If you want me to buy from you, I’ve got to believe that you can help me. You’ve got to help me to believe you can help me.

Let’s look at what you need to do for me to believe you can help me…

What do your clients look like?

How does my business compare to clients that you’re working with and have worked with recently? The more similarity there is between your client base and my business, the more likely I am to believe you can help me. That doesn’t mean you should be working with a lot of small marketing consultancies in South London for me to work with you.  How else could you describe them?

• Are your clients mostly B2B or B2C?
• Do they sell services or products?
• What size are most of your clients?
• Where are they based?

There are lots of ways you can profile your clients to show that they are like me so that I start to believe you can help me.

What are the issues I face?

Your experience of working with companies similar to mine will have given you an understanding of the issues I face. Talk to me in your marketing about these issues and the impact they may be having on my business.

• Are they issues that are likely to be causing me problems, or
• are they simply slowing down my ability to grow?
• Will you save me money, or
• Will you make my business more efficient?
• When during the year am I likely to have these issues – if they are seasonal or periodic?

Although I may not have that particular issue at the time I see your marketing, I’ve probably experienced it and it will resonate with me. Again, I’ve taking another step forward towards believing you can help me.

Think about what I am likely to face in the future too. If you can help me with issues that I haven’t yet

Show me the results

At my most cynical, I could just say that “you talk a good game” at this point, particularly if I am not that confident in what I’ve seen. This final step is going to take me a long way down the path you want me to go. Talk to me about the results you’ve achieved for your current clients. Here’s a few examples that may help you:

• A telecoms consultancy saves their clients, on average, 35% on their telecoms costs.
• A web analytics company will show you who is looking at your website, helping you close more sales.
• A virtual assistant helps organise your diary and manage your administrative needs, giving you 20% more time for billable activity.

Taking on a new supplier is a risk for me, as it is for anyone. At the point I have recognised that I need a solution now to an issue I face, you have to convince me that you provide the best possible solution. If you can demonstrate that you recognise and understand my issues, that you deliver good results and that you work with my peers, I am very likely to buy from you.

I hope this helps.