The Top Ten Ingredients For "Selling By Attraction (tm)
Hilton Johnson

The goal of "Selling By Attraction"(tm) is to attract (like a magnet) a continuous stream of serious and motivated buyers WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO MAKE COLD CALLS AGAIN. Whoopee!

Hey, you and I both know that selling and closing are far more likely to happen (and be enjoyable) when the prospect comes *calling on you* instead of you calling on them. (That’s a no-brainer.)

When a potential client is attracted to you (by whatever marketing means you use), they are practically "begging" for you to help them in some way. It’s a situation where they are *inviting* you to come inside their world.

Think about this:

When potential clients come to you on their own, they think of you in an entirely different light than say, a typical salesperson. You are more likely to be perceived as a professional consultant, problem solver, temporary quasi business partner...but almost never like a traditional salesperson.

Let’s face it, trust is the most important ingredient in any sales relationship and trust is already present when they come to you for your expertise...or they wouldn’t come to you in the first place.

Are we communicating?

If this sounds good to you, I want you to forget about the way you were trained originally to get sales leads. Forget about that old prison sentence of calling and calling until your brain falls out of your head while you try and try to find a deal.

Let’s go on a journey that is far more natural, comfortable and successful, not only for you, but for your clients as well. Let’s fuel and propel your sales efforts into the stratosphere by learning how to "Sell By Attraction"(tm).

1. NEWSLETTERS
If you want people to think of you as an expert, an authority, a resource of information,(whether you are or not) publish a newsletter. Send it out on a regular basis for free. (Email is the least expensive way, but faxing or snail mailing the newsletter will pay big dividends too.)

People will learn who you are. (It’s not who you know, but who knows you.) A relationship will be established. When they have a question about your industry, they will think of you. They will be attracted to you, call you (and most likely), do business with you...without you doing any selling whatsoever.

This will make you happy, happy, happy.

Another nice thing about publishing a newsletter is that as time goes by, your subscriber list grows and grows...and so does your business.

2. SEMINARS
I believe you can sell almost anything at seminars. Why? Because anytime you can get in front of large crowds on a consistent basis, some folks are going to be naturally attracted to either you or what you sell or both.

When you can stand in front of a room with everyone totally focused on you and your message, there is almost unbelievable magic in attracting people to you.

And like anything else, the more consistent you are about getting in front of large groups, the better you get at it.

It would be worth your while to conduct all of the seminars you can, even if you have to do them for free. If enough people show up, you will almost certainly make multiple sales during (and after) the seminar.

The ideal seminars are those that are sponsored by someone else who foots the bill and fills the room for you. To do that, just ask yourself, "Who can I get to sponsor my seminar that would love to have a captive audience of ideal clients sitting in the room that would also be *my* ideal clients?" This becomes a win/win situation for the audience, the sponsor and of course, you.

I’m getting excited just thinking about it!

3. CREATIVE INTRODUCTIONS
Whether you’re at the supermarket, church social, barbecue, or anywhere else, and you’re standing within a few feet of someone, strike up a conversation and try to convert the conversation to what it is you sell. (This is easier than you think.)

Do not--I repeat--do not try *selling* to this person. Instead when the conversation comes around to what business you’re in, merely mention the end results of what your product or service will do.

Or, you could talk about some of your success stories...that is, how you helped your customers solve problems or become more successful themselves. (This is sort of like "Prospecting By Attraction"(tm).) You’ll know you did it well if they ask for your business card.

Here’s something else:

When you’re at a meeting, convention, networking group, seminar, etc., be sure to stand and ask questions during the Q&A sessions. But (and this is important) just prior to the question, tie in a brief description about how you help people solve problems. There should be a smooth transition from your brief description to your question.

One more thing about introductions: If you can get a "center of influence" person to personally introduce you to your ideal clients, they will be attracted to you like flies to sugar. (This is one of the ways Donald Trump became the largest and most successful real estate developer in Manhattan, in a market that had never heard of him at the time. He had a prominent attorney introduce him to the power people.)

4. SALES LETTERS
(This was a feature article in the June, 1997 Sales Coach newsletter.)

Sales letters can be extremely effective in attracting ideal clients to you. There are many reasons, but the main one is that by writing out a complete sales presentation and sending the letter to people known to buy what you sell, the presentation will motivate the serious prospects to contact you.

Your ideal clients will read your letter in its entirety and *call you* to receive more information or place an order. (No rejection here folks.)

Writing a compelling sales letter is an art within itself, but it can be easily learned by understanding some basic formulas. (See The Sales Coach Vol. 6.1)

More About Sales Letters...

If you would like to double, triple or even quadruple the results of your sales letter, follow your letter with "Attraction Calls"(tm). That is, simply call your target list a couple of days after the letter has hit and ask the recipients:

1. if they got the letter
2. if they had a chance to read it
3. if they have any questions about the offer

That’s it. No selling, no bragging, no urgency, no scarcity techniques, no nothing. If they want what you’re selling, they will offer to place an order.

Think about this: how many times have you cut out a coupon or order form from a magazine to buy something but just never got around to sending it in? If that company had called you by phone and made the same offer to you, you would have probably bought it on the spot. Why? Because they would have made it extremely easy for you to do business with them. After all, you were going to send for it anyway...right?

Make it easy for people to do business with you by making Attraction Calls(tm) after your mailings.

5. DINNER PARTIES
Let’s say that you sell computer software to the mortgage industry and you discover that a mortgage company regional manager’s meeting is going to be held in your area within a few months. You’d sure like to make the acquaintance of these ideal clients but they’ve never heard of you. What do you do?

You sponsor a breakfast, luncheon or black tie dinner.

Here’s how you do it:

You first make sure it’s held at a first class hotel. You then send out formal invitations to each manager. The letter that accompanies the invitation assures them (if it’s a breakfast or luncheon) that you will not keep them more than one hour or you will give each of them $100 for each minute the affair goes over one hour.(Don’t worry.)

When the guests show up, you greet them and thank them for coming. You do NO selling. You simply make everyone feel comfortable and make sure you meet everybody.

At nine minutes before the hour is up, you stand and say the following: "Ladies and gentlemen, I promised to keep you only sixty minutes. It is now nine minutes before our time is up. I’d like to thank all of you for coming today. My accountant tells me that in order to treat this luncheon as a tax write-off, I’m supposed to ask you for some business. Consider that done."

To me, this is "Selling By Attraction"(tm) of the highest order. And think about this: Even the managers in this example that do not or cannot attend will appreciate the invitation which still helps you to begin a positive business relationship with them. And let me ask you something: Whether they attend your event or not, what are the odds they will remember who you are?

Now you know why sales companies that are trying to proselyte other companies salespeople throw those expensive cocktail parties and dinners. (You may have been to some yourself.)

6. GIVE IT AWAY
As a sales trainer and coach, one of the most powerful "Marketing By Attraction"(tm) activities I’ve ever discovered is to give my services (within limits) away for free. (Give a free sample so to speak.)

If it’s at all possible to give your ideal clients a taste of your product or service, do so...especially if you’re in the business of selling information or services.

When you do give them a sample, give them a *great* sample. Don’t try to hold out the best for later when they become a client. When you give great stuff away, people always wonder how much more great stuff you have to offer.

If you cannot give away a sample, offer a risk-free guarantee. Allowing people to "check you out" without any risk whatsoever is a great way to "Sell By Attraction"(tm).

7. ATTRACTING CLIENTS WITH ENDORSEMENTS
You must know other professionals and/or companies that have spent huge amounts of time, energy and money to develop strong trusting relationships with their clients and customers...don’t you? (Think about it, you do.)

Go to these people and present this compelling offer: If they will endorse you and your product or service to their database of customers, you will make it worthwhile for them in several ways.

You assure them up front that there will not be any risk, effort or investment required on their part. You’ll take care of all of that yourself.

Explain the benefits to them. Some examples:

1. You’ll give them a portion of the profits.
2. You’ll endorse them in return.
3. You’ll barter your product or services with them in exchange for the endorsement.
4. You’ll sit on their Board of Directors. (You can teach them how to market their products and services better.)
5. Your product or service would actually be of benefit to their customers making this an added value marketing tool for them.
6. (Let your imagination go wild.)
7. PLAY GOLF

I’m not kidding. There are a tremendous amount of business deals created on the golf course, at the tennis club, at the yacht club or country club...even in restaurants and bars. (Remember the three martini lunch?)

And here’s the ironic thing: There may be sales companies with better products and services than yours at better prices than yours, and your competitor will not be able to touch this account. Why, you ask? Because it’s like we said earlier, *people want to do business with people they know and like*. Personality counts.

If your prospects enjoy your company on a personal level, that relationship will almost certainly spill over into a business relationship...without you ever asking for it. (Talk about their passions and they will talk about your sales.)

It’s been said that the luckiest people in business are those that know a lot of people. I think that’s especially true in sales.

You might consider joining clubs and organizations and volunteering for some of the committees of these organizations. (I know many real estate agents who campaign for election to the condominium board of directors just to create a high profile in those buildings. And it works...by attraction.)

8. ATTRACTING FREE PUBLIC RELATIONS
Getting good, free public relations is like selling: it’s all about relationships. Here are some points to remember:

1. Do not ask for someone to do a story about you. Ask if you can be a resource for them concerning your industry. That way they’ll come to you when they need information.
2. Read the publications you want to be in.
3. Talk about your clients’ success stories, not yours. (You get PR for making them successful.)
4. Stay current and respond to what’s topical.
5. Offer to send your newsletter to editors. (Never send it uninvited.)
6. Have your hometown do a story about you.
7. Ask yourself, "Who’s running in the crowds I want to be in?" (Your PR center of influence)
8. Read a book or take a course on PR.
9. Try to find writers who would benefit from your product or service and make it available to them.
10. Organize charitable events with several sponsors paying all expenses (You get the PR)

If you don’t have a web site, you’re already obsolete.

In addition to registering your site with popular search engines, you may want to consider the following to attract business:

1. Offer something free on the opening page. (Like your newsletter or sample report)
2. Link with other sites.
3. Add new information each week to keep them coming back to your site.
4. Create a sales letter for visitors to read.
5. Create a contest to capture visitors’ email addresses.

10. THE ATTRACTION PRESENTATION
Of all the activities listed above, none is more important than the actual delivery of your sales talk to attract new business.

The most successful salespeople today have a clear understanding that selling is asking good questions and solving problems. If you cannot help someone solve a problem, he/she doesn’t have a good reason to do business with you.

A good presentation (at least in my view) is one that focuses on client problems and motivations. If you ask questions that draw out dissatisfactions, needs and concerns that your product or service will solve, the odds are very good that you will make the sale.

The goal of your presentation should be to ask easily answered questions that help your prospects to *think* and draw their own conclusions which inevitably lead them to doing business with you.

Instead of selling the features and benefits of your product or service, ask problem questions, listen very carefully, summarize and then feed back what you heard and allow them to sell and close themselves.

That’s "Selling By Attraction."(tm)

SPECIAL NOTE #2: If you would like to participate in a free "Selling By Attraction"(tm) introductory TeleClass (teleconference class) with me for one hour in August, email to hilton@salesu.com and in the subject line, type "August TC Schedule."

SPECIAL NOTE #3: I was taught the value (and power) of attracting clients with newsletters by my first business coach, David Goldsmith. David is the past president of Coach University and is a wonderful business coach. His daily newsletter, The Customer’s Edge, is an excellent example of building value by writing about ways other companies and individuals give (or don’t give) exceptional customer care. I recommend it. To subscribe to his free, daily, email newsletter, email to: info@customeredge.com.

Your Sales Coach, Hilton Johnson

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We welcome your feedback, commentary and participation, and often include "1st Person Success Stories" in this newsletter and at our website. Please email your submissions directly to hilton@salesuniversity.com

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;© Copyright 1997 by Sales University All Rights Reserved Hilton Johnson, The Sales Coach hilton@salesuniversity.com http://www.salesuniversity.com Phone: 954-491-8996 "Sales Coaching For People"

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