If your course is focusing on the result but not the solutions, try asking the bigger questions that will lead potential clients to the future state. Listen in as Tara shares what to do when you understand the result but haven’t nailed down the “problem”.
{{snippet-1}}
Transcript
Hey everybody, it's Tara, Bryan, and you are listening to the course building secrets podcast. Whether you're a coach or a CEO, the success of your team and clients is based on your ability to deliver a consistent experience and guide them on the fastest path to results. This podcast will give you practical real life tips that you can use today to build your online experiences that get results and create raving fans. Why? So you can monetize your expertise and serve more people without adding more time or team to your business. If you're looking to uncover your million dollar framework, package it and use it to scale you're in the right place. Let's dive in.
Tara Bryan:Hey, everybody, Tara here, today's episode, I want to talk about the sales process. And specifically one aspect of the sales process. So as often as course creators, what we do is we get really excited about what we're offering, we talk about, you know, what it is, what the features are, what they're gonna get, what they're gonna see what cool little doodads or, you know, games or badges, or, you know, whatever the thing is, we get super excited about all the things that we want to tell people about what we're gonna give them what they're gonna get, and what the experience is going to look like. And all those things are super important for you to think through and have those totally dialed in. But at the end of the day, that's not what people are buying, they're not really interested in the specifics or the weeds of what what's going to happen in week four, or what's going to happen in week seven or whatever. Right, they're really looking at the fact that they have a problem, or a pain or whatever you want to call it, they have something that they're trying to do, because they're trying to make a change. And they're coming to you because you're an expert, and you are the one who can give them that fastest path to mastery, and really show them how to overcome some of those hurdles and obstacles that you have overcome. Or you can teach them to overcome. And so they can shorten their journey to go from you know where they are today, which is kind of that pain or that kind of angst of, you know, I really want to be able to do something, and I need to learn, I need to figure out how to do it. And so the outcome is that they're able to do it. So when you're talking to someone, or even on your sales page, what's the most important question to ask isn't so much about the mechanics of the program? Or what you're doing? Or how many days it is, or when people show up? Or all those things? It's really the question of what results are you looking to have happen? Right, and one question I love to ask around this is, if you had a magic wand, and you're you could really look into the future and have your goal or your results or have your reality change, however you want to word it. What would that look like? And by painting that picture for them and asking them that question, they're actually identifying what they're looking to have happen, what the result is that they're looking for. So if you can wave a magic wand and life would be totally different. What would that look like? Maybe they want to learn how to add more balance in their life. And so they say, Well, I want to only work three days a week, and I want to have, you know, a certain revenue, revenue amount, or I want to have a certain number of clients or I want to, you know, have my employees and my team be able to do XYZ, that's the future state, that's what they're really looking to have happen. The mechanics of how you do that, most of the time don't matter as much as can you fulfill on that particular dream that they have. So I was in a sales conversation the other day, and it was fascinating to me to sort of just be watching
Tara Bryan:the conversation unfold. And the person who was doing the the conversation, or leading the conversation was just dove straight into the solution and what the solution was and how it worked and what the different variables were and how each of the different pieces worked and why it was, you know, done in this particular way and how this one random thing would benefit the team and that it did. And, and it was interesting, because immediately you could see the people in the room, not only with their eyes were kind of glossing over but they weren't seeing why they were in the meeting. They weren't seeing why a potential solution like this would be valuable to them because it was like yeah, well that's interesting. Seeing that there are all those parts and pieces to it. But at the end of the day, the bigger question was missing, which was what does it look like when this goal or result has been achieved? What is that future state? So where are you today? And where are you looking to go? And their answer once they were asked the question, which was three fourths of the way through the meeting, was very, very clear. And so if you can get the answer of, you know, what is the future state? What does it look like when this is, you know, dialed in and working and this problem is solved? If you can get to that answer, then it's very easy to say, okay, great. So this is how, what I have for you can get you to that goal. But people have to be able to articulate the goal. And they have to be bought into the fact that they want a solution to the problem that they're trying to solve before you talk about the solution. So so as a course creator, again, it becomes much more difficult to sell in this way, when you get so attached to what you've created. So I really challenge you to start with that question at the beginning of all of your sales conversations. So you're really helping that person not only articulate what the problem is, but what, you know, what's the benefit of actually solving that problem. I work with a lot of people in corporate, and a lot of times the challenge is that there's actually not a problem that they're trying to solve. It's just something that they feel like they need training for. And and that is a really interesting conversation, because most of the time, if if it's kind of got that lens to it, it's like, yeah, well, you know, we need to add this, we need this to be part of this, you know, new product or this new thing that we're launching. And so we'll just add training to it. And it's very hard to say, well, this is the you know, the budget, you need to execute on this on this particular solution. Because I haven't bought into the fact that there's a problem, and there's a result on the other end, so the business is going to change in some way, shape, or form. And so really starting with these questions, helps them actually think through the fact that this does affect business results, it does affect the success of the of either the project or the program of the company, and getting to that level, helps them see then how that solution will actually make a huge difference and why they would invest in that particular thing that you are selling them. So there you go, there is my corresponding secret tip of the day is really every conversation that you have, start by having the person you're talking to paint the vision, they should be doing the majority of the talking, and, and connecting the dots for themselves, about how what you have to offer can help them. And then you know, if they ask questions about the specifics, then certainly talk to them about the specifics. But it's more about the transformation, it's more about how you're able to take them from one place to the other, using the solution that you've come up with. It's not about how they're going to do that, at this point in time. They may be super interested in that once they purchase. And then they're like, great, like, what are all the details? How do I get started? How do I navigate through this thing? What you know,
Tara Bryan:how do I communicate? How do I all the things, right, all those things happen, but they're not going to happen until after the purchase person makes a purchasing decision. So really focus on on that. One other little kind of nugget I'll give you is if you find yourself trying to convince people about different parts and pieces of your program, it's time to take a pause and go back to asking some more open ended questions for the person that you're talking to. Because that means that you're defending what you have, and you're trying to lead with the, the, the how and the features and benefits and you're not leading with the actual need that they have and why why what you have to offer will fill that need to really go back to that. Alright, there we go. Hopefully this helps you in your next conversation and reminds you that that critical question will help frame everything and make it about the fact that you are that person who's able to help them because they've just articulated the fact that they need that help. Alright, here we go.