“The TOP” = Targeted Opportunity Planning
CMV – Core Market Value. What does your target market value above all else? What values form the foundation, the unifying theme which unites the diverse people who make up your target market?
This is directly related to your Unique Value Proposition: the closer your UVP lines up with your target market’s CMV, the greater the chance that your offer will appear as an OPPORTUNITY to your prospective buyers.
At every interaction, show you customers that you KNOW them, APPRECIATE them, and VALUE their desires and requirements – the things that matter to them. It must be as if we’ve read their minds, and wrote the perfect script to engage them.
“Selling” is a conversation in which the value of what I’m offering becomes obvious to the potential customer or client. Not why I should get paid, but how they will get what they want and need that’s of greater value, to them, than the fee I’m charging for the goods or services which provide that value. It should occur not as an attempt for me to take money from them, but as an OPPORTUNITY for them to acquire VALUE, regardless of price.
After centuries of being trained and conditioned to view sales as the intention of the seller to get your money, it may be hard to turn things around in your head and view sales from the perspective of the buyer. “Wouldn’t that be… buying then?” you might ask. But that’s only because we’re still looking at sales as the transaction, and not the exchange. Sales, at least the way we define it, is not a one-sided affair, but a true interaction. Only when we’ve clearly identified what each party gets – and gives – can we create an effective sales process, where we do more than just hold our breath and hope the buyer doesn’t say “no”.
Too often, the seller is in some way trying to “trick” the buyer, or come up with some sort of gimmick to finagle the buyer into giving up their money before they’ve had a chance to really think things through. “Take the money and RUN” is a well-established phrase for just that reason. And while we discussed “Persuasion” in the “Engagement” article, if I hear one more so-called sales expert droning on about “overcoming objections“, I swear I’m gonna lose it! If you have to train that hard to convince anybody that their “no” doesn’t really mean no, you are definitely doing it wrong.
Even a solid prospect may hesitate, but as we mentioned that’s usually because YOU haven’t clearly communicated the value of the offer – in other words, in their mind your Proposal does not occur as an OPPORTUNITY. It shouldn’t be about “overcoming objections“, but about understanding hesitation. We don’t believe in taking money from people who don’t actually want to give it to you – that’s where buyer’s remorse and refund demand begins.
Learn to think like your customer. It shouldn’t be that difficult – you are, after all, often times a customer yourself. Don’t forget about that just because you’ve now got your “seller” hat on. You’re still a human being, dealing with another human being in what should ideally be a mutually beneficial exchange. In fact, we submit that until you can look at your own offer and identify how it works out to the benefit of both you and your customer, you’re not ready to make the sale. This is not about being selfless, or making a sacrifice; it’s about understanding human nature, and being honest.
When your offer is truly a good deal, an opportunity for your prospect, you won’t feel anxious, awkward or weird discussing it at length with the buyer and answering any questions they may have about your proposition. Targeted Opportunity Planning is designing your Marketing Campaigns and Sales Proposals to do just that – to position and present your offer such that it occurs as a tremendous gain for your potential customer, and they feel eager and anxious to seize the opportunity while they have the chance.
When Targeted Opportunity Planning is the guiding concept that coordinates all of your online activity and customer interactions, your Marketing efforts becomes less confusing, and what you need to do to effectively acquire new customers becomes clear. Focusing on offering value will actually make the “making money” part of the customer relationship much easier. And that adds up to profit on any balance sheet…