
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