A Car Dealer Marketing Lesson
11/29/06
by Kenn Schroder
A common problem with many coaching websites is that they don't effectively lead your prospect towards becoming your client. Many just function as an "online brochure" in which they do nothing more than list credentials, contact information, and perhaps a bio.
This kind of website is okay if you want to be able to rattle-off a website address on your business card simply to say that you have one.
But, the chances are great that you won't get much from your website because there isn't anything that leads visitors to take action toward becoming your client.
So what should you do?
You need to watch the car dealers (... but not the used car dealers)!
What they do is so simple but ingenious.
Think about your dream car. Think back to the last time you were either watching a TV commercial or looking at a brochure that featured your dream car.
Recall how your mind started to fill with visions of life with your new favorite car - taking a relaxing drive for fresh air on a sunny Sunday afternoon, racing along windy open roads in a sports car that clamps onto the road, or cruising through town in a lux-ury car feeling high class.
The vision is powerful and motivating. But even more powerful are just a few words that pop out at you as you watch the commercial - "Test Drive Today!"
It's just a few words, but they make all the difference. They lead you from desire to action. They move you from your comfy seat towards your dreams.
At the dealership, you test drive the car and before you know it, you begin to figure out the financing aspects. Lo and behold, you are on your way to a new car!
So, back to selling your coaching wares.
When you have a prospect that is considering your services, whether you've met them while out networking or someone referred them to you, give them a simple, easy and motivating way to take action.
Give them a fr-ee "test drive" of your coaching services.
It helps them learn what your services are like, if they haven't ever been coached before, or have been coached in a different style. It helps them gain trust and familiarity with you.
Most importantly, it gives them a tasty helping of coaching. Afterwards, the feeling of success, or overcoming a challenge, or getting clarity, or eliminating confusion, or feeling confident about the future ... will help get their emotions going.
They will have more trust and familiarity with your services and will move along your sales path.
Two other common types of "try before you buy" things that you can do are:
Give a fr-ee assessment. By making a small evaluation of their situation and giving some recommendation, they can taste what it's like to be helped by you. You can automate this too, to cost you virtually no time.
Give a fr-ee article discussing their problem and how to solve it. A well written article that takes them through their problem to a resolution will give them an experience of success with you - a good way to convince them.
So take it from the car dealers. Let your prospects experience an exhilarating drive around your coaching racetrack and let them see and feel a sample of driving with you.
After their fr-ee ride, you'll be there, ready to take them across to the next starting gate - your coaching program!
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