Successful Blog

Here is a good place for a call to action.

  • Home
  • Community
  • About
  • Author Guidelines
  • Liz’s Book
  • Stay Tuned

How I Take the Focus Off Money Part II

October 8, 2010 by Guest Author

A Guest Post by Scott P. Dailey

dryhead

This is part two of a two-part series on how to get the client focused on the relationship, not the costs they incur working with you. In the first installment, I discussed how we can calm the fearful and financially strained Mom & Pop by offering them guarantees. Promising struggling small business owners that you’ll share the risk is one of the best ways to demonstrate your investment in doing the job right, not just collecting some quick cash. In part two below, I turn our attentions toward specifically how we can discuss money so that money is no longer discussed. Sounds like a riddle, but I assure you it’s not. So let’s get started.

I understand that the guarantee is among the best ways to return the risk the customer takes in hiring you and I love the idea of shouldering the burden of proof. But that is only one reason I make guarantees. The other is that I want to help. I really do and nothing says so louder than making promises that remove financial risks and potential losses from the bargaining table. See, I’m not preoccupied with the money part of the sales progression and it’s made all the difference. Yes, I need money too, but I only want it from people who were happy with the way I earned it. Everything else feels like stealing. I want to be paid because we agree that I nailed the thing. The fees I’m asking are the reward I’ve earned for adding value to your business endeavors. If my earnings aren’t my reward for doing great work, well then again it just ends up feeling like I got away with something.

The relationship is the reward.

When a customer asks me, ‘Scott, what do you think?’ or ‘Scott, which direction should we head?’ I get pumped. I mean I get crazy excited. Now we’re building something before we’ve even begun building the thing you want built. We’re building that relationship baby! Killer! When you put things in my hands, you’re telling me that you want me to prove it now, earn your trust, your confidence and oh yeah, that’s the reward!

Allay their fears.

If your clients are anything like mine, they’re asking for your expertise because they don’t possess it themselves. Ever been frightened by something you did not understand? OK then. That’s how your prospects often feel: scared. They’re afraid you’re going to trick them, cheat them, screw them. My pitches are often attended by prospects concerned about wasting money on me and I’m equally concerned that I won’t form the beginnings of a trusting bond if we keep discussing money. Consequently, when this happens I attack the topic by promising to give them back their money if they’re unhappy with the results I’ve produce. Simple right? It works almost every time too. Worried about spending your money on me? Super! I’ll give it back if you’re not happy with how I earned it. Next topic. And off we go.
Defuse with candor.

When the elephant in the room is money, seize the opportunity to demonstrate with meaning how confident you are that your customer made a smart decision choosing you. Don’t allow the customer to dangle their cost fears in front of you as if your fees are a stumbling block they’re justified in bring up. Assuming your fees are sensible to begin with, they’re not a just cause to kill the deal at all. Take back control of the room by offering an out that relieves them of the very risk they’re making such a contentious talking point. Assume the risk and you can return your collective attention to what really matters, getting that relationship a’ budding. Oh yeah! That’s the stuff!

How do you help your nervous clients work with you to grow the relationship? How do you relax them when they liken you to a drill-wielding dentist hovering over them like an opportunistic vulture?

—–
This is the second in a two-part series.

Scott P. Dailey is a Web designer, copywriter and network administrator. Recently Scott launched ( http://scottpdailey.com ), his social media blog that makes connections between social networking etiquette and the prevailing human social habits that drive on and offline business engagement patterns. You can connect with Scott via Twitter at @scottpdailey.

Creative Commons License photo credit: dryhead

Thanks, Scott!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Successful-Blog is a proud affiliate of

third-tribe-marketing

Filed Under: Business Life, Customer Think, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Customer Think, customer-relationships, LinkedIn, Scott P. Dailey

How I Take the Focus Off Money

October 1, 2010 by Guest Author

A Guest Post by Scott P. Dailey

photo credit: RambergMediaImages

My portfolio is comprised largely of passionate, cash-hungry small shops, boutiques, niches and nonprofits. I do work with big companies now and again too, but they’re the exception to the rule and thus, I won’t be spending time talking about them in this post. No, this post is for the small consultancy that’s servicing the small, proud brick and mortar.

OK, so here it is: I guarantee my work. If I’m designing your Web site layout for instance, I take a 50% deposit that sits in escrow until you approve the layout and the balance you cough up once you’re 100% satisfied with the finished result. With Web design, my contracts call for me to create at least two unique layouts, put them both under your nose and get your approval of one of the two. I even offer you several complimentary rounds of change before requesting your approval. If you don’t approve, you get your money back. If you want to abandon the project before providing approval, you get your money back. I guarantee you’re going to love your new layout and if you don’t, I give back your money. If I’m writing copy for you, I refund your deposit if you don’t like my copy. And if your unhappy with the content of your first monthly SEO/social media report or feel I have fallen short on a promise, I refund your money – period.

My customers are very careful how they spend money on their business. Not so oddly, those deep in the black are even thriftier than those sucking wind. In the red or the black, my customers get sticker shock easily. I know this. So, where I may not always be willing to remove the stunned disbelief from their faces with a crazy discount, I do try to allay their spending remorse by making simple guarantees that protect their investment in me.

I don’t want your money that badly.

If you don’t think I’ve earned it, then I refund it. The relationship is the ultimate prize, not you paying this month’s electric bill.

How do you shift the client’s focus from money to forging a bond with you? How do you prove your customers won’t regret hiring you?

—–
This is the first in a two-part series.

Scott P. Dailey is a Web designer, copywriter and network administrator. Recently Scott launched ( http://scottpdailey.com ), his social media blog that makes connections between social networking etiquette and the prevailing human social habits that drive on and offline business engagement patterns. You can connect with Scott via Twitter at @scottpdailey.

Creative Commons License photo credit: RambergMediaImages

Thanks, Scott!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Successful-Blog is a proud affiliate of

third-tribe-marketing

Filed Under: Customer Think, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Customer Think, customer-relationships, LinkedIn, Scott P. Dailey

It’s Hard to Be Irresistible When You’re Kissing Up to Folks Who Don’t Care About You

June 24, 2010 by Liz

Invest in the Customers You Want to Attract

cooltext443809602_strategy

Dreams are good things. Strategies to get us there are essential to making those dreams real. A key strategy in any business plan is knowing who the customers are that we want to serve.

Sometimes we think we know that, but then we make decisions worrying about what the whole world of customers will think of what we do. We want the whole world to love us, even though we know we’re not building a business for the whole lot of them.

Do you see the disconnect in that?

It’s hard to be irresistible to our ideal customers when we’re not showing them they’re the only ones we care about. Yet, sometimes we change our business because worry about the opinions of folks simply because they have opinions about us and what we do.

Before we change we really ought to consider whether the the folks having opinions are part of our ideal customer group.

The strongest businesses, the best web apps, the biggest celebrities and rock stars know that serving and celebrating their loyal fans is what builds a foundational brand. As Becky McCray and Sheila Scarborough pointed out so brilliantly at SOBCon2010 — If we narrow the niche we serve, the opportunity gets wider. If we invest hugely in the people we want to attract, the attraction factor becomes huge.

If we hedge our bets, those ideal customers can tell we’re not with them 100%.

Give your listening, your love and your best work to the ones who love what you do.

Think a minute. Have you been taking time from your ideal customers to please folks who’ll never care about you?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

I’m a proud affiliate of

third-tribe-marketing

Filed Under: Customer Think, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Customer Think, customer-service, LinkedIn, relationships

I Asked for Hot Fudge and Cool Whip but I Got Skittles

January 27, 2010 by Liz

The Gesture Was Lovely

cooltext443809558_authenticity

It was a mission. The task was simple.
On the way home from dinner, he said “I need to go to the store.”

We hired a taxi to place him at his destination.

On the way out of the car he asked, “What for you?”
I said, “hot fudge and cool whip.” I was thinking hot fudge with the butter pecan ice cream we had for a late night sundae. I was thinking Cool Whip for an early morning “blogger’s latte.”

Didn’t get the hot fudge or the Cool Whip.

What he brought home was Skittles.
I like Skittles, but Skittles — they are his favorite!

The gift was lovely, but … he got me what he liked, rather than what I asked for. It was nice thought and I said, “thank you.”

Still uou can’t make a blogger’s latte with Skittles, no matter how much anyone loves that candy …

Ever been there? How do you respond when someone — maybe a favorite company — gives you what THEY want.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

I’m a proud affiliate of

Teaching Sells

Filed Under: Customer Think, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blogger's latte, Cool Whip, Customer Think, customer-service, LinkedIn, Skittles

Are You Mission Critical?

January 18, 2010 by Liz

A Position of Power or a Call to Service?

cooltext443809602_strategy

I know a man who describes his ideal job in a simple nine words.

Whatever I do, I want to be mission critical.

When he first said that, I thought he was describing a position of power and adrenalin. Now I see it more as call to service and collaboration.

Are You Mission Critical?

The difference between a truly strategic mission and a shaky vision is the practical and human understanding that we can’t go it alone. Strategy only works when it serves the people who help us grow.

The people we serve have their own missions.

  • Some missions are about physiology and survival — breathing, food, clothing, shelter. and sex.
  • Some missions are about security and safety — personal and financial security, health and safety, feelings of wellbeing and protection.
  • Some missions are social — sense of family, close friends, support networks, a sense of intimacy.
  • Some missions are about personal identity — visibility, attention, fame, respect, self-esteem, personal integrity.
  • Some missions are philosophical — personal growth, saving the world, promoting a cause, being part of something bigger.
  • Some missions are worth dying for.

Great service wraps our mission around the mission of the people we serve.

What people do or how they do it is less important than the mission that drives them. If we understand their mission, we can be the catalyst that gets them to realize that goal. That is the definition of mission critical.

How do you wrap your mission around the mission of the people you serve?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

I’m a proud affiliate of

Teaching Sells

Filed Under: Customer Think, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Customer Think, LinkedIn, mission critical, Strategy/Analysis

To FAIL Is Human, to Respond Is …

January 7, 2010 by Liz

Who Always Gets a Perfect Score?

cooltext443809437_relationships

So we put our heads and our hearts together into what we do.

In this environment, we think fast. We move fast. We execute with the information that’s available. Sometimes we make the wrong choice. Sometimes the other guy gets there first. Sometimes what we built doesn’t work the way we thought it would.

We could put up a sign to let folks know that working on it.

twitter-fail-whale-large

But when the sign goes up often enough to become an icon, when people make new versions that involve Home Simpson and tattoos, then we’re an exponential FAIL. We all know about Twitter FAIL FAIL FAIL. But we’re not Twitter and we don’t have millions of new accounts signing on everyday.

One little fail can knock down a whole lot of good that we’ve built up.

What’s critical is our response.

  • Hear the problem.
  • Learn.
  • Thank the people who found it for helping you.

When people point out a FAIL, stand beside them. Look where they are pointing.
It’s so much more productive than standing in front of them and feeling pointed at.

Always remember there’s a person on the other end of the issue.

To FAIL is human, to respond is more than service. That’s when humanity and character show through. Relationships built in a FAIL situation, often become FAIL SAFE in the end.

When has a FAIL served you?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

I’m a proud affiliate of

Teaching Sells

Filed Under: Customer Think, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Customer Think, identity, LinkedIn, relationships

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 20
  • Next Page »

Recently Updated Posts

How to Become a Better Storyteller

SEO and Content Marketing

How to Use Both Content Marketing and SEO to Amplify Your Blog

9 Practical Work-at-Home Ideas For Moms

How to Monetize Your Hobby

How To Get Paid For Sharing Your Travel Stories

7 reasons why visitors leave websites for ever



From Liz Strauss & GeniusShared Press

  • What IS an SOB?!
  • SOB A-Z Directory
  • Letting Liz Be

© 2025 ME Strauss & GeniusShared