Hi Lastinglifesuccess,

Providing value to the customer starts right from the beginning. When they opt into your list, they are fresh and will most likely be scared off by a hard sell. When you send them a "value email" (one with some great information plus a free gift) be that a PDF or MP3, that instills a feeling of trust that you must gradually build on. Later, in email 3 or 4, you can hint about a great product that will save them tons of their valuable time. You can do this by building up both suspense and creating a need - carefully without spilling the beans and then in about email 7 you can do the "sales email". By this time they will most likely bite on your offer (although there are people out there who either do not need or want your product). I have been taught to always deliver over the top, and am certain that this will never lead you wrong.

To use your example of yo yo's

After their purchase, and they are on your thank you page, you can then offer another freebie. This will get them thinking "Wow, this is fantastic! I bought a yo yo, and got 2, then after the sale I got travel cases to keep them shiny and new. This person really has my best interests at heart so when I get another email from him, I am going to buy." Not only that, but they will tell their friends about it and then the referrals will start coming in. Then you must up your yo yo inventory bigtime.

You only get one time to make a great impression. I have had both great experiences and poor ones. Funny it seems the bad ones really stand out but I suspect that is human nature.

There are some great email campaign PDF's out there - In fact, I am creating a video series for a WSO entitled " Creating Dynamite Email Campaigns" that I hope to have finished in about a month. This will cover at least one piece of the pie.

This is my take. I hope it helps.

Hi there,

This follows the concept of going above an beyond in all your transactions with your clients and prospects.

If you lead with a gift, you create the desire to repay the gift.

This helps create a WOW factor and sets you apart from your competition immediately. If you can figure out how to create a WOW sensation with your prospects and during every step of your client transaction and then continue that into the after-transaction follow-up, you'll be onto a winner.

All the best,

Sasha.

Value is an end-to-end solution for the client.

Many people start out (including me) and think they can just sell a service without worrying about anything else.

Yes, you can make a living like this, but it will be hard to grow.

For example - if you sell SEO, you may think getting your client ranked high in Google is the end of your job. The client may be happy and you may pat yourself on the back.

But once you grow and work with bigger clients, you will realize this isn't enough. The savvy clients will be ranked but they will realize that being ranked isn't that great if it doesn't translate to leads.

So then you become a consultant to the client, an expert.

You work with them on their title tag and meta description - what it should say to entice people to click on their site.

Then you work with them on their website, calls-to-action, contact forms, incentives to call and perhaps an email sequence.

Then the client starts seeing good return on the SEO they paid for and this creates VALUE that is long-lasting, where the client cannot justify letting you go.

Then you go to the client and tell them you think their business can benefit from something else - perhaps Google Adwords or Facebook Ads. And you walk them through the process again and show them the VALUE you bring.

This customer becomes a repeat customer and they also are quick to refer you to others who they think will benefit from your services.

Ultimately, the customer needs to feel like the price they are paying you aligns with the value you provide.

This creates a balanced relationship, a win-win if you will, and this is what every successful business has in common.

Value is in the eye of the beholder, as the OP has pointed out.

So you can ask your prospect: What would be a home run? What would their situation look like in an ideal world?

Then measure that vision up against what you can accomplish. If you can do it, you can proceed and turn this prospect into a client.

If you can't, you can adjust their expectations and see if it's still a fit. Much better than taking them on blindly and disappointing them.

Actually, from an ethical point of view, if you are offering marketing services to a client and telling them they will make more money, the value is that they make $(X+1)... whether X is how much they pay you.

They need to get a return on their investment.

Obviously, the +1 is just to make a point (as, in that case, I would argue there is still no value).

If someone wants to make the argument that it is ok to not make the client money, that it is "subjective, that "well, what if you give them hope and faith in themselves; that's worth the fee alone!"... then that person is extremely ethical and tells their prospects that during the sales process. Right?

Jason and the OP are right! When discussing value with my prospects I look to find out success "looks like" for them and how I can help them reach "their vision of success". If I can help them reach their vision of success then I am providing value!

That's true, you have to understand that everyone has different needs.

You need to know who are your clients, and what are their needs. It's obvious, I know.

But have you tried to make detailed profiles of several clients that could replicate different groups of your customers. Beginning from their name and ending with their whole story and goals they want to achieve.

I think there's no bad or good way to deliver the value, there's only value delivered to those who don't really see value in things that you will do / give.

I agree with this and more and more recently have been questioning exactly what value is and how to deliver it best. It was only recently when I was reading a thread about how Yellowbooks charge $129 per month for a shocking 1 page website. To me, that is absolutely terrible value. Yet they have thousands of customers! It definitely is subjective, no doubt about it.