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Selling the outcome and skyrocketing your business
In this article, Simon Tupman looks at how to focus on your value to the client
The differences between marketing a tangible product and an invisible service have been the subject of many a book. The differences are striking.
Let's take two contrasting examples, a car and legal advice.
When a customer considers buying a car, she can admire it in a number of ways; she can feel the comfort of the seats, smell the leather interior and take the vehicle for a test drive. The car has a fixed price tag. If the car breaks down in any way, it is obvious to the customer: the engine won't start, the fuel pump breaks down or the stereo malfunctions. In such a case, the customer rarely takes it personally as the car is manufactured in a factory. The car can be warranted to cover failures such as these and that gives the customer protection and confidence when she buys.
In contrast, when a client considers turning to a lawyer for advice, she cannot sense much about the service. She cannot 'feel' the advice, 'smell' the lawyer, or even take him for a test drive. In most cases, his service doesn't have a price tag beyond an hourly rate. Knowing when the lawyer's advice is bad is often impossible for a client to detect. If a lawyer fails to deliver on a promise, then, in contrast to the car breakdown, the customer is more likely to take it personally. As most services come without a warranty or a guarantee, the client tends to be uncertain and fearful about the value of the service she is buying.
While there are difference, there is one notable similarity: both businesses are in the business of selling emotional outcomes. The customer who buys a car is buying peace of mind knowing that the service offered with the car includes after sales support, on-going service, maintenance and safety. The car itself is simply a commodity that gets the manufacturer onto the starting line up in a fiercely competitive industry. Similarly the client of a legal practice is also buying peace of mind, knowing that her problem is safe in her lawyer's hands and that he can provide the solution she is looking for. The lawyer's expertise, experience and time are simply the commodity which gets him onto the starting line up.
Defining the emotional outcome of your business or service is critical to your marketing success. This is a simple concept to grasp and yet surprisingly few businesses do it. Instead they draw the customer's attention to the features of their product or service rather than what the customer is really interested in - the outcome or value.
Selling the outcome is probably easier for businesses offering tangible products. However, those organisations offering intangible services should not be shy or anxious about approaching prospects. They should ask themselves this question: 'how will my service improve the customer's condition?'
Professional advisors are in the business of providing peace of mind. Being more specific, perhaps the emotional outcome for a client of a divorce lawyer might be 'I want to start a new life', and for a client using a financial planner it might be ' I want to avoid the taxman and retire rich'.
Once you can define your client's emotional outcome, you have a much more compelling proposition to make to your prospects. An additional spin off is that lawyers and similar advisors can define their real value to clients and establish their fees accordingly rather than charging by the hour for every assignment.
When the day comes when you master the art of selling the outcome, your business will skyrocket.
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