Is It An Error To Educate Your Prospect?

12 replies
Is it your duty to educate your prospect or is that a mistake? The temptation is great to inform the person you are trying to sell so he will know what's up.

What do you feel instinctively about this proposition? Am I already loosing ground trying to explain my pitch? Or is there any sales advantage in "explaining how it is?"

Warrior point of view?
#educate #error #prospect
  • Profile picture of the author Canadianajones
    Your list is the most valuable tool you have and you must take very good care of it. Always treat them with dignity and respect and you will never go far wrong.

    I feel that first you have to create a connection to your prospect. When you send them a few "value" emails first, you will have built up rapport. After they get to know you and you are not a heavy seller, they will most likely be open to one of your "sales" emails. As far as educating them, are you referring to pitching to a cold contact? If you give them bits of information without letting the cat out of the bag, then they would anticipate eventually a sales email and either be open to it or not. We have to remember we are offering a product, and some people will either not need, or want this product. Hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    Originally Posted by LastingLifeSuccess View Post

    Is it your duty to educate your prospect or is that a mistake? The temptation is great to inform the person you are trying to sell so he will know what's up.

    What do you feel instinctively about this proposition? Am I already loosing ground trying to explain my pitch? Or is there any sales advantage in "explaining how it is?"

    Warrior point of view?
    This depends on what market you are in. If you are selling information, then
    the information becomes the product so you have give away a sample, but
    not the whole farm. But if you are selling a SERVICE then you can give
    away all the INFORMATION because you know that the client will come
    to you because he doesn't want to do the work himself but will give ti to
    an expert--you!

    For example, I give away a ton of information about copywriting on my
    blog, because most people don't like to write so I have no fear that this
    would 'put me out of business'. Rather, they would say, "This guy
    seems like he know what he is saying, let me hire him."

    The same applies to services such as lawyers, plumbers, doctors--they
    all give away a lot of information but they know you still need their
    expertise.

    -Ray Edwards
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  • Profile picture of the author Igor Fridrihs
    Better to get educated prospect, but not over educated. Educate him, but keep his curiosity alive.
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  • Profile picture of the author yanl
    Educate them a little to establish trust and authority. The content you give should give them some results. The content you withhold should be able to increase that result significantly
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  • Profile picture of the author MouseandMice
    What the heck are you selling that talking to the prospect about it honestly is going to decrease sales?
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary Ning Lo
    Don't see where educating the prospect so that he takes a good decision could go wrong in any way.

    As long as you're offering a good product/service

    Cheers,

    Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author sivricmarijan
    Educate them only to prove you are an expert in your field...
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  • Profile picture of the author Evocess
    For me, you really need to educate or lead your prospects to prove that you're an expert with what you are in. Don't forget to give them values and build a strong relationship with them.
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  • Profile picture of the author RockNRolla
    When meeting prospective SEO clients I tell them every last detail they want to know about what is required. The reason being that I know for a fact they won't be able to do it their self, and even if they did, it would cost them a lot more time and effort than it would to just hire me in the first place.

    The second reason I do this is because it not only shows that I know what I' talking about, it also shows that I am willing to be open and honest with this prospective client, two strong qualities that will go some way to help closing them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fusion388
    I think its appreciated and builds trust. Depending on the product, if you drip feed tips and information, they will be inclined to purchase from you as they wish to know more and recognise the value being offered.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anne0521
    When it's about a products, it's better to educate your prospect to let them know you're good at what you're doing. You must give an impression that you know what you are doing and have complete trust on what you are selling.
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