All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
Use
Product Research to Position Yourself as the Expert
by Charlie Cook
You have an idea for a new product or service, want to get
feedback from prospects and position your firm as the experts.
How do you do this when you haven’t ever provided the
particular service or sold the product?
Let’s
say you are in the planning stages of starting a collection
agency. (Your clients could be lawyers, building contractors,
clothing manufacturers, etc.) How do you find out what your
potential clients want and position your firm for future sales?
Even if
you don’t have a fully defined service you can still
demonstrate your expertise through the quality of the questions
you ask. No one knows all the answers and bluffing is a poor
way to build a business. Use questions to prompt prospects’ thinking. Then use your expertise to synthesize common problems
and solutions and prospects will be impressed. While your
products and services are the vehicles that will earn you
money, your expertise is what will help you become a trusted
advisor and service provider.
If you
don’t know what your prospects want, ask them. Put together
a list of ten to twenty-five questions. Avoid using “either
or” types of questions and create a list of open-ended
questions which encourage prospects to discuss their collection
concerns. Ask questions to clarify common collection problems,
their importance and what prospects want to do about them.
Now that
you have your list of questions, whom do you talk to? If your
target market is lawyers, start with your own lawyer, friends’
lawyers and use networking to grow your sample to fifteen
to twenty attorneys.
To build
credibility be direct about what you are doing. Tell the people
you want to meet with that you are researching a new service
and want to learn more about their collection problems, concerns
and strategies. While this may not sound like the greatest
opening line, most people like to talk about themselves and
appreciate it when others show an interest in their problems.
Let them
know that when you complete the research phase, you will distribute
a summary of your findings to them. Its much easier to get
people to give you 20-45 minutes of their time if you aren’t
trying to sell them but approach them looking for advice.
When you
are done with your interviews, write a summary of the common
problems and strategies you identified. Don’t forget
to include a section in your report that describes how your
services will solve these.
Using
this research/ positioning strategy you can:
- Refine your product or service idea to meet prospects’
needs
- Create content for articles to publicize your knowledge
- Establish yourself as the expert
Having
the perfect product or service to meet your target market’s
needs is a plus but it won’t guarantee a sale. Establishing
yourself as the expert, one who knows and understands their
concerns will help to pull in clients. Whether you are researching
a new service or want to ramp up sales for an existing one
market your expertise to sell your services.
The author,
Marketing Coach, Charlie Cook, helps independent
professionals and small business owners who are struggling
to attract more clients. He can be contacted at In Mind Marketing
via ccook@charliecook.net
or visit www.charliecook.net
to get a copy of the free marketing guide, '7 Steps to Get
More Clients and Grow Your Business'.
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The followup to Brendan Sinclairs successful Web Design Business kit is a comprehensive look at all the business aspects of working as a web designer. It's thorough and has some excellent advice in it.
A complete, secure, online billing application that maintains hourly service billing, flat fee billing and recurring charges. Integration with Authorize.Net and other leading payment gateways provides hands-free recurring billing with a sophisticated CRM system.
Browse through our extensive list of free Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills and interests; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to freelance professionals who qualify.
All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
