Pam (00:00):

You’re listening to the flourish and grow to CEO podcast. This is episode 25.

Are you a lady boss making $50,000 to $100,000 in your business? And you’re ready to break through that six-figure barrier? Jane (00:34):

You’ve done a great job of creating a nice life as the ultimate gig master, but no, your inner CEO is calling you to greater Heights. You’re in the right place. If you want to create and implement solid fundamentals in your business without sacrificing fun. Pam (00:48):

I’m Pam Ivey, I’m certified in small business management, and I concentrate in the areas of training and certifying real estate assistance, coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs in online business, marketing, growth and profit acceleration, and I take men and women business owners aged 40+ to bucket list destinations around the world for a month at a time to work, explore, and live in community. Jane (01:14):

And I’m Jane Garee, known as the sales strategist for the non-salesperson, and I work with business owners who want to increase their conversion rate, shorten their sales cycle and have more impact and influence with the work they do all while having more fun with selling, Pam (01:28):

Hey everyone. And welcome back to the flourish and grow to CEO podcast. We’re talking today about focusing on the outcomes, not the deliverables because people buy emotionally, they buy with their emotions. So that’s what we’re focusing on today. There’s a natural inclination for businesses to promote the features of their products and services. A company spends a ton of time and money coming up with those features. And they’re excited to tell everyone about them. We use state-of-the-art technology, or we have better customer services, or we offer a money-back guarantee. Unfortunately, customers don’t really buy from you because of the features of your products or services. Ultimately they buy because of what’s in it for them or the benefit they get. So to strike an emotional cord approach, you’re selling with expressing how the product or service will benefit them, remember features, tell benefits. So Jane (02:31):

Yeah, that’s great. Pam features tell benefits, sell, and this is really one of my favorite topics to talk about because this is so important in a sales conversation. It’s really so important in life when you kind of put your antenna up and see how often this shows up in your personal everyday life. So let’s, let’s dig into this a little bit. The deliverables are the very specific things that are going to be offered, and it’s also part of the house. So let’s take a, um, I’m looking at my desk, like what could I take? It’s actually something that I would invest in. So say that it’s a course for my business. So the deliverables would be we meet once a week and talk for 60 minutes on a coaching call. A deliverable goal would be downloadable, worksheets and audios that you can keep forever. Another deliverable would be a private Facebook group where you can go in and ask your questions and there’ll be answered. Jane (03:25):

And finally, one more deliverable might be I’m a free ticket to my upcoming event. So the deliverables are all of the things that you will get now inherently in the things that you get, the, how you’re going to achieve. The result that you’re looking for is delivered. So therefore, if you have downloadable worksheets and audio, that you can always access. If you have a private Facebook group where you can network and get your coaching questions answered. And if you have a meeting with me once a week, then you’re also going to get coached and, or your questions answered and you’ll be mentored. So you’re going to get to your final result through the nature of what is being delivered. Deliverables are important because deliverables are actually kind of what I call the, the proof in the pudding, the social proof of how you’re going to get the result that it is that you want. Jane (04:10):

However, those are not the sexy things. Nobody is really buying one-on-one conversations or downloadable worksheets or a Facebook group. It’s, they’re really not interested in that. What they’re looking to invest in is the outcome or the transformation that is going to result from going through the deliverables. So in this particular case, the outcome would be the freedom to go live your life in the way that you want to, without having anyone telling you when to do it, why to do it, how to do it because you have the finances and the calendar time to be able to actually live that. So that is a result or an outcome that would happen. Another outcome or result would be plenty of time to spend with your family and finally take your kids to that vacation. You’ve been promising them for years. Those are the sexy things that people are investing in. It’s always the result or the transformation. So the phrase features tell benefits, sell. That’s kind of a, uh, example of it. It’s the benefits, the result and the transformation that may people jump up and say, you know what, that’s what I want. Pam (05:14):

Yeah, exactly. Outcomes kind of paint a picture of the success in your prospect’s mind. And it tells them how it’s going to change their life in some way. Right? Jane (05:23):

Absolutely. And that’s really what we all do, especially in the coaching and consulting industry is we’re in the business of creating a positive impact on the businesses and therefore lives of our clients so that they can go and do the same thing. Pam (05:39):

So I bet you, many of you have heard about the story of the drill and the whole, the customer really isn’t buying a drill bit. They want a quarter-inch hole so that they can hang their picture. Let’s say so that’s the outcome. It’s, doesn’t really matter how they, to it. They really want the outcome Jane (06:00):

To make that outcome even spicier. If you were the person coming in and buying the drill, I wouldn’t sell the drill. I wouldn’t sell the drill bit. What I would, I wouldn’t even sell the hole. What I’m going to sell is, you know what, Pam, here’s the deal. When you walk out of the store with this drill and this drill bet you are going to have a beautiful wall that is going to clearly represent and remind you of all the fabulous places that you have traveled to. And every time you look at that wall, you are going to be reminded about the spectacular life that you have, and you’re going to be inspired to keep building more Pam (06:32):

Of it. And that’s why you’re the sales queen. I’m just saying that is so awesome. Yeah. Jane (06:38):

So that’s really what the investment is in. So when you think about it like that, you want to start from the back and drill down, hop unintended there. What is it that your, your client is actually wanting? So I’m going to give you a little clue on this, give you a tip. So here’s the deal. Any one of us at any given time are really looking for and therefore investing in one or more of these things, more time, more money, more health, more, love, more freedom as that individual would define it. So I’m going to say that again. If you’re a note taker, if you’re driving and put this back in your brain, more time, more money, more health, more love, or more freedom as your client would define it. So why is this so key? Well, think about anything that you have purchased in say the last couple of weeks, it could have been something that was small for 20 bucks. It could have been something big for 200 grand on it. It doesn’t matter, whatever you have some think of something that you have specifically bought in the last couple of weeks. Why did you buy it? I mean like, why did you really, really, really buy it? So Pam, oh, you want to share something you’ve purchased in the last two weeks? Pam (07:51):

Well, what happened? I purchased, um, we were just talking before recording today that I went out to the store yesterday and bought so many pieces of clothes. It’s ridiculous. And it’s because I’ve been in lockdown for over two months and I haven’t been able to actually step into a retail store. Great. Jane (08:12):

So three reasons why you think you bought the clothes you bought yesterday? Just pop in mind. Three reasons. Pam (08:19):

Retail therapy I’ve gained weight from COVID. So I need more clothes. Um, just get me out of the house. Jane (08:29):

Yeah. Right. So I’m going to take that a step further. And I’m going to say the real reason why I think that you bought those clothes is number one. You’re ready to start getting back out there with your sassy self feeling. Good, looking good and attracting the kind of life that you know that you want to build. Your number two. I think that you bought those clothes because going out for the retail therapy, it wasn’t the retail therapy so much. It’s more that it was a that you have the freedom to go do what you want to do when you want to do it, how you want to do it, you have the freedom to, I call it, move about the cabin. You know, you have a life that you’ve created by design, and you were reminding yourself that you can in the middle of any random Workday, go and do that. Jane (09:10):

So it was, it was a boost of a reminder of the freedom and flexibility that you actually have, which gave you a shot of dopamine happiness. And, uh, I’m probably confidence. And then number three, I think the other reason why you bought the clothes is your future pacing. You’re thinking about the travel that’s coming up and you want to feel confident and you want to feel good and you want to feel happy.

And you want to feel like when you get those airline tickets, you’re going to have clothes that are going to make you say, look out world. Here I come. Pam (09:38):

What are you crawling around in my head? I’m not getting because that’s, you’re so spot on. And that’s why you’re so good at sales, because you can extract that from somebody, you know me, but during a sales conversation, that’s what you do, right. Is learn about the person and what their desires are, so that you can equate your product or service that you’re selling with what they want. The emotional connection. There has Jane (10:05):

To be an emotional connection. And so the, in the sales conversation, I talk about this a lot. You have to use your powers for good. You can’t use them for evil. So this isn’t about I’m going to go in and dig around and find out what Pam really wants. So then I can lay the boom on her at the end and ha manipulate it. Or, you know, like I’m a narcissist. I can use the information against her. Or if I’m a bad attorney, I’m going to pay something down in the courtroom and they use their words against the person on the witness stand. Right? We don’t, we don’t do that. We use it for good. So the reason why we use it for good is a sales conversation is I define it is really all about getting somebody to their truth. There are no holds barred, 100%, two in the morning. Jane (10:45):

Nobody’s going to hear what you have to say, but you truth. And how I always say this to my clients. Then when I’m talking about sales, our clients, when we’re talking about sales is when you speak your truth, you hear it. When you hear it, you feel it. And when you feel it, you own it. And it is in that moment of ownership that any of us really decide to do anything. So Pam yesterday, you clearly, before you ever walked out that door and got in your car and set foot in the store, you clearly had a moment of ownership yesterday, where you said, you know what I’m done with this I’m re-embracing life. I’m going to think about the travel that I’m going to get back into. I’m going to do something positive so that I can feel good about the body that I’m now sitting in, which is, which is a little different from them when COVID started, right? Like who did, who didn’t go through that. I’m going to remember and remind myself that I am a powerful woman who is able to go out and create a life by design and manifest the manifest, the things that I want to happen. And I’m planning my travel schedule and I’m taking people with me. And that’s, that was your moment of ownership. What happened as a result, as you got up, you got in your car, you went to the store and you bought all these Pam (11:56):

Clothes way too many. Jane (12:02):

So in the sales conversation, then what the conversation that needs to be had is always that deeper conversation, which would be Pam, what do you really want? And Pam, you wouldn’t say new clothes. Pam (12:16):

I want to just, as you said, I really want to feel better in the newer body that I’m in. And I am, whenever I’m buying anything like clothes, I’m always looking to my next travel adventure. So it’s funny. I know you’d know me, but wow. That was kind of on canny. Jane (12:36):

I would say, this is what you were really after. Pam (12:38):

Yeah, absolutely. I’m always thinking about what I’m going to be able to put in my suitcase, how I’m going to look with my group and you know, all that stuff. So Jane (12:47):

Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, I’m a junkie for accoutrements, you know, anything that I do, I always say, Ooh, there’s the shopping opportunity of that. So they’re funny enough that would actually be an outcome or a deliverable. So you could, you could legitimately sell me on taking a trip simply because I would start thinking about the fun I was going to have to go to go purchase what I think I need to match that lifestyle. Right? Cause Pam, actually, you and I were, were talking a little bit the other day about going to the French Riviera next year. And I said, well, you got to have serious threads down there. Like we got to bust out the Chanel. You know, we can’t afford around with target closed down on the French Riviera. It’s legit down there. You really gotta, you gotta pay attention to your presentation means a lot down to the fridge, French Riviera. Jane (13:33):

And it’s, you know, it’s, it’s a really fun thing. So if somebody were selling me a trip on the French Riviera, they wouldn’t, they wouldn’t talk about, um, they wouldn’t talk about the accommodations and I mean a little bit, but here’s the difference. You’re going to be staying in a five star resort hotel. That’s right on the beach. Okay. That’s good. That’s pretty sexy, but that’s different than Jane. When you wake up in the morning of your five-star hotel and you feel like you’re, you know, Elizabeth Taylor, back in the heyday, like you are a celebrity and those you’re gonna, you’re going to feel like a rock star and then you’re gonna walk out and you’re gonna sink your toes in the sand and put your Chanel glasses on. And you’re just gonna feel like, how did I get so lucky to have this life? I want to be me, like you’re selling that. You’re, you’re reminding people of the vision. You’re reminding people of what it is that they’re actually wanting to get, because I wouldn’t invest in a super expensive hotel because it was a super expensive hotel. I’m investing in it because of how it’s making me feel, Pam (14:36):

Whether that be status, luxury, being waited on whatever it is. But what’s really, what’s really interesting. Jane, when you’re talking about this is you’re not speaking outcomes, like you’re going to have a six business, right. You’re really painting a picture of what it’s going to be like. So there, once again, as I said, they’re connecting with it emotionally.

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So Jane, how would you do that in a sales conversation? Say I’m a brand new person and I’m interested in your new sales salon. Jane (16:11):

Yeah. Well, so the first thing is what do you, what do you really want out of life? Pam (16:17):

Make them enough money so that I can travel with my business whenever I want. Yep. Jane (16:23):

So there you go. So we’re going to see what, what would transpire then in the sales conversation and, you know, that’s, that’s a longer conversation that we’ll have in a future podcast, but Pam for you, if what you really want is to be able to travel whenever you want, however you want without worrying about whether or not you’ve got enough money in the bank, then that’s really what you want to invest in. Pam (16:48):

Yeah, absolutely. So kind of sneak into your prospect’s mind or your client that you’re speaking to at the time, learn what they secretly dream of and then understand how you can fulfill their wishes and their desires. Jane (17:02):

Right? And so this goes back again to the integrity and the integrity of a sales conversation is you as the business person. So for example, Pam, if I really didn’t think I could help you get that travel lifestyle that you’re looking for, I wouldn’t make an offer. So the nature of the sales conversation is, is it’s a betting process, really it’s so that I have a better understanding of what it is that you want, where it is that you see yourself going, the challenges and struggles that you have now. And ultimately what I’m looking for is do you have a problem that I can actually solve? Number one, do you have a problem that I can actually solve? And number two, am I the best person to solve it? So let’s use a real life example there. If you were all buttoned up in your sales conversations, you felt a hundred percent, your conversion rate looked good. Jane (17:50):

We looked at everything, right? Cause I’d go through and diagnosis. And we determined that the problem that you really have, I’m making this up, everybody just Pam doesn’t have this problem. We didn’t where to determine the problem that you have was actually that your, your back office was a hot mess. Your technology was all over the place. It wasn’t connecting. You’re using 80 platforms when you need three. I don’t, I can’t fix any of that. That’s, that’s not a problem that I can solve. So therefore, I don’t have anything to sell you. I don’t have anything to offer you. And this is where a lot of salespeople are a business owner, which is simultaneous or synonymous rather with salesperson. This is where they get tripped up and they can start feeling like a salesperson is when you, when you fail to identify what the core problem that somebody’s actually experiencing is when you don’t know what that is. Jane (18:37):

And, or you don’t pay attention because you’re just trying to generate revenue. You’re probably making an offer. That’s an inappropriate offer to an inappropriate person. So I always, I always talk about that is if you’ve got the world’s best hamburger, you don’t try and sell it to a vegan that doesn’t make any sense. It’s going to irritate you and irritate them wrong market. So Pam, if I were to discover that it was

your back office, that was the problem. And if you were to solve that, everything else in your business would run more smoothly. We’re we’re finished in the conversation. Yay. We know what the problem is, Pam. And let me connect you or refer you to so-and-so who really specializes in that because that’s, that’s actually not a problem that I saw. Pam (19:15):

I think that’s so important because so many of us, and I know I did this early in my entrepreneurial career, took on the wrong clients because I was just so intent on selling just to anybody just who, whoever would bite. And you know, that leads us to our client avatars, which I’m such a huge proponent of. So without really knowing who your ideal client is, that’s, what’s going to happen is you’re going to be mismatched and you’re going to be working way too hard at selling. And if selling feels really hard and kind of icky, then you know, you’re not selling to the right person. Jane (19:55):

Yeah, absolutely. So to use the travel, again, as another example, Pam, let’s say that I run a travel agency and you see some advertisement, you and I get on the phone and now I’m in the I’m in the sales conversation. What am I looking for? I’m looking to determine what it is that you ultimately want, because I have to make sure that my deliverables are going to get you to the outcome that you want. So say during the course of the conversation, you let me know that you are because of lockdown and it’s cold in Canada has been. I mean, I know we’re in summer now a little bit, but you say to me, you want to go to someplace, that’s populated with people. You want to get back out into society. You want to do a social, you want to do something that’s social. Jane (20:38):

You’d like it to be someplace warm. So we’ve got a few key factors right there. You want to go someplace, that’s populated with people. You want to go someplace, that’s warm. So let’s just use those to make it really simple. If what I have to offer you is an isolated cabin in the mountains, in the woods. Do you think I’m going to talk about that? No, of course not. But if that is the thing that I have, that’s my, that’s my offer. That’s my say, that’s my selling. So my travel company specializes in remote cabins and in remote places, Pam is not the ideal client right there. Exactly. So the only thing you can do in that instance is say, you know what? That sounds fabulous. I totally understand it. And well, let me refer you to Sally who specializes in those kinds of trips and vacations, because that’s not me. What I do is this. If you’re looking for this in the future, let me know Pam (21:27):

Super, so a really simple three-step approach to identifying the benefits of your, your service or your product is what does it have or what does it do? What effect does it have on my customer’s life? And does this cause a positive emotion or eliminate a negative one or, oh, so that’s a really simple exercise to kind of drill down to your benefits. And then we have a little exercise for you. So take out a sheet of paper and draw two lines down the center so that you have three columns to work with it, column one list, every possible feature that your product or your service has. And then next to it in column two, ask yourself the question. So what, and write down your answer and in column three, ask yourself again. So what or what positive emotion does this create in my customer’s mind and write down your answer and you keep repeating that until you’re exhausted. Pam (22:38):

Okay. So once you’ve got all your columns check the emotional benefits against your market research, AKA your, your client avatar and see where they line up and what your ideal client wants or needs. And that’s what you use in your messaging. So again, we’re touching a little bit on branding and messaging here a little bit, a lot of it, but that’s how you want to describe your, your service or your product in your marketing materials, on your website when you’re talking to people in your social media. So I think that should be that exercise is really, really helpful in really drilling down to the emotional transformation or connection to your potential clients. So here’s the harsh realities customers don’t really care about you or your products or your services that you’re selling. They just want to know what’s in it for them and how your service can benefit them. Yep. Jane (23:40):

Yep. I’m going to share a quick story here. This actually happened to me so years ago I had, um, a computer guy that was really kind of basically on like retainer because something was always going wrong with my technology. And I called him one day and I said, Bob, um, hysterical here I can. Nothing’s working. I can’t send emails. I’m not receiving emails. I don’t know what to do. I’ve just spent the last 45 minutes banging stuff around, you know, I’m starting to curse like a sailor on shore leave. I cannot fit. Nothing’s working Bob and it’s affecting my business. I have deadlines that are coming up. I’m completely stressed out. I need to get back to these people. I’m just, I’m having a meltdown over here. And he said, okay, well just let’s sit down, get in front of the computer, hit this button, hit this button, tell me what’s going on. Jane (24:23):

So I did that and he said, okay, I think I figured out the problem. Give me 15 minutes. I’m going to call you back. And here’s, what’s going to happen in 15 minutes. You’re going to be able to send them, receive your emails very easily. No problem whatsoever. You’re going to be able to crank out the content that you need to crank out. So you hit your deadlines and you’re gonna be able to take a big, deep breath and know that everything’s going to be okay. So just give me 15 minutes. Don’t fall apart until then. Can you do that? And I said, yeah, sure. Okay. Yeah. And he called me back in 15 minutes. He said, get in front of the computer, hit these buttons I did. And he goes, you’re good to go, go. Yep. Everything’s working now. Technology. People are notorious for telling you all these hideously boring details that are only interesting to other technical people, but to non technical people, it’s all rubbish anyway. Jane (25:09):

And I don’t care cause I’m also stressed out. So imagine the difference. Imagine the difference of Bob would have said, oh, Jane, I see the problem. Here’s what’s going on your Wiziwig. Isn’t connected to your, what, what? So I’m going to take the two 20 and apply it to the three 30 and then I’m going to reconfigure the backlog. And I have no idea what he, what somebody would even say in technology. That would be a great example of telling me the deliverables, what he was going to do, what was wrong and how he was going to fix it. I don’t care. He did a great job of saying, take a 15 minute break. And when you come back, you’re going to be able to take a deep breath and know everything’s gonna be okay. You’re going to be able to hit your deadlines and you’re going to be able to respond to your clients. Jane (25:49):

So they’re not going to be stressed out and you’re not going to be stressed out. He’s a pretty smart tech guy, pretty smart tech guy, or somebody trained him up really well. So this is the power of really speaking into the outcome. The result of the transformation that happens when somebody works with you, they don’t care how you get them there. They don’t care about the plane’s engine. They just want to know, can they be safe and land and sink their toes in the sand. They don’t care about the technology or the technical aspect of how you’re going to fix their computer. They just want to know, can I send out the emails? Can I hit my deadlines? Can I get my content Pam (26:23):

Out? Oh, those are such good examples. And um, I think that makes it clear for everyone. Okay. So I think in order to wrap up this episode of the flourish and grow to CEO podcast, all about really concentrating on the outcomes instead of what you’re delivering, those step-by-steps is do that exercise that I mentioned, do the three columns and then keep going until you’re exhausted with the, so that or so what, and that will really help you drill down into the real core benefits that your prospective clients are looking for. All right, Jane (27:00):

Everybody enjoy that exercise and we will see you on our next podcast, make it a great week. Pam (27:07):

Well, that’s a wrap everyone. Thanks for joining us this week on the flourish and grow to CEO podcast. Be sure to visit our website at [inaudible] dot biz. That’s F L O U R I S h.biz, where you can subscribe to the shows in iTunes, Stitcher, or via RSS. So you’ll never miss an episode. You can also find our show notes and resources there too. And while you’re at it, if you found value in this show, we’d love for you to leave a rating on iTunes. Or if you’d simply tell a friend about the show that would sure help us out to now get out there and flourish!