Speak Your Client’s Language and Keep Your Pipeline Full

If you want to pump up your profits, you have to get clear about exactly what you are offering your customers and offer it to them in a way that is compelling and interesting. The best way to do this is to position yourself as a problem solver for your ideal prospects. If you can solve problems for your clients, you’re going to increase your visibility and keep your pipeline full.

A lot of service professionals focus on the service that they are offering. They label themselves an acupuncturist, a coach, a virtual assistant, a graphic designer, etc. While these may be accurate descriptions of what you do, it’s not what your ideal clients are looking for.

Your clients are looking for solutions. No one wakes up in the middle of the night thinking “I need an acupuncturist!” They are in pain and they are looking for an end to their pain. The same goes for any other type of service business. Your clients aren’t looking for your specific services – they are looking for solutions to their problems.

Here are three simple steps that you can use to become a problem solver for your ideal clients so you can increase your profits and your visibility:

1. Get clear on their problems.

Before you can solve your client’s problems, you need to know what those problems are. Think about why people come to you. What are the biggest challenges they are facing that cause them to look for your services? If you aren’t sure – ask! You can use a survey to get feedback from your current clients. This will give you a clear picture of what your clients are looking for and how you can position yourself as a problem solver.

2. Speak their language.

People are more likely to respond when you use their language. Make it your business to spend a lot of time in the company of your target market. Attend networking events, get involved in social media and find out where they are hanging out. Being in their company will help give you insight into how they describe their problems and the terms, concepts and words that they are using. You can use the same language in describing your solutions so that you can connect directly with your clients and speak to their needs.

3. Talk about benefits/results and not the methodology.

Your clients are concerned with the results of your services and not how you get those results. Think about it this way – when you hire a contractor to come fix a broken window, you’re only worried about getting that window repaired. You don’t worry about what type of screwdriver they are using or the procedure they use to remove the broken window. You just want it fixed! The same goes for your clients. In your marketing materials and on your website, you need to emphasize the results that you bring and not the logistics of how you create them.

By following these three steps you can become a problem solver instead of just a service provider. This will help you showcase your unique value to your potential clients and position you as the perfect solution to their problems.

What service offerings can you re-word to market yourself as a problem solver rather than a service provider? Share your thoughts in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

YOUR ACTION PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:

1.       Figure out the exact problems that you solve for your clients. Spend some time brainstorming and write down the ways that your services help solve problems for your clients. You can also do a survey with your existing clients so that you can get a better sense of their problems.

2.       Go back through your communications with your clients – especially their initial emails or contacts – and identify terms, phrases and words that are common.

3.       Spend time with your ideal clients either in person or online. Being in the same space as your clients can help you gather ideas about their problems and the language that they use to solve those problems.

4.       Incorporate their language into your marketing materials and website. Once you’ve gotten clear on their problems and the words that they use to describe those problems, edit your website and other written materials.

5.       Focus on the benefits of your service, and not the mechanics. Watch out for getting too technical with your marketing materials or trying to prove your expertise through your methodology. Your clients care about your results, not your methods.