FOUR PRACTICE BUILDING TIPS [Part II]
(November/December 2004 Issue)

In the last Newsletter, we covered Tip 1: Creating Instant Thank-You Letters by bringing in a blank thank-you card to your first session with a referred client, addressing and stamping it right there, and asking the new client to add their comments and mail it to the referral source. We wrote about Tip 2: the
importance of conducting an internal campaign to make one positive change in your [employed] client's present job; that way if they end up staying at that job, they'll still be able to credit your coaching with making a difference.

TIP 3 ELEVATOR SPEECH
It's called an elevator speech because it's supposed to be something you can say about yourself in the time an elevator takes to reach the ground floor. Most people, if asked "What do you do?" go into speech-talk. A mental "autoresponder" takes over and a features-oriented description of their job shows up. Sometimes, it even degenerates into sell-speak -- an effort not only to describe your work, but to fish for clients at the same time. "I am a job and career advisor and I help people get the job of their dreams." "I'm a career
coach helping people get ahead in their career."

Here's how to change it from a one-way speech to a two-way interaction. I suggest you split your response into two parts. First a question. For example, someone asks you, "What do you do?" You say, "Well, you know how a lot of people suffer in their careers? I mean either they don't have a job or don't have one they like?" [Yes] "I show them how to fix that." Good response, but even better would be (see the next tip, below), "Well, in one meeting I show people exactly how to fix that."

By speaking "into a belief" you get agreement. "You know how a lot of people suffer in their job or career?" What's the only answer to that? It's YES! Once you've got them saying yes, then you have anchored to a search engine in their head. There are pictures, sounds, images, memories, etc., that got stirred up by the brain's natural search function stimulated by the question. It's like creating half-a-thought.

Once your brain has half-a-thought, it craves to be completed. When you say, "I fix that problem," they now have a complete thought and you are part of it. Then, the next time they talk to a person who fits the first half of the thought, i.e., doesn't have a job or doesn't have one they like, zip-zap! The brain's neurotransmitters close a synapse and make the second half of the thought appear, "[YOU] fix that!"

So, when answering "What line of work are you in?" use the question/answer combo, "You know how...? Well, in my business, I..."

TIP 4: DON'T SELL YOUR SERVICES (SELL A ONESHOT INSTEAD).
When talking to a referral source, closing a prospect, giving a speech, answering a cocktail who-are-you question, etc., give people a little bite, something easy to chew and swallow. Don't say, "I do testing, resume development, career focus, job search consulting, salary negotiating and anything and everything needed to identify, find, and land a great job." That's too much. Instead, emphasize your first meeting and what can be accomplished there. Hopefully you all have a first meeting that promises to get to the root of any career problem and make a practical plan to solve it.

People want instant. People want inexpensive. So give them an instant, inexpensive way to change their career: the C.A.P. session -- which I've recently started calling the OneShot Session. A OneShot gets them in the door for something inexpensively priced, and instantly you've got all the time you need to really go into depth on what they need to change for career success. If you're not doing C.A.P. sessions with prospects, e-mail me a request for my C.A.P. session newsletter for a description and rationale for using it as a first meeting with a client/prospect.

When I present my services in a presentation, again I focus on the instant and inexpensive C.A.P. I usually use "stuck, stalled, and confused" to focus on the C.A.P. I use a 3x5 card, of course. If you haven't read my "Home Run Speeches" article about capturing names at a speech with 3x5 cards, e-mail me with "Home Run Speeches" in the subject line and I'll send it to you. So, at a speech, when I have the audience fill out their cards, along with "Newsletter Y-N," and "Call Me Y-N," etc., I have them put the item "OneShot" on the card. Instead of having people circle Yes or No about their interest in career coaching -- which is not inexpensive nor instant -- I say, "If you feel stuck, stalled, or confused in your career search, I have a meeting called the OneShot. In one to two hours we can figure out what's wrong what needs to change and get you moving toward unstuck, unstalled, or less confused."

Sometimes minimizing the session a little helps. "For people feeling stuck, stalled, or confused about their career, while we can't solve all your problems in one meeting, we can get to the root of any career problem and make a practical plan to solve it, so at least you're moving forward." By putting in a little disclaimer that you're not promising a panacea, you'll sound less sales-y.

This little-bite approach to describing what you do also makes it easier for people to refer friends to you. If they think they're referring someone to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars with you, they're not as likely to make the referral as if they think they're referring a person for one inexpensive session. That's because while they may spend $150 with you based upon the referral-source's recommendation, anything after that is up to the prospect.

Jack Chapman is author of:
Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute
He is a career consultant in private practice and runs ongoing support and training teleconference sessions for career consultants in private practice.
He can be reached at 847-251-4727 or jkchapman@aol.com