four elements to consider in every selling situation.
by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services
selling professional services is not as difficult as some accountants and consultants believe. i like to define sales as solving a client’s problem. if you think in these terms, you’ll realize that this is what we do every day.
sales is the lifeblood of every business out there. if we did not sell our services and products, we would not have a firm or business. so, don’t think of sales as something unprofessional. it’s an integral part of growing your practice.
more: six ways to expand your client services checklist | client acquisition never stops | ‘sales’ is not a four-letter word | maybe what you need is a marketing audit | three types of marketing message, and which is best | why you need progress billing | five tips for cross-selling and upselling | five keys to successful marketing | twelve fundamentals of planning | one question to guide your growth plans
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my goal is to make you feel more comfortable with the sales process. here goes! remember, you are selling solutions to problems – or, as i like to say, selling the sizzle and not the bacon. it’s not the service or product that you are selling, it’s the benefits to the clients. clients and prospects aren’t buying the features of the system as much as what those features can do for them.
look at it this way. every time you are in a selling situation, you need to consider the following four elements:
1. features
features are characteristics or facts about your services or products. each service usually has several features, each of which may represent a solution or benefit to a specific problem. for example, you belong to an international accounting association or you have offices in the surrounding four states. you may have a client portal on your website and a chat feature. think about the different features of your services and write them out.
2. benefits
this is the worth received from a specific service or product feature. a benefit answers the question, “what’s in it for me?” many professional salespeople will tell you that benefits are the only thing you have to sell. when describing a benefit to a client, you need to use action verbs such as, “this product will increase your productivity by 25 percent. reduce overhead by x percent. eliminate redundant procedures. save you time and money.”
3. value
in the sales context, when a benefit is related to an expressed need, value is delivered. clients won’t make a buying decision until they understand the value proposition. all accountants and consultants feel comfortable talking about features. they don’t feel as comfortable, or they don’t know how to explain benefits. even worse, they assume that the client will know or figure out what the benefits are. never assume that a prospect can figure out what the benefits are. whenever you are discussing features and benefits, always relate them to the ultimate value the prospect will receive. here’s an example:
- service: tax planning.
- feature: through tax planning, we can lay out alternative accounting methods and determine the tax and financial implications of each.
- benefits: this service gives you a solid base on which to build business decisions – not only for current operations, but for the future.
- value: a comprehensive tax service extends beyond standard compliance work. tax planning anticipates the future growth of your company and is essential to your success.
4. evidence
evidence is the last element in the process. you need to reinforce your sales message with evidence of previous experiences, results, statistics, graphs and client testimonials, etc., to prove your point. just imagine the power of a client testimonial letter that you can show to a prospect or post on your website. the more visual you can make your evidence, the stronger it will be. we live in a visual society. studies have shown that we retain 60 percent of what we see and only 10 percent of what we hear.
use this proven process to improve your sales effectiveness. tie your features, benefits and evidence to your prospect’s needs:
- identify your prospect’s needs.
- describe your firm’s ability to satisfy that need.
- outline the benefits your service/product provides.
- illustrate your ability to deliver the benefits (i.e., the evidence).
clients don’t care what you do, they care what you do for them.