Dear Ari,

As you remember, I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago. I’m a marketing consultant, and I offer free marketing seminars as a way to find new clients. The problem is that, after the seminars, I found myself in “follow-up mode,” sending out e-mails with “follow-up” in the subject line but not sure what to say other than, “At my seminar, you learned what I have to offer. Would you be interested in my services?”
 
That’s why I called you, to ask what words I could use instead of “follow-up.” But talking with you opened up my mind to a completely different perspective:

My standard follow-up process -- offering my services to try to get the person to respond to me -- immediately put me smack in the middle of the “salesperson” stereotype. I was just chasing my prospects and trying to prompt their interest in my services by focusing on the benefits.

The Written Word module in your Mastery program made it obvious that I wasn’t addressing my prospects’ problems. When I followed up, all I talked about was me and my solution, which made me feel uncomfortable and of course made them perceive me as just trying to make the sale.
 
Once I realized where I was going wrong, I switched gears and came up with the 3 core problems that I help my clients solve.

Based on that new realization, I now send out this new e-mail after my seminars:

------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj.: Client abandonment, non-renewals, etc.

Hi Jim, just wanted to drop you a personal note to thank you for coming to last week’s seminar on new solutions for plugging up holes that may be draining your resources and revenues.
 
These are the 3 core problems that you may be grappling with as you're growing your business:

1. Revenue losses due to current clients not renewing their contracts

2. Lack of "upgrade" programs to ensure that new revenue can be generated from
    current clients

3. Limited business partnerships that don't extend your products into growth markets

Are these or other similar issues on your plate that you are looking to solve?

If you're open to some different ideas around how to solve these issues, drop me a quick note and maybe we can chat a bit.

Warmest regards,

Tad
____________________________________________

Instead of “Hi, I’m just writing to follow up,” this new e-mail focused strictly on the core problems. Then I simply ask whether any of these problems are a priority, and whether the other person is open to chatting about some different ideas around those problems.

Your program has helped me to pinpoint the biggest obstacle that’s been holding me back in my business -- not knowing how to sell from a problem-solving perspective. (Instead, I was doing what everyone else does -- just pitching my solution!)

Thank you,

Tad

Sales Mini-Lesson Take-Aways

You Can Identify Prospects’ Problems the Way Tad Did…

Try using these simple Unlock The Game™ steps to identify the problems that you can solve for your prospects:

1. Contact your existing customers and have a conversation about the problems that your
    product or service has helped them solve.

2. Come up with a list of problems that your prospects could face if they don’t have your
    product or service?

3. Think about the features and benefits of your product or service and translate them into
    problems they solve.
 
Use this form to sum it all up:

1. Your prospect’s problems (based on your research):
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. Specifics of how your solution solves those problems
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

At first you may find this process a bit awkward, because traditional selling teaches us to think about benefits instead of the problems we solve for our clients. But if you stay focused on your prospects’ problems rather than on your solution:

* You'll come across as a problem-solver and trusted adviser instead of a “salesperson.”

* You’ll allow trust to grow, gain the respect you deserve, and open the way to honest and
   productive relationships.

Ari Galper is the founder of Unlock The Game™, the only selling program that eliminates rejection by removing pressure from the sales process. Unlock The Game™ has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and sales professionals break their fear of cold calling.