TURNING SAMPLES INTO SALES
C.J. Hayden, MCC
Offering free samples increases the Know-Like-and-Trust Factor that makes
people buy. When you are selling a service, or a product with a high service
component,
potential customers have no way to see, feel, or taste what you will actually
deliver. Providing a sample makes your service offering tangible, and builds
your customer's trust.
But if you're not careful, you can give away too much. Why should customers
pay for what they can get for free? And if you give those freebies to unqualified
buyers, you may find
yourself spending too much time and money on prospects who will never become
paying customers.
The answer lies in crafting a get-acquainted offer that gives customers a taste without giving away the store. Here are some guidelines for maintaining that balance:
1. Pre-qualify your prospects. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands,
it's not a good idea to make a standing offer of a free consultation or
sample session to all comers. You
may attract far too many 'looky-loos.' That's what realtors call people
who attend open houses every weekend with no intent to buy.
Until you know more about who you are talking to, phrase your offer as,
'Find out if you qualify for a free consultation' or 'Take this quiz --
you may win a sample session.' Once you are in contact with a prospective
client, ask two or three questions about the client's situation
before making your free offer. Queries like, 'How soon are you planning
to make this change?' or 'Do you have a budget in mind?' will let you know
how much of your time this prospect is worth.
2. Make an offer that leverages your time. One reason that realtors offer
open houses is because it doesn't take that much longer to show the house
to 30 buyers than it does to show it to one. As a consultant or professional,
you can maximize a free offer by making it available to as many
prospects as possible at the same time.
An excellent example of this model is a free newsletter or ezine that showcases your expertise. You write it once, send it to hundreds or thousands of potential buyers, then reprint the articles on your web site and in other publications. Another way to give a sample to many people at once is offering a free workshop. You can keep your costs down by finding a co-sponsor to provide space, or by giving your workshop as a teleclass (phone conference) or webinar (live presentation on the web).
3. Give away a sample, not the real thing. Follow the example of workshop
leaders who use what's called two-step promotion. Invite people to a free
teaser program, then enroll them in the full workshop. In the teaser, you
give prospects a taste of what they will get when they buy. The
taste itself is valuable -- it's not just a sales presentation -- but you
hold back the best part for the paid program.
Any consultant or professional can craft an offer like this. Instead of
providing consultation or your regular service for free, offer a free initial
assessment, evaluation, or diagnosis. A coach or healer who offers sample
sessions can position them as assessments, or call them 'strategy' or
'balancing' sessions. This way you draw a clear boundary between what is
free and what costs money.
4. Place limits on your offer. No free offer should be open-ended. If you are clear at the outset about the limitations on your free sample, you will find it much easier to ask for the sale when the offer expires. Providing a 'one-hour consultation,' '30-day trial,' or '10-page assessment' will establish a boundary between free and paid service.
5. Be helpful, but remember to ask for the business. One of the dangers
of being in a helpful profession like consulting, training, coaching, etc.,
is that your natural tendency to offer advice and support can sometimes
interfere with closing the sale. Try using phrases like, 'Now that you
know what I can do for you, let's talk about how we can keep working together,'
'I have an excellent solution for that; let's discuss what it would cost,'
or even 'I think it's time to turn on the meter, don't you?'
Copyright © 2003, C.J. Hayden
Was this article helpful? Don't stop here...Read more small business or job search self promotion tips.
Editors, publishers and webmasters: You may reprint these articles free of charge if you follow our reprint guidelines.