Education Builds Credibility With Your Prospects

If you're in a sales position of any sort, or you're a customer or client of someone "selling" you, you know that the most common response to an objection or concern from a salesperson is to cut price.

I know. I've been "in sales" since the age of eleven. And, when it got tough to sell what I had to offer, the very first thing I did was cut the price on the very thing of value I was offering.

It wasn't that I didn't think what I was offering was valuable. It was that I just never thought to give the "reasons why" they would benefit from what I was offering.

Well, I'm here to tell you that if people percieve you as being like everyone else, all they have to go on is comparing price.

The job then, is to educate your prospects on the enormous value you deliver. Otherwise, it seems, you're just another company delivering another commodity product or service.

The secret to establishing value for your product or service and building credibility with your prospects and customers is simple: Tell the truth.

• If your product or service costs more than your competitors, tell them why. It will create value that they didn't see before.
• If your product is made with a stronger material than your competitor's, tell them why. It will let them know that your product is more durable than your competitions.
• If your guarantee is longer than the competition, tell them why. It will show that you truly believe in your product and are willing to stand by it no matter what.
• If you're having a private sale for existing customers, tell them why. It will show them how special they are and how much you care about them.
• If you do business differently than anyone else in your industry, tell them why. It'll show that you're not just another commodity and copy-cat business.
• If you're selective about who you'll do business with, tell them why. It'll revere them as special and increase their confidence in doing business with you over and over again.

You see, it's very simple. Educate them. Tell them the reasons why, and you become not only the leader in your field of expertise, but you become the resource that your customers want to follow and respect.

How many businesses you do you know that actually tell you the "whole truth" about a product or service or special they're offering? Not many. And the one's that DO explain the "method to their madness," are the one's that are very successful.

Honesty and education breeds credibility and trust. Avoid being vague when you communicate an offer. The truth and nothing but the truth will help you become the business leader you know you can be.

Craig Valine is the publisher of the The AwfulMarketing Alert Newsletter, "Where you learn GOOD marketing strategies by looking at those who do it really BAD." To subscribe his free newsletter, go to: http://www.craigvaline.com/subscribe.html

© 2001 by Craig Valine

• Articles
• Newsletters
• Discussion
• Resources

Free Customer Lead Generation Course
Learn quickly how to generate leads for your business no matter what "business" you are in.

Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want
Learn how to quickly uncover profit creating products your customers want to buy now.

Revealed: What is Wrong With This Marketing Genius?
What you don't know about marketing your business is making you poorer each year.

How to Save Money with Reliable Business Hosting
Consultant shows you how to choose the right web hosting provider for your business without breaking the bank.