The Phrase That Pays Part 4 – HELP
HELP
This is Part 4 in our Phrase That Pays series and the word from the phrase How Can I Help You for today is Help.
The Beatles said it best. Help. I need somebody’s help. Not just anybody help. Helping is what sales is all about. Your potential client has a problem. They believe they may need whatever it is that you offer. They feel that you might be the best fit for their problem. Otherwise, why would they have contacted you at all? At least they gave you a call or an email right? You have an opportunity before that first contact to make a mental shift. You can approach them from a mindset of they just want a price, or you can approach it from the mindset of helping them with whatever their problem is.
The client asking price is more often than not just a smokescreen frankly because they don’t know what else to ask. Have you put yourself in their shoes? Think about using a service you know nothing about. For example, I hired a tree service not that long ago from my house. I had no idea what questions to ask. One thing that was important to me was to know if they could come in and make sure that they were not going to interrupt my sprinkler lines for my house in the back lawn. Another question I had was if they would clean up or not. What’s the process like? Your clients are in the same situation. Empathize with them.
Find out what they want specifically from your service and see how you can help them.
I want to specifically share another example here that I think is great. Kim Burnette is a former boss of mine at Music Box Productions in metro Detroit for about seven years. Kim taught me a lot about sales as I was cutting my teeth with that company. Here’s the meat. She’s changed her greeting on her phone when their clients call in. Instead of saying “how can I help you?”, Kim responds in a different fashion. She responds with, “Music Box Productions. This is Kim. I can help.” This greeting is more of a positive affirmation. It positions herself as an expert. It’s a subtle shift in response but a huge potential shift in the outcome, especially with the other person at the end of the phone. Try it on for size and see if it fits for your business.