The fifth pillar of our Blue Ocean Formula is the selling system.
The selling system is focused on four key elements.
- Connect
- Converse
- Convert
- Continue
These four elements are key in getting people to know, like, and trust you. The “know like trust” factor is a marketing concept that states that people will do business with you if they know you, like you, and trust you. The goal is to get your strangers, suspects, prospects, and clients to understand and believe in you and the solution you provide.
Connect
If people don’t know about you, your brand, or your products then you will never sell anything. So, the first part of the selling system is making connections with people in your target market. At this stage these people are strangers. You don’t know who they are, and at this stage, they probably also don’t know about you.
The purpose of the connect stage is to move them from strangers to suspects. They are someone who you have a suspicion they could benefit from and be a fit for your program, but at this stage, you still don’t know much about them, including if they have a problem that you can solve.
Converse
Ultimately, the goal of the connect stage is to engage people in a conversation. This is the critical piece in the process. You need to be able to engage people in a conversation so that you can tell them about:
- The problems you can solve
- The value proposition your solution provides
- The results they will get and the benefits of those results
- The process that you follow to help them get the results
- How you work with them and the investment they need to make
But it is not just about telling them. Engaging them in a conversation also means that you can find out if they:
- Are really your target market
- Have a problem you can solve
- Are willing to invest the time, money, and effort to get the results
- Are the type of person that you want to work with
This last point is an important one to make. Leveraging your expertise and having your sales system deliver you an ideal volume of clients means that you don’t have to work with everyone. You should be in a position to say no to certain people that you know won’t be a good fit, or that don’t align with your values.
Convert
The third stage in the sales system is the convert stage. Now not everyone is going to get here, and the volume you get is going to depend on how well you connect and converse with the suspects and prospects. It is a sales funnel, and you will lose people along the way. Some just will not engage with you after accessing your value content, others will opt out along the way, and ideally, you will also be able to filter out those that are not suitable, or you don’t want to work with.
As the name suggests, this stage is about converting the prospects into clients. This is potentially after a discovery or strategy call, where the next step is for the prospect to join your program. However, depending on the nature of the solution and the cost of it, you may be able to convert a prospect through email or messenger marketing (or even directly from an ad). The investment in the program is directly proportionate to the amount of conversation and the ease of converting. Low ticket (interest or information) products will usually have a lower amount of touchpoints and you should be looking to convert directly from an offer in an ad, email, or message. Higher ticket offers that require a higher investment will generally require a higher amount of conversation, both to satisfy the prospect’s concerns but also to ensure they are the right fit for your program. Taking on clients that are not going to get the results, because they are not the right fit, is only going to result in more work and damage your reputation.
Continue
The final stage is where we continue to add value to the client. Delivering an exceptional experience to them and converting them from clients to advocates.
Providing that huge amount of value, as we’ve taken them from stranger to suspect, to prospect, to the client, will help to move them to become an advocate. They’re connected with you. They’re part of your community. And they then start advocating for your services.
You want to constantly build on the know, like, and trust factor. One of the best ways to do this is when someone else (that the stranger, suspect, or prospect already knows, likes and trusts) advocates your services.
The continue stage also has another level, which is directly related to the experience ecosystem. You will have the initial conversion but depending on where on the ecosystem the client is, there may be a further opportunity to convert them into a higher ticket program. Maybe they have purchased your initial information program, are now on board with what you offer, and want to now engage in your implementation or integration programs. Or maybe they have been through your implementation program but want to continue you accessing your knowledge and program and may sign up for an ongoing membership program.
