The Secret To Selling Anything

There are 3 elements to this formula:

1. Create trust
2. Tell an inspirational story
3. Create an irresistible offer

Let's look at each of these in turn. So you can see how to use this in your business.

5 Ways To Create Trust

Trust is the foundation of any sale. This is true if you are selling nails, houses, or make money advice. If your customer does not believe you can deliver your promise... they will not buy. It's as simple as that.

If you can't create trust. You won't make any sales.

Before we look at 5 ways to create trust. We first need to look at...

The Trust Spectrum

Some things need more trust than others before you can make the sale.

At the zero trust end of the spectrum is selling money. When you are looking for a mortgage, do you care which bank it is with?

No.

The only thing you care about is the interest rate and the arrangement fee.

If if you want to disrupt this market you half the mortgage fee or remove it entirely and keep the interest rate the same or lower than anyone else. That's a fast way to become the biggest mortgage lender.

Is that strategy profitable?

If you have a way to reduce your cost structure then yes you can make this profitable. This is what Northern Rock did from 2005 to 2008. They lent money at the lowest rate and became the biggest mortgage lender.

The customer only wants the lowest rate. They don't care where the money comes from because they trust each bank equally.

If you sell finance to small businesses. The ONLY thing you need to do to build your dream business is find businesses with a need. They need money to grow (or to survive) and they can't get the finance they need from the bank. In this situation, they will pay a higher interest rate because they have no alternative.

At the opposite end of the trust spectrum is the expert industry or people selling street-smarts education.

If you go to university you don't question the ability of the lecturers because they are part of an institution. You also don't question the teaching ability of the lecturers because they are part of an institution. I believe that this will change in a few years as the university fees continue to rise. The number of students going to universities falls every year and universities will have to do more to justify their fees.

People selling expertise have to build huge amounts of trust.

Why?

Because they are selling something completely different to the status quo.

If you are selling weight loss, or pain relief, or entrepreneurial advice the first thing you have to do is prove that your method works.

5 Ways To Prove Your System Works

Here are the 5 ways to create trust

1. Story of how you discovered this system
2. Show how the system works
3. 3rd party endorsements
4. Testimonials / Customer success stories
5. Client list

The Story Of How You Discovered Your System

The most powerful way to create trust is with an inspirational personal story. Stories get past our sales resistance. Stories create an emotional bond with your customer. Stories reveal your values which attracts your ideal customer to you.

I'm going to show you how to tell an inspirational personal story in the next section of this post. For now, remember that the story of how you discovered and created your system is the most powerful way to create trust.

Why?

Because your story shows why you took the path less traveled to discover something much more powerful than the status quo. Your story shows why you put your doubts aside for long enough to try something different. Something your customer needs to do if they are going to work with you.

Show How The System Works

If you've got a more powerful system than the status quo, then show your prospect how it works.

Unless your system is as simple as take this pill go to bed and wake up with your dream life. You could write 5,000 words about how your system works and still not give away a fraction of your secrets.

So, don't be afraid to show your prospect how your system works. Show them the 5-steps. Show them how each step works. Show them how to bring each step together. Show them why the result is much more powerful than the sum of its parts.

When you do that, you get your prospect nodding in agreement. When they can see the steps that they need to take, then you are not asking them to take a complete leap of faith. They can see what they need to do first. They also know why they need to take that step. And they know how to take that step first.

When your prospect is nodding in agreement with you about why the system works and why it is so powerful. Then you are half way to the sale. The only question is can you teach them to do the same. If they believe you can, then they will buy.

3rd Party Endorsements

Show your prospect the media that have written articles about you or your product. If you're selling make money advice and Forbes have praised your system. That's a huge endorsement. That's a trust stamp that builds instant credibility. So make sure you use it.

If an obscure publication has written about you. Then tell the reader about it. Tell them why they should know about this publication. Tell them why it is significant that they have written about you and your product or system.

Testimonials / Customer Success Stories

This is what your reader wants to know. Can ordinary people change their lives when they use your system? If the answer is Yes then prove it with customer success stories.

Yes, it takes time to get customer success stories. It also takes courage to ask successful students for a testimonial. And like everything in life. The more you do it. The easier it becomes.

You must follow up with your students. You must periodically ask them how they are getting on. If they are doing great then they will be happy to tell you. If they are struggling then this is your opportunity to help them. This is not a sales tactic. This is your way of helping your customers and getting success stories.

The more customer success stories you have. The more money you will make. The more you can prove beyond any doubt that if you take action you will enjoy stunning results. The more sales you will make.

Client List

This is like 3rd Party Endorsements. If you have worked with some big named clients then people will assume that your work is good.

Ideally, you want a testimonial from the big named client saying how great your work was. If you don't have that then name dropping or showing their logo is a simple and powerful way to build trust.

Now that you know how to create trust. It's time to move on to the second part of my selling system... storytelling.

How To Tell An Inspirational Personal Story

Stories explain how and why change happens. So the more change that happens in the story. The more exciting the story.

Any story about the financial crisis of 2008 is going to be a thrilling tale because the subject matter is so extreme. If you tell the story well millions of people will want to read it because that event affected their lives in terrible ways. They know the end of the story from their perspective. They don't know where the story starts. They don't know who or what is to blame. And they don't know where the story ends from a legal perspective or from a wider social perspective. The reader's life is tied to the middle of the story. And that's why they want to read it.

What about your story?

What change happened? And what was the moment when that change occurred?

You see, if you start your story with the moment you were forced to make a change in your life. Then your story immediately has energy and drive. Your reader immediately understands why you were forced to make a change and what you were trying to achieve. The question on the reader's mind is will you achieve your goal? That's the engine of the story. The longer you don't answer that question. The more you pull the reader into your story. The more suspense you build into your story.

Here's the outline of a fictional story. A 40-year-old man has a good job and a comfortable and uneventful life. He receives some inheritance and rather than blow the money on a car and holiday he decides to invest the money in property. He buys a house, rents it to students and goes on holiday with the additional income. It looks like he's achieved his dreams. Then there is a maintenance problem with the house. And the government changes the tax law so he makes less profit. What happens next? Will he sell the property and give up on his dreams? Or will he find a solution to his problems?

Do you see how that sets up a what happens next question?

Do you see how something outside of the Hero's life forced him to make a change? In this case, it was something good. A pile of cash lands in his lap. What will he do with it...

The moment of change could be a bad thing. The moment of change in my first business was the financial crisis of 2008. That's when all my marketing efforts stopped working. That's when I started to spend more money on advertising to try and buy my way out of the problem (rather than learn my way out). And when I had burned my way through my life savings bankruptcy forced me to learn how to turn strangers into customers on demand.

Something outside of my control forced me to make a change. It forced me to learn my way out of the problem. Something I should have done right from the start.

The better you can describe the moment when you were forced to make a change. The more you will pull your reader into your story.

Then you've got to tell the reader what you wanted to achieve. What was the mountain peak that you were trying to climb? And... what obstacles were in your way.

The obstacles could be time, money, knowledge, confidence or health.

When you share this with your reader. You immediately create an unanswered question. Will you reach the mountain top? And how will you overcome the obstacles in your way?

That's the start of a thrilling tale. That's the start of a story that is going to build trust and reveal your values.

The more courage you have in sharing the challenges that you faced along your journey. The more trust you will create with your reader.

Why do you need courage?

Because most people way to hide their failures. Most people want to say that they have always been successful. That's not true. That's not real life. And that doesn't earn the trust of your ideal customer.

No one will read the story of success to success to success. And that story will not set up the sale. Why not? Because the story is not believable. Trust is the foundation of the sale. If your story does not create trust. It will not set up the sale.

If you have the courage to show the setbacks you faced along your journey. You've also got to share with your reader why you never gave up. Why didn't you quit after getting knocked down 10 times?

This reveals your values. It shows your character. And it earns the trust of your prospect.

The final thing to tell in your story is the end. You need to share with your prospect what the mountain top looked like. Was the view as glorious as you thought? And what have you been able to do as a result of that?

Let's bring the metaphor back to reality. Where did my marketing journey end? It ended when I ran a campaign that made £672,989 in 9 days! This was beyond my wildest imagination. So the view from the mountain top was more spectacular than I dreamed when I started my journey.

That result made me see how I could help other businesses owners as a consultant and as a trainer and mentor.

That unbelievable result was the moment when I saw a world of opportunities and a much brighter future.

So where does your story end? What was the moment when you achieved your dreams? And what has that enabled you to do? Most importantly, how does this enable the reader to get what they want.

This sets us up for the next step...

Create An Irresistible Offer

Once you have earned your reader's trust and made them see that their life will be better with your product or service. You are half way to the sale. You've done 80% of the work. But you won't make the sale unless you ask for it.

To make your customer happy to buy now. You've got to give them an irresistible offer. There are 3 things that you need to know about creating an irresistible offer.

1. Value greater than price
2. Bonus
3. Guarantee

Value Greater Than Price

The foundation of an irresistible offer is value greater than price. The most obvious example of this is a 2 for 1 offer in the supermarket. Or a sale.

IKEA has created value greater than price with its strategy of transport cost saving. This is IKEA's competitive advantage. This is why they can sell furniture cheaper than anyone else and still make a profit.

You go to their warehouse and ship the furniture to your house in your car. Why do you have to assemble the furniture yourself?

Because this creates another transport cost saving. IKEA can transport many more tables or chairs or wardrobes from the factor to their warehouse when they are flat-packed. They pass this transport saving onto the customer. Which makes their prices more desirable.

That's great when you can compare the price of a similar product. But what about selling information?

Let's look at going to university and going a business studies degree. It takes 3 years of your life and costs £27,750 in tuition fees.

If you take my Turn Your Expertise Into Cash course you can complete it in 4 days. So there's a huge time saving. And it doesn't cost anything close to £27,750. In fact, it doesn't cost anything close to the £9,250 of one year's tuition.

So that is value far greater than price. Something that makes your ideal customer say, that's a great deal.

How can you make your offer even more irresistible?

With the second step...

Bonus

When you give your prospect something highly valuable for free when they buy your product then you make your offer better than free!

If you buy a product for £1,000 and receive bonuses worth £2,000 then the offer is better than free. Would you agree?

If you want the product and the bonuses then you are getting everything for a fraction of the true cost.

That's how you make a good offer irresistible. You throw in some more bonuses and stack the cool.

Bonuses could be access to other courses or products that you have made.

Bonuses could be free access to you. After all, learning a proven system is one thing. Using it is another. So if you give free mentorship as a bonus then you are giving something highly valuable away for free. This makes your offer irresistible.

The final thing that persuades the most skeptical buyer is...

Money-Back Guarantee

If your prospect can return your product if they don't like it. Then you are removing the risk from their purchase. You are creating more trust and making it easier for them to buy.

The more outrageous your guarantee the more it will help your sales. So if your customer can return the product at any time or any reason. You have an unconditional guarantee. That's powerful. It proves just how much you stand behind your product or service. You are literally putting your money where your mouth is.

You may want to put some conditions on the guarantee so you only attract serious buyers. So you could say that they have to do some work to qualify for the guarantee.

Conditional guarantees work great with serious buyers.

Now It's Your Turn

So now you know the secret to selling anything. You need to create trust, tell an inspirational personal story, give an irresistible offer and make your customer feel good about buying.

You now know how to use 3 elements to make your customer feel good about buying.

Please use this system to grow your business. The area that will make the biggest change to your sales today and in the future is telling your inspirational personal story. This is the tool that creates trust and attracts your ideal customer. If you'd like a more detailed process to uncover and then tell your inspirational story then please download my book Consistent Profits Pyramid. You can grab your free copy by clicking the link below.

rebrand.ly/Consistent-Profits-Pyramid-Free-Book

If this post has helped you then please leave a comment below.

If this can help someone you know to grow their business then please share this with them.

Until next time...

Carpe diem

Roland Eva

P.S. When bankruptcy stole my first business. I made a commitment to myself to discover a repeatable system to turn strangers into customers on demand. A journey that ended when I made £30,105 in 9 days… without making a single sales call.

It's a system that I've used in many industries. To sell products and services ranging in price from £5 to £12,000.

A system that I've used repeatedly in campaigns that have dwarfed that initial success.

I'd like to show you how to use my simple 3 step system in your business so you can turn strangers into customers on demand. And build your dream business. A business that gives you the income and lifestyle you want.

Unfortunately, I can't show you how to use my simple 3-step system here. The post would run too long.

That's why I've written the book Consistent Profits Pyramid. The book shows you how to use my simple 3-step system in your business. So you can turn strangers into customers... on demand.

I'd like to give you a FREE copy.

To download your FREE copy now. Click the link below.

rebrand.ly/Consistent-Profits-Pyramid-Free-Book