Kill one call close
Today we’re going to talk about why companies need to Kill the one-call close before it kills you.
The day of the one-call close is over.
It’s not serving you well; in fact, it’s most likely hurting your company – both in reputation and in sales.
Old-school high-pressure sales tactics are dead.
Going for the kill is more likely to kill your business than grow it.
Using canned “closing techniques” is old-world stuff.
The digital world has changed sales forever.
The consumer has a Universe of information at their fingertips.
Your competitors are right there on Google, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Angi’s, and elsewhere.
Your prospects want and can learn a ton about products, services, and companies before they ever make a single phone call.
They can learn all about you and your competitors easily and quickly.
Today, the most effective sales techniques are information, education, and entertainment.
He or she who educates and informs in an attractive and engaging way wins the business.
The company that helps answer questions, identifies problems, and provides a comparison of solutions wins the business.
The company that helps prospects know, like, and trust them before they ever even call their company wins!
Pricing is better.
Profits are better.
Reputation is better.
Repeat business is better.
Referrals are better.
Cancellations are rare.
So how do you get prospects to know, like, and trust your company before they ever even call you?
One word = content.
If you want to be a recognized authority in your industry to your ideal prospects, then you have to “author” great content.
I got that line from James Schramko in Australia and adopted it because it says it all.
If you want to even be seen by your ideal prospects in the digital world, then you have to “author” great content.
A sales brochure website isn’t going to cut it.
Google’s #1 job is to provide the best, most useful content to every person searching online.
If search results pages were filled with crappy web pages and sites that didn’t help the searcher, then users would stop using Google and switch to Bing or other search engines.
But Google is the best at serving up search results that are in line with the intent of the searcher and provide quality information.
So before you can even get seen by prospects online on the search results pages, you first have to prove to Google that you’re a helpful authority on the subjects they’re searching for related to your business.
How do you do that?
The same way… by authoring great content that helps inform, educate, and perhaps even entertain your prospects.
By providing great content for people in all phases of the buyer’s journey, not just for those who are ready to buy now.
By investing in content helps people who are just becoming aware of their problem or desire and starting to look into what it is and what solutions might be available.
Create content that asks and answers questions:
What’s the problem or desire and whys?
What options are available to solve the problem or desire?
What are the differences between those options?
How do they work?
What can go wrong?
What are the costs of each option?
Where can they purchase these options?
What are the price differences between their options?
Who are the best companies that provide the solution they seek?
What makes your company different than its other choices?
Do you have any proof (case studies) of helping people with their desired solution?
Can they talk with previous customers you’ve helped with the same solution?
How much do you charge for their desired solution?
What’s your process for that solution?
Each of those is potentially whole pages on your website.
You may have 5 to 10 informational pages about a single topic.
That creates what SEO professionals call content silos, clusters, or groups – which are multiple pages of content that are related to a single main topic.
Those pages need to link to each other and back up to your main product or service page.
Prospects may enter your site in the beginning awareness of their problem or desire stage, but you’ve given them quality content for every stage of their journey.
Content that’s about what’s in it for THEM.
When Google eventually recognizes that your site has a ton of in-depth content about that topic, then and usually only then, do you have a chance of Google recognizing your site as an authority on the subject and worthy of showing on search results pages for related searches?
You can also use these informational pages to send prospects to. Those who have already contacted you but are not yet ready to buy and have lots of questions can be sent links to these pages, or the page can be made into a PDF with links to other pages to help get them the info they seek.
Your online reputation will also play a major role for both Google rankings and your prospects.
Constantly nurturing customer reviews is a vital component to earning trust from both.
Using an automated reputation management system is a vital component to growing rankings in Google and leads from potential prospects.
Case studies and video testimonials add extra power to showing prospects that you’re a trusted company and past customers are happy they chose your company to provide their solution.
At the end of the day, customers don’t really care about you or your company, they only want to know that their problem or desire will be solved with quality products or services and without any issues.
Seeing others who had the same problem or desire be happy that they chose you goes a long way toward making them trust your company to get the job done right.
Case studies, video testimonials, and online reviews help them trust your company to do just that.
So there you are. If you want the secret to rank on Google and helping more prospects know, like, and trust your company and turn into leads, that’s it right there.
And the beautiful thing about creating great content clusters like that for every major product or service you offer is that it can pay dividends for months, years, or even decades if you continue to build upon it.
Unlike advertising that vanishes the second you turn them off, website content that truly helps prospects can generate leads far into the future.
And of course, doing great quality work in job #1.
All of the content and prospects in the world can’t save you from poor quality work or service.
Invest in delivering the best quality service possible and it will pay you back in every aspect of your business and your life.
For more on why Quality is FREE – see our episode #27 with that same title.
- 10 Google Ads Mistakes That Cost You Money - June 8, 2022
- Help Your Google Business Profile Generate More Leads - May 11, 2022
- Kill the one-call close before it kills you - February 9, 2022