I refer to this marketing strategy as the "let me see if I can help you" offer. You may meet people at a mall, at a restaurant, at a party, etc., and these people may ask you how to take advantage of your services or your expertise. They may question whether or not they need or should utilize you/your services/products. What I find is that most professionals, business owners, and doctors immediately start "selling" these people on their services or products and try to entice them to come in to their office for just that reason. There is a better way. Instead of jumping right into a sales pitch, try incorporating this "let me see if I can even help you" offer into your dialogue.

For example, if someone approaches you about your services, your first instinct may be to start trying to sell them on how and why you can help them. Don’t do that. Instead, offer them an opportunity to come into your office to talk to you so that you can determine (after closer inspection, evaluation, examination, etc) whether or not you are able to even help them with their particular problem. It’s a free initial consultation, free evaluation. (As always, make sure you’re legal and compliant.)

Don’t try too hard to sell them on why they should use you. Instead, offer them your advice, and encourage them to come in for one reason- to see if you can help them. That’s the dialogue: "Mary, I understand that you’ve had back pain for 30 years. I don’t even know if I can help you, so I’d like to invite you into my office to evaluate your spine, to talk to you a little bit more about your history and your health problems, just to see if I can help you. There’s no charge for this, but if I can help you, I’ll tell you what I can do, and if I can’t, I’ll tell you what who you should see." If you’re a financial advisor, someone may be experiencing problems in the stock market, or losing lots of money in their 401K. You can’t try and sell them right there in the middle of a checkout line as to why they should utilize your services. But, inviting them to your office to have an financial evaluation of some kind, to discuss their financial situation, so that you can determine if you can help them, is an incredibly inviting, warm and endearing opportunity. They will most likely take advantage of this opportunity because there is no obligation and there are no fees being exchanged. Then you have a chance to really show them your expertise, share your knowledge and experience and explain what you can or cannot do for them. It also stimulates fantastic word of mouth, and a great ripple effect, with regard to how these potential clients/patients talk about you in the community.

Utilize this "let me see if I can even help you" marketing offer and watch how much easier it is to get people to walk in your door. Once they are in your office, you can talk to them about their particular problem and how you can solve that problem.

Action Steps:

1. Don’t try to "sell them".

2. Offer a free consult so that you can determine whether or not you can help.

3. Give suggestions or solutions.

4. Take the opportunity to establish marketing through "word of mouth".

Dr. Len Schwartz

Pres/CEO of Pro2Pro Network

http://www.pro2pronetwork.com