How To Attract Clients With ‘Most-Wanted’ Information

Imagine you had a handicapped child.

And now this child is twenty years old and reasonably self-sufficient. Self-sufficient enough for you to decide you want to get back in the work force.

But twenty years have passed.

What will you do?
Your qualifications are worthless.
Your experience doesn’t count for much.
And you’re intimidated as hell.

So let’s start with what you know.

What you do know is how to care for a handicapped child. You know what that child needs in their first year.

Their second year; fifth year; seventh year; nineteenth year. You know what it is to be a parent of that child.

What you have is ‘most-wanted’ information.

So what is ‘most-wanted’ information?

Um, it’s kind of self-explanatory, but let’s explain it anyway. ‘Most-wanted’ information is simply a tiny slice of information that’s of great value to a potential audience. It’s not the entire saga of what you know. It’s just a tiny, tiny bit.

So let’s take an example:
Let’s say you’re in business.

What kind of information would be of extreme value to you?

You’d be interested in marketing strategy, sales letters, websites, and blah-dee-blah-dee-blah.

But that’s the whole saga. What if I avoided the saga, and gave you just ‘most-wanted’ information?

Information on a niche of a topic.

Like ‘pricing’, for example.

What if I were to say to you, that you could get a document/audio/video/ or even a bunch of ideas scribbled on a napkin.

And those ideas enabled you to:
1) Get the prices you want.
2) Test if the prices were right for the market.
3) Increase the prices of your product/service as many as thrice a year, and never lose customers.

Would you be interested?

Oh sure you would. Because that factor of pricing bzzzzzzs around in your brain. And you figure, if you could find a way to increase prices without losing customers, aha, that would be nice.

And the best part of most-wanted information is that it’s unique, because it’s a tiny, tiny piece of advice.

So let’s take another example:

For example, there was a shopkeeper who could tell you if your employees were stealing from you. He put this information on ‘How to Spot (And Stop) Thieving Employees.’

The audio on tape–yes, back in the good ol’ days it was ‘tape–was less than 15 minutes long. The text feature was a handy reference card. Yup that was it. And he sold it for $200.

So why would a customer pay $200 for a 15-minute blab, and a reference card?

That customer sees the $200 price tag, but also sees the danger of thieving employees. Thieving employees can not only siphon off more than $200, but can encourage others to do the same. Or at the very least, reduce morale in a store.

So the ‘most-wanted’ information became valuable. As valuable as the mother of the handicapped child telling you how to ‘bypass medical red-tape.’

Or who grows hundreds of tomatoes from just four plants, in a tiny square patch in your backyard.

Or the ‘audio-guy’ who teaches you how to ‘correctly compress files’ and avoid the volume making unwanted leaps and drops.

‘Most-wanted’ information doesn’t have to 100 pages to start

When we started out our business, we had a concept in our head. That concept was the Brain Audit. When I first put it down on paper, it amounted to sixteen measly pages.

But it was ‘most-wanted’ information. And sixteen pages were all I could fill. Today, those sixteen pages have grown into a website, blog, and a very detailed book.

But I too was ‘handicapped’ when I started out. I didn’t know that much about marketing. All I had was these measly sixteen pages.

And all you probably have are nine pages. All that mother of the handicapped child has is probably six pages.

But six pages of ‘wanted-information’ are what’s critical.

And the information you have, would be of extreme interest to someone else who has a handicapped child. And just like you, that parent has to deal with a range of emotions, and real-life issues of bringing up a handicapped child.

Do you think that parent would want advice? Do you think that parent would want empathy? Do you think that parent would want you to give as much detail as you possibly could, to bring up their child the way you have?

And more importantly, if you were that parent, would you pay $100 a year to get the information you so desperately seek? Across the planet, guess how many handicapped children are born every day.

Guess how many of those parents would gladly pay $100 a year to get informed? And guess how much $100 x 1000 amounts to per year?

But, but, but, but, but…you say

I know. You’re not confident anyone would buy your information. And heck, there’s no way out of this confidence issue other than to simply sell what you know.

Selling your information, leads people to buying. And buying leads to feedback and experience.

And of course, confidence. Because confidence can’t be bought. Or taught.

There’s really no shortage of people who want to write a book; a play; a movie.

The reason why they never get started is because they are trying to create a big production.

What you need isn’t a production, its ‘most-wanted’ information. It could be twenty minutes of audio. Ten pages of text. Thirty seconds of video.

The ‘most-wanted’ information not only creates a stream of income, but also sets you out as the expert.

An expert who clients turn to when they want even more ‘most-wanted’ information.

Even if it’s scribbles on the back of a napkin.

The Swiftest Way To Convert Prospects Into Clients

Take out that Nokia from your bag.
And look at the features.

It can tell time; it can be a stopwatch; it can keep diary appointments; it can help you pass time with ingenious little games; it can probably take photos; send text messages; maybe even double up as an mp3 player or a torch.

You could probably call the moon with your Nokia.

Now let’s assume we zapped back in time a bit…

Let’s say you were in the phone store. To buy a cell phone (what else?) And let’s assume the salesman showed you a phone model that could only…um…take and make calls. Would you buy that phone? Or would you want to see another model, with..uh..more features?

It’s not that much different when customers buy into your services and products.

They want the whole jangbangdoowahwholeshebang

They know they can’t use all the features you offer in your service or product. But it doesn’t matter one itty-bit to a customer. And herein slips in the paradox of choice.

Customers want it all, when buying a product/service, and yet are appalled, even intimidated by the post-purchase scenario.

So how does the post-purchase scenario roll out?

Let’s take an example, shall we? Customers buy a program like Photoshop for its myriad features. Then end up using just a few tools. They buy a VCR or DVD recorder that dances, prances, and schmances. But they use just the basic functions. And yes, just like you, they go for the cell phone that has the most tantalising features, but end up using a few, if any.

Ok so we’re a greedy race, but how does that make a difference to your marketing?

It’s the intimidation factor of choice

We like to schmooze with the concept of ‘more for less’, but when we get more, we actually gulp. We don’t know where to start.

What to do.

Where to go.

And this is why you need to roll out two distinct steps to make the intimidation of choice go away.

Step One: Load up the wagons

When you’re selling a product, don’t hold back. In your sales pitch, load up every single benefit and feature you can think of. Pull out every single bonus out of your bag. Stack the stuff high, if you know what I mean.

The customer will see what you’re offering. She’ll drool a bit. Her brain cells will go boppity-bop, and if the offer is just right, she’ll buy.

Which brings us to Step Two.

Step Two: Only show the customer the good stuff

Take step one. Strip out all the lah-dee-dah, and you have Step Two. In effect, in Step Two, you’re out to make darned sure the customer feels the least amount of intimidation possible. So your post-purchase note or instructions should stress only on the most important features.

Doesn’t make sense does it?

But look at you when you go to a buffet. Logically, ten thousand calories of over-eating shouldn’t make you happy. But your greed is a happy-chappie, and pulls you along to this smorgasbord of food. So you pay your pile of pesos, and in you go.

About five minutes later, you don’t know where to start.

Should you attack the lamb chops?
Should you savour the pasta?
Should you even bother with the salad?
Should you? Should you?
Should you?

Now imagine if there was a sign that said: Chef’s recommendations.

Hmmm, what a helpful sign that would be, huh?

It’s no different if you have a product or service

If you’re in consulting, the client wants the lamb chops on top of the pasta, with turkey and asparagus toppings of your service. Well, sell the darn thing to her. But once she’s in the system, only concentrate on two or three of the most important parts of your service.

The parts that helps the client see an instant growth in income, or customers or whatever.

It’s the same if you’re selling a product

Every product is bundled up with gizmos from here to the North Pole, but eventually what the client really wants to know, are the two or three most important things about your product.

Or in other words: The chef’s recommendations.

How does this work in real life?

Let’s see some examples shall we?

1) Car Mechanic: You offer the works. You do the works when you’re servicing the car, but only point out the main two-three things when the client comes up to pick the car.

2) Web Designer: You offer a web site that can do it all. Yet on completion, you show the client the most important features to get the web site up and running.

3) Subscription or Membership: You offer all the bloo-blah before sign up. Then show the new member only what’s important to move around the ‘club’.

So does that mean you get rid of all the fancy features and benefits?

No you don’t. If I’ve been promised the earth, I pretty much want the darned thing. You’re still delivering all you promised, plus the cherry on top. But to aid consumption of your product or service, you need to reduce the intimidation way down, by stressing only what’s important.

The biggest problem a business faces isn’t one of attraction

It’s one of consumption. Because as humans, we like small bites.

You and I are greedy you-know-whats when we’re in the purchase mode.

In fact, in most cases, we don’t even know what we’re buying. We’re just happy that it’s all bundled as part of our purchase. The scary part comes a little later, when we have to actually consume the darned thing.

That’s when you step in. And reduce the choice.

Yes, I bought because you were offering me more. But now that I’ve bought, make sure you show me less.

That way I can make my call on my Nokia without wondering about how to call the moon. 😉