On this edition of The Inside BS Show with The Godfather and Nicki G., Dave Lorenzo, and Nicola Gelormino discuss the seven steps to dominating a new market within 12 months. They emphasize the importance of identifying ideal clients and focusing on those who have the highest lifetime value. They also discuss the need to determine the huge problem that is costing these clients and create urgency around solving it. They stress the importance of giving clients hope and sharing the vision for the future. They also highlight the value of working with experts who have experience in solving these problems. Below are the notes from each step in the process:Step One: Identify the Ideal ClientsDave: Recap the qualifying process: money, problem, ability to make a decisionTalk about leverage – getting in front of them in groupsFocus on high lifetime valueNicola:For all of us, our ideal clients are entrepreneurs who have businesses with at least 5 million in annual revenue.Highlight how they meet the qualifying criteriaHighlight the lifetime value (repeat and recurring revenue)Step Two: Determine What HUGE Problem Those Clients are Experiencing that Is KILLING ThemDave: This step can be tricky. People don’t share problems they share symptoms of problems.We also need to find a problem that is common among the groupIt doesn’t matter if some of them don’t have the problem yet – just that they could have the problem if they are successful (even poor people don’t like increasing estate taxes)Nicola:We have trouble getting in front of these entrepreneursWhen we do get in front of them, we are poorly positioned and get squeezed on priceWe spend most of our time looking for referrals to these folks because we don’t know how to position ourselves as subject matter experts.Step Three: Have the Clients Calculate HOW MUCH this Problem is Costing ThemDave:There are three costs to every situation: hard financial cost, emotional cost (sleepless nights), and opportunity cost. Get your prospective client to think about each of those. Nicola:How much is your time worth? How many hours do you spend each month networking with people who are not your ideal client? How much of that time is wasted?If you invested that same amount of time each month and landed two new clients, would that be better? Three? Step Four: Explore How Much Worse this Situation Can BecomeDave:We need to help the prospect develop the urgency necessary to solve this problem now. We must take them to the logical extreme in their mind so they understand what is possibleThey have to be able to see it and feel the potential impactNicola:Attending dozens of networking meetings each month without connecting with one new real client is killing your business.Your competitors are signing new clients each week (the best are signing new clients each day)Yet here you are talking to people you HOPE will refer you. How long will you rely on hope as a strategy?Step Five: Give the Clients Hope by Sharing a Solution with ThemDave:In a perfect world, you’d learn what your ideal clients need, learn how to deliver a message that would resonate with them and you’d get in front of them to deliver that message as often as possibleYou’d have an expert guiding you, showing you shortcuts, and helping you refine your approachYou’d have someone working hard to put you in front of your ideal clientsNicola:This is your chance to change everything for you, for your business, and for your lifeYou have the opportunity to discover the secret to using leverage and the experience and knowledge of others to buy money at a discountSimply by coming to this breakfast, you’ve been taken behind the curtain and given a glimpse at the future of business coachingStep Six: Provide the Clients with enough Knowledge to Evaluate the Need for an ExpertDave:What do you need to know to evaluate a good opportunity? That the person offering it has authority, believability, and credibility? You’d also need to know that it will work for you – find people who look just like you.You need to know that if you only get it half right, the process will still deliver results Nicola:During the past 30 years, Dave has refined this system. He’s used it to open three hotels and start two businesses. He’s used it to win corporate political campaigns against Unions. He’s used it to help connect all of us.Dave and I used this system (along with MCD and Lenny) to win over a crowd of 300 people at the ProVisors conference.I’ve worked with Dave to use this system effectively in my world – to become the GL of the Attorney Affinity Group and to connect with people who have become valuable to my practice. Step Seven: Share the Vision of the Future for the ProspectDave:Your prospective client needs to have a clear vision of the future after deciding to work with youThe picture must be so compelling and the sense of relief so real that they cannot resistThis is the answer they’ve been waiting ...
