It’s Not a Sales Call, It’s a “Best Fit” Conversation
As professional services providers, we’ll serve more effectively if we view our time with prospects as a “best fit” conversation instead of a sales call.
The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®
TRANSCRIPT
John Ray: [00:00:00] Hello. I’m John Ray on The Price and Value Journey. Conversations with prospective clients should not be viewed as a sales call. Frankly, it took me a while to come to this realization and the use of this terminology.
John Ray: [00:00:19] These conversations that we have with prospects shouldn’t even start with a sale in mind. A better way to frame these conversations is to start out with something like, “Hey, let’s see if we’re a good fit. And to do that, I need to ask you some questions.” And then, ask those questions. Ask the individual in front of you, Why do you think you need X and Y? What outcomes are you trying to achieve? Why haven’t you tried fill in the blank? And so forth.
John Ray: [00:00:52] We are professional services providers. We serve. Our mission should be to help others find solutions to their problems. If we make that our focus, we will be seen as a person of value. And in turn, we will stand out from the crowd.
John Ray: [00:01:13] Earlier in this series, I was fortunate enough to interview Bob Burg, and he and John David Mann are the co-authors of a book called The Go-Givers Sell More. And here’s the way they put it in that book.
John Ray: [00:01:31] They say, Most of us look at sales backwards. We see it as convincing people to do something they don’t want to do. But it isn’t. It’s about learning what people do want to do and helping them do that. Or, we may think it’s about taking advantage of others. While, in fact, it’s about giving other people more advantage.
John Ray: [00:01:57] But the biggest inversion of all, the great upside down misconception about sales, is that it is an effort to get something from others. The truth is that sales at its best, that is at its most effective, is precisely the opposite. It is about giving. Selling is giving. Giving time, attention, counsel, education, empathy, and value. In fact, the word sell comes from the old English word sellan, which means – you guessed it – to give.
John Ray: [00:02:39] What a great passage. Try it. Instead of thinking of prospect meetings as sales calls, try thinking of them as best fit conversations. Maybe you call them giving conversations. You might have another way to frame it. But whatever we call it, we should do whatever’s necessary to put ourselves in the mindset of genuine service. That’s what makes us professional services providers.
John Ray: [00:03:11] I’m John Ray on The Price and Value Journey. Past episodes of this series can be found at pricevaluejourney.com or on your favorite podcast app. And if you have not subscribed, I’d be honored if you would. And if you’d like to connect with me directly, send me a note, john@johnray.co. I’d love to hear from you. Thank you for joining me.
About The Price and Value Journey
The title of this show describes the journey all professional services providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire and trying to do all that at pricing which reflects the value we deliver.
If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line as well as the mindset you bring to your business.
The show is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® and can be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.
John Ray, Host of The Price and Value Journey
John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.
John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneur and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their “grey matter,” such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
In his other business, John is a Studio Owner, Producer, and Show Host with Business RadioX®, and works with business owners who want to do their own podcast. As a veteran B2B services provider, John’s special sauce is coaching B2B professionals to use a podcast to build relationships in a non-salesy way which translate into revenue.
John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Alpharetta Tech Talk, and Business Leaders Radio. house shows which feature a wide range of business leaders and companies. John has hosted and/or produced over 1,300 podcast episodes.
