Ian and I met at a gin tasting event
We’d both sampled six different gins, yet by some miracle, we were both coherent. Well, Ian was coherent. I was sweary and enthusiastic … but that’s pretty much how I roll.
When we met, Ian had just written a book – The Six Fundamentals of Sales Know-How – and he was keen to establish a personal brand as an author and sales coach. He was seeking someone with experience and know-how to help him put together his sales coaching proposition.
Ian recalls, “I love helping people get over their fear of sales. The more I coached people, the more I grew in confidence, realising I did know my shit and it was time to back myself. It can be scary putting yourself out there, but I felt it was the right time to launch my own brand. I’d written my book, everything was coming together, I just needed someone to help me make my offer clear … and that was you Lizzie.”
Do you know why your clients choose you?
It’s always interesting asking people why they choose to work with you, and if you haven’t asked your clients this question yet, I highly recommend it.
I’m a writer, but copywriters are two a penny. You can’t walk down the road without some itinerant wordsmith hurling themselves at you, begging to write all your things. So, I was curious why Ian went with me.
Turns out, Ian likes to go with his gut. “I’m in a business where it's all about relationships. I teach people to build relationships, my whole working life has been shaped by first impressions, and I haven't got it wrong too many times.”
“We connected, and it was cool, I could talk to you Lizzie, and you were genuinely interested. And the timing was right. I knew I wanted to launch a new brand. I knew big picture what I wanted to say, but although I can write, I needed someone with an external perspective and experience of brand building to bounce stuff off, and to cut through the noise and tell me, hang on, this is what you need to say.”
It pays to get clear on your website goals before you spend $$$
The first thing Ian and I worked on together was the content for his new sales coaching website. We met at a coffee shop and I grilled him remorselessly.
Ian recalls the process. “One of the most valuable things that came from talking to you Lizzie, was objectivity and clarity, especially discussing what my services could look like. My coaching packages became clear. You helped shape them and put language around my vision. I’ve said to a number of people what impressed me most was how quickly you got it. We changed nothing from your first cut of the website copy. And I've had loads of good comments about my site.”
Music to my ears and ego, but I’ve got to give Ian credit. He’d done a lot of thinking before meeting with me. It pays to think hard about what you’re trying to achieve with your new site before you sit down with a writer or website developer. Tips on doing that over here, and remember if you’re struggling, I can help.
Ian agrees. “It’s important to have clarity about what you want to achieve before you start a new website. But for anybody who’s ready, Lizzie, you're able to take what they're thinking and turn it into reality in a way that speaks to their ideal client. And that’s another thing you do really well. You help people define their niche. Doing that made my offer more powerful. And it doesn’t limit me. People say to me, ‘I know you coach engineers and agribusiness; but would you also work with us?’”
Do you know what it’s like to work with you?
Successful service professionals understand you can win one-off work by being great at what you do. But you win repeat work by being great to work with. A big part of that is making it easy to work with you. So, as well as asking your clients why they choose to work with you, ask them what it’s like to work with you.
Ian describes working with me. “You’re real, so it’s easy to be real with you, Lizzie. I felt I could put anything out there without you judging. That helped me relax, so you were able to reflect my authentic voice. I wanted my down-to-earth character to come through in my content, and for people to know I’m not stuffy and corporate.”
What comes through in Ian’s website, particularly for his engineering clients, is that he’s been in their shoes. “They can relate to me because I've come from their background. I’m not some flash sales git in a shiny suit with a silly car. And I prefer that down-to-earth vibe. More and more I do workshops in a T-shirt and jeans.”
The importance of case studies like this
Once the website content was underway, we needed proof Ian delivers the goods. It was time for him to unleash me on his clients for case study interviews.
Ian explains, “It's a leap of faith asking someone to interview your clients, and there’s a big element of trust when you ask good clients to give feedback on what it’s like to work with you. It’s not something you do lightly. But each person you interviewed enjoyed speaking with you, Lizzie. You made it easy for them, and you wrote the case studies in a way that reflects as well on them as they do on me.”
“It’s so worth getting a third person to do case study interviews. You were able to extract information my customers wouldn’t tell me face-to-face for all sorts of good Kiwi reasons. And my case studies are so worthwhile because I get a real succinct idea of the value I give my clients.”
But did Ian get real business value from working with me?
A good question to end a case study interview is, where did I add most value? Ian’s answer didn’t disappoint. Far more importantly, I didn’t disappoint him. “Working with you Lizzie, gave me validation, confidence, and a professional launching pad. My website is a really accurate reflection of me and what I can do to help people.”
“People say my site is really clear and easy to read. And I find if people have read my website before they talk to me, they know exactly what to expect in terms of my process, and my fees. It gets rid of misunderstandings, manages expectations, and they're far further down that path of being convinced.”
But what about Ian’s return on investment? “Your fees are really reasonable for what I got out of it and the work I've got as a result. It’s the end of January and I’m already booked through to the end of June and 50% full in July and August. And it's all chunky coaching engagements with good businesses..”
“My revenue is up too. I’m making significantly more each month than I was the year before. This month will be far and away a record month for me, and next month even more again, so I’m gathering momentum. I’m getting to that point where I’m as busy as I want to be, so I’m working out how to work smarter. So, it was a lovely process working with you, very helpful, and very successful.”
Make your website your #1 salesperson
I specialise in helping coaches, consultants, and service businesses create websites that attract more of your ideal clients and close more deals.