Nice day yesterday. It was slower – not at a standstill, but slow enough I could take my time getting back from lunch. I’m working on articles, messaging, and a potential editing gig.
I’m also working on what may be a flu. I’m aching and my skin hurts. No fever, but there’s definitely something going on.
With Writers Worth Week a mere three months away, I decided to it’s time to haul out the exercises specific to making better choices that earn you more cash. It goes without saying that the webinar Anne and I are putting together will help (that was my shameless plug for the day), but there are plenty of ways to change your habits and increase your earnings.
This one comes from my e-book Marketing 365:
Strategy #52. Slow down and listen.
If you want that sale, stop selling. Take a breath and listen to the ideas and client suggestions that are all around you. Sometimes they’re hidden in emailed conversation, sometimes in face-to-face chats or on the phone. Suppose your client said he was a big blog reader, yet he himself didn’t have one. There’s your chance to suggest one.
Tune in to listening to what’s being said, not on what you will say next. Use the information they’re giving you to create new selling features. Clients will tell you exactly what they need – in fact, they probably already have.
Let me just add to this strategy a little — clients respond best when you ask them questions about their business and respond as though you’re already thinking it through for them. “So if you had to prioritize, what would be the most important thing you’d like to accomplish?” is a good question to start with.
Also, I’ve had great success by listening, taking notes, then asking “How can I help you best?” That makes them feel you’re on board already, and it’s showing your interest in working with them the way they want to be worked with.
How do you show clients you’re listening?
Reinforce their good ideas and build on them. While you're listening, build, so when they finish, you can say, "What a good idea. Have you considered doing that and then building x, Y, Z on it to engage C, E, and F audiences as well?" It shows you're listening, processing, and responding, and that it's a conversation, not two monologues running past each other.
An important but simple thing: Don't interrupt them while they're speaking.
I'm guilty of it (with friends and family, mostly). We can get so excited with great new ideas we want to interject that we don't always let others complete their thought. They might be about to say the same thing you want to interject.
All truly engaging conversations have some overlap. But stop and think before blurting out a great idea while the other person is still speaking. Allowing someone to finish their thought indicates respect and shows that you are interested in what THEY have to say.
Darn it. That was me (Paula) again. I can't get used to signing in with a wordpress account. Let's try this again….
Great one, Devon. I take notes on the backs of their business cards – helps me remember what conversations we've had.
Paula, is your middle name "Cybil"? LOL
More like "confused" or "forgetful." For the life of me I can't remember how I signed in with my real name with the wordpress account. Let's see what happens this time! (Just so I don't forget: Choosing Name/URL option and filling in both boxes.)