- 1,432
I started 2017 in a lot of pain. Financially.
It was the kind of pain that predicts birth, growth or death. I lost 80% of my income due to bureaucratic changes in Connecticut's HIX.
I decided I didn't want to buy a black suit, say a few prayers and throw dirt over a business I birthed then nurtured for so long.
I put on my big boy pants and started pushing the big rock up the hill.
I put my shoulder on it and pushed. Then I pushed harder. The boulder barely moved. I got the message.
It was clear, 80% is too much to replace by simply working harder or longer.
So, I immersed myself in study. I read more business and marketing books in 2017 than I did in the previous decade.
After a lot study and after a lot of trial and error, I "stopped the bleeding" in November when I put the capstone on a multi-step process that generates high quality leads for Medigap and MAPD in the quantity I needed.
So, I'm shifting my focus for 2018.
The low hanging fruit is now in my "After Unit."
(This is Dean Jackson's term for what you do after the initial sale to turn a customer into a client into a fan.)
One of the books I read is Influence by Robert Cialdini. (It's also available on Audible.) He covers 6 principles of persuasion.
One principle is consistency.
You may have been trained to ask your prospect questions they are likely to say "yes" to before the close. The purpose is to get them in the habit of saying "yes" before you ask for the order. This takes advantage of the consistency principle.
If you ask a client for a drink of water near the beginning of your presentation, she or he may be more inclined to buy from you at the end of your presentation.
Cialdini did a couple of studies to test the consistency principle.
He asked subjects to rate whether they were good citizens or not on a scale of one to ten. Most rated themselves highly. (Who wouldn't?)
Then he asked them if they were likely to vote in the next election, most said "yes" because they were impelled to be consistent.
However, when he asked the same questions in reverse order, fewer people said they planned to vote.
(And fewer voted.)
So here is my stack (FYI it's untested):
Almost immediately post sale, shortly after my "thank you call" my client will get an emailed survey asking them to rate me on three metrics on a scale of 1 to 10. (Try SurveyMonkey: The World’s Most Popular Free Online Survey Tool )
They just bought, so to be consistent with that recent action, they have to rate me highly.
Then a week later, they will get a request to write a review for me on FB or the BBB.
Consistency principle in action again.
Then I'll send them a thank you note with a $10 Amazon gift certificate.
A month later, I'll leverage reciprocity (another of the 6 principles) and consistency.
I'll call them and thank them for the review. Then I'll ask them if they have any unanswered questions or concerns about their policy. I'll repeat the question until they say "no."
This is the right thing to do. Their questions and concerns should be answered first. It also is another "gift" so reciprocity comes in to play again.
Then I'll doorknob close them by asking for a referral before I hang up.
I'd love to hear if this works for you.
I think for most of us the "after unit" is the part of the business we give the least thought to. Most of us focus on getting leads and getting new customers. So, I think this is the low hanging fruit for most of us.
Do you have an "after unit: process you are willing to share?
It was the kind of pain that predicts birth, growth or death. I lost 80% of my income due to bureaucratic changes in Connecticut's HIX.
I decided I didn't want to buy a black suit, say a few prayers and throw dirt over a business I birthed then nurtured for so long.
I put on my big boy pants and started pushing the big rock up the hill.
I put my shoulder on it and pushed. Then I pushed harder. The boulder barely moved. I got the message.
It was clear, 80% is too much to replace by simply working harder or longer.
So, I immersed myself in study. I read more business and marketing books in 2017 than I did in the previous decade.
After a lot study and after a lot of trial and error, I "stopped the bleeding" in November when I put the capstone on a multi-step process that generates high quality leads for Medigap and MAPD in the quantity I needed.
So, I'm shifting my focus for 2018.
The low hanging fruit is now in my "After Unit."
(This is Dean Jackson's term for what you do after the initial sale to turn a customer into a client into a fan.)
One of the books I read is Influence by Robert Cialdini. (It's also available on Audible.) He covers 6 principles of persuasion.
One principle is consistency.
You may have been trained to ask your prospect questions they are likely to say "yes" to before the close. The purpose is to get them in the habit of saying "yes" before you ask for the order. This takes advantage of the consistency principle.
If you ask a client for a drink of water near the beginning of your presentation, she or he may be more inclined to buy from you at the end of your presentation.
Cialdini did a couple of studies to test the consistency principle.
He asked subjects to rate whether they were good citizens or not on a scale of one to ten. Most rated themselves highly. (Who wouldn't?)
Then he asked them if they were likely to vote in the next election, most said "yes" because they were impelled to be consistent.
However, when he asked the same questions in reverse order, fewer people said they planned to vote.
(And fewer voted.)
So here is my stack (FYI it's untested):
Almost immediately post sale, shortly after my "thank you call" my client will get an emailed survey asking them to rate me on three metrics on a scale of 1 to 10. (Try SurveyMonkey: The World’s Most Popular Free Online Survey Tool )
They just bought, so to be consistent with that recent action, they have to rate me highly.
Then a week later, they will get a request to write a review for me on FB or the BBB.
Consistency principle in action again.
Then I'll send them a thank you note with a $10 Amazon gift certificate.
A month later, I'll leverage reciprocity (another of the 6 principles) and consistency.
I'll call them and thank them for the review. Then I'll ask them if they have any unanswered questions or concerns about their policy. I'll repeat the question until they say "no."
This is the right thing to do. Their questions and concerns should be answered first. It also is another "gift" so reciprocity comes in to play again.
Then I'll doorknob close them by asking for a referral before I hang up.
I'd love to hear if this works for you.
I think for most of us the "after unit" is the part of the business we give the least thought to. Most of us focus on getting leads and getting new customers. So, I think this is the low hanging fruit for most of us.
Do you have an "after unit: process you are willing to share?