The Desert of Arizona
Hazy 53 Degrees
When you are dealing with prospects, actually solving their problem in 2 minutes flat does no one any favors. If you are a nice person who enjoys helping others, this is something you want to resist.
This absolutely kills attraction and it does a long term disservice to your prospect.
First of all, they haven’t paid you anything. This isn’t a problem because of the dollars and cents though. It’s not an issue of “getting paid what you’re worth.” It’s a problem if you actually want to help people.
Something weird happens when someone sends money your way. The way they listen to you changes. And what they do in response to your advice changes.
If you want to deliver maximum impact to someone, you have to be aware of how and when your message is delivered.
It reminds me of something I heard Mark Ford of Agora fame say once. He was talking about all of the free advice he offered in his writings at Early to Rise. When he was asked what advice he then offered to his consulting clients (which he explained he charged 1 million dollars as a fee), he said he offered the very same advice.
The same advice, in two different packages, given at different times, is received two different ways.
In my experience, there are actually two types of value you can deliver. One is reserved for prospects, the other is reserved for clients. If you give the wrong “gift” at the wrong time, you can create problems for everyone. It would be like celebrating Christmas in July. People would probably look at you like you were crazy.
It’s easy to do unless you develop a new habit that does not include this behavior.
The biggest value you can offer to a prospect is NOT to actually solve their problem… yet.
The biggest value is to help them understand just what a problem their problem is. It is to show them what pain that problem is causing in their lives and what it is keeping them from achieving.
Some people might call this selling. And I wouldn’t argue with that. Except it doesn’t FEEL like selling to your prospect. It feels like advising. And that’s exactly how you want it.
One of the most helpful things you can offer to a prospect is to fully dimensionalize the pain they are experiencing and then to demonstrate to them that you offer a solution. That doesn’t mean you solve their problem, it means you make a promise, through demonstration, that you can.
This maximizes attraction.
If you run into prospects who seem interested in you until you start talking or send them marketing materials, take a close look at what “value” you are actually sending them.
Make sure you are sending them the right gift at the right time.