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Something really cool about running your own agency is that other people who also run their own agencies want your opinion. I've been fortunate since I started M Sales back in April to have been on the receiving end of several advice-seekers' questions. Some have been about top of the funnel lead acquisition, while others have centered around daily sales structure for optimal efficiency. But one inquiry that stands out, in particular, is the one I got last Thursday while coaching a marketing service agency owners group in Europe, on Zoom of course.

The group is called Agency Breakout, a rather catchy name, founded by my Boston mate Tim Kilroy, whom I have mentioned in a prior post. The point of Agency Breakout is for small marketing services agency owners to have a forum to gain insight, best practices, and hopefully actionable advice to grow their firms. So, during Thursday's session, one of the owners asked for some guidance on how to really connect with a potential client, more so than his competitors could. Luckily, I had something to share.

My response was based partially on the article right here and partially on my own experience. What I suggested to the owner was that maybe he should think about selling the potential client on the outcome of engaging his firm's services versus the typical way of selling on basic features. Seriously, selling on features is way too easy, way too predictable, and way too ordinary. However, selling on potential outcomes, a vision of results, and a future state of achievement, is challenging, dynamic, and fully original. But it needs to be done right.

That's the catch - doing it right. Until owners of any business truly understand, define, and leverage their Buyer Personas, Ideal Customers, Target Industries, and Value Proposition, no matter how hard they try to sell outcomes, they will be met with significant resistance. Why? Because there is something inherently unique about decision-makers, customers, and industries that can render even the most compelling Value Proposition toothless unless it accounts for the desired outcome of potential customers in the sales funnel.  

As business owners or sales team leaders for that matter, it's our responsibility to make sure we religiously position our firms' Value Proposition to an expected outcome so that the prospect can actually visualize the result. We need to convince them that we and only we can deliver them to their goals. Is this a little preachy? Maybe. But I'm ok with that. Because what counts is new client acquisition. And, the best way to make that happen, in my opinion, is to paint an indelible image of what outcome achievement looks like.

Does this make sense or have I gone off the deep end? Please let me know. I value input and feedback. In closing, if you are striving to Achieve Greatness, good on you. If you are not, no worries, it's never too late to start. Oh, and don't forget to share this with the ones who need it most.