The #1 Reason Most Service Providers Can’t Stay Fully Booked (And 5 Ways To Fix It)
As a service provider, you know exactly what it’s like to suffer from the following two main problems…
- Not being able to stay fully booked consistently…
- Not being able to charge what you KNOW you’re worth…
I know. I used to be there too. Then, I discovered something.
I discovered there is one major roadblock which prevents MOST potential clients from ever doing business with you. To even consider doing business with you, they must first get over this major barrier.
That barrier is…
… trust.
And that’s why today I’d like to discuss 5 unique ways of improving trust in a more deep and connecting way. Let’s start with…
Trust-Builder #1
Stories
Personal stories of your life should be the cornerstone of your marketing. If you want people to trust you, you must connect with them on a personal level.
Why?
People buy from others they know, like and trust. Everyone has a local shop they go to because they know the owner. They might pay 30% more at that store than they would at Walmart, but they still go back and give him/her the business. It’s because they want to help him out.
So what kind of stories do you tell?
The first step is thinking of who you are at a deep level.
Here’s an example.
My positioning is that I’m a very authentic, trustworthy, integrity-driven, down to Earth family man. I took this positioning because that’s who I am. In my marketing, I simply show examples of it through stories.
I might talk about how my wife and I went on a date night. Or how my son (who has Autism) is doing great at school. Or how I just bought a new quad because I’m working too hard and needed something to get out in nature.
Positioning is the starting point for all of your marketing.
It’s the FIRST profit pillar in this video that discusses the 4 profit pillars every service provider must have to get, and stay, fully booked while charging higher fees.
Writing compelling stories doesn’t need to be difficult. In fact there are only 3 parts to writing stories that help sell your service.
They are…
- Pull entertaining or emotional stories from things happening in your daily life…
- Transition that story into a tip/lesson the reader can use…
- Transition that tip into a call to action…
Let me give you a few real-world examples to make this clearer.
- I could talk about taking my wife on a date night, and then transition that into explaining why good marketing is like taking your prospects on a date…
- I could talk about my son starting school and transition that into a discussion on not being afraid to try new marketing strategies even if they’re scary…
- I once wrote an email discussing how I went for a walk with my family and watched as a customer went through my sales funnel and bought every single product I offered…
It takes time to get used to. But once you get this strategy down, you’ll have a skill that’s VERY hard for your competitors to beat.
Trust-Builder #2
Damaging Admissions
In a recent podcast episode, I discussed why damaging admissions – the process of purposely pointing out your own weaknesses in order to establish trust – is a powerful way of improving your overall closing rates. The purpose of a damaging admission is to point out a weakness in what you sell, and then immediately undoing the damage by explaining how that weakness is actually a perceived benefit in the mind of the reader.
- First, you tell them something they already know (you specialize in blue widgets) which “might” be perceived as a weakness.
- Then, you explain the reasoning behind it.
- Finally, you point out the specific benefit given to the reader.
For example you might say something like…
“Here at X, we typically can’t work with you immediately. Our business is fully booked at all times because we put our best work into every project we do. That’s why we achieve such consistent, dramatic results for our clients.”
Damaging admissions are a powerful tool you can use whenever you’re trying to build trust. Think of the last time you had a friend “open up” to you. You instantly felt more bonded, closer and more trustworthy of that person.
Damaging admissions help you create the same warm, fuzzy feeling with your prospects!
Trust-Builder #3
Always Do As You Say
Think about the people you generally hang around with. This could be your friends, colleagues, business partners, or anyone else you know.
Have you ever noticed that you tend to like and trust those people who keep their commitments and always do what they say they’re going to do?
On the other hand, ever notice how you tend to quickly develop distrust and negative feelings towards those who are unreliable?
This is a very, very powerful way to gain trust with your potential clients. Simply DO what you say you’re going to do!
- So if you’re supposed to call them at 3:00… call them at exactly 3:00. Not 3:01…
- If you’re going to follow up with them by a specific date, make sure you do…
- If you’ve promised to give them something, make sure you do…
This might seem “elementary”. Trust me, it’s not. This is a very subtle but incredibly powerful persuasion technique you can put into every single step of your marketing campaigns. And it takes no extra effort.
And speaking of doing what you say, let’s move onto…
Trust-Builder #4
Prove Your Authenticity
I recently had a client send me $13,000. I realize that’s a pretty good chunk of money, but that’s not the incredible part.
What’s incredible is the fact that I never talked to him on the phone. In fact, it only took 3 back-and-forth emails!
All he needed to do was listen to a podcast episode of mine, look at my website, and he instantly trusted me because he saw how authentic and REAL I was.
Being, and showing, your authenticity is one of the fastest ways to increase your level of trust to the people who you are serving. They don’t want somebody standing behind a steel curtain. They want a real person, willing to be themselves and show their true colors.
So take a look through your current marketing. Are you doing things that make you look inauthentic?
- Like fake scarcity…
- Hypey copy…
- Unrealistic claims with no proof…
And that brings me to my final tip for today…
Trust-Builder #5
Showcasing Your Expertise
Here’s the deal.
You can have all the trust in the world, but if you don’t actually show the person you’re talking to that you can help solve the problem they’re having, you’ll never make the sale.
It’s as simple as that.
So how do you showcase your expertise? Simple. Here are a few ways…
- Creating case studies…
- Proving your expertise through education…
- Giving them “results in advance”…
- Showing credible logos and where you’ve been seen as an expert…
- … and so many more!
This establishes trust by demonstrating your authority in the marketplace. But the important part to understand is this…
… without trust, showing your expertise will do NOTHING.
That’s why I constantly teach my own students to showcase their expertise through what I like to call “demonstrative education”.
It’s actually very simple.
You build trust and showcase your expertise not by “telling” your audience why you’re so special… but by SHOWING them.
And that’s why I’ve created a unique video for service providers only.
It shows you the 4 profit pillars every service provider must have to get, and stay, fully booked while charging higher fees.Â
You can watch that video here…
Enjoy!
Jeremy Reeves
