The stench of desperation (Read time 2 min)
We’ve talked this week about how to position your firm as the “costs more, but worth it” provider in your niche, and about the huge advantage a unique expertise to solve those big, scary problems that your prospects face can be.
It’s a lot of work to develop that positioning — both in your mind and in the client’s mind — so you don’t want to undermine all that effort with this one, very common, mistake — desperation.
When a prospect sees you as unique and exceptionally competent to fix their problem they assume that you have done it lots of times and have a good book of business doing that! We can see that you have testimonials and case studies showing happy clients — you are successful!
So why do you need this piece of business so much?
It may be that you are going through a dry spell, or that you have some unexpected expenses, or that this is your dream client and you are itching to get this proposal signed. None of that matters to your prospect.
There are lots of ways to win business, but one sure-fire way to lose is to make the conversation all about what you need. And you may do this without even realizing it…
How we project that “need” or desperation to prospects
- Experts don’t discount. So when we start cutting price or throw in more work to get the deal closed, it stinks of desperation.
- When we follow up just a bit too much. This is a hard balance for sure. There’s a fine line between diligent follow-up and stalking. Here’s my rule; don’t leave a VM. Follow up weekly by email, more often by phone, but never leave a VM.
- We push the client to close the deal. Being aggressive in uncovering and answering objections is important. It’s OK to ask, “Are you ready to get started?” But if the answer is no, then it’s time to move on.
The ultimate confidence is the willingness to walk away, even when you KNOW you could make a difference for a client. When you have an excellent process for making more leads, if the top of your funnel is consistently full, then it’s easier to walk away.
Think back to your last few interactions with prospects, are you projecting confidence and abundance, or desperation and scarcity? What do you need to do differently so that you don’t undermine all that trust you’ve built?
