You’ve Got Some ‘Splainin’ To Do!2 min read
Like Lucy Riccardo (Lucile Ball), you’ve got a lot of ‘splainin’ to do. About your business.
‘Splainin’ is another way of saying, “Making a case for why someone should buy your services.”
And until you get better at this, why should your clients buy your services or programs? They shouldn’t!
Lucy got in trouble with her husband Ricky after one of her hare-brained schemes backfired. But you’ll get into hot water as well if you can’t ‘splain’ to your clients exactly why they should be interested in, let alone buy, what you are offering.
The best place to start ‘splainin’ is by knowing the questions your clients have (even if they don’t ask them directly) and then answering them.
Q 1: Why should I be interested in the first place?
If you want to get the attention of a prospective client, you must understand their problem, challenge or pain. What’s missing for your client? What isn’t working? What have they tried to fix unsuccessfully?
If you understand all of that and can communicate it clearly, your prospective client will be interested.
Q 2: What’s in it for me?
That is, what is the primary Ultimate Outcome that you deliver to your clients that solves their problem, or gets them the results they want and need?
Do you improve profitability, increase sales, reduce costs, improve customer service, increase cash flow or help them get the job they’ve always wanted?
Remember, people and companies buy outcomes, not processes.
Q 3: What is your experience?
Do you have proof that you’ve produced your Ultimate Outcome for other clients? Do you have case studies, stories, or testimonials that build a case that you know what you’re doing and have succeeded with similar types of clients? If not, you need to get that proof together and be ready to present it.
Q 4: What is your approach? And why do you use it?
There’s more than one way to achieve an Ultimate Outcome. Why do you think your approach is the most effective? How did you emerge with your approach?
Can you build a solid case for why you do what you do? And how does your approach compare to all the alternative ways out there?
Q 5: How exactly does it work?
Your approach is your big strategy for producing results. But the structure of how you do what you do is also important.
How long does it take? How many steps are there? How is the client involved? When can results be expected?
When it comes to ‘splainin’ your services and programs, don’t assume that your prospective clients really understand what you can do for them.
At minimum, answer these Five ‘Splainin’ Questions and you’ll be ahead of the game.
Cheers, Robert