EPISODE #094
Are You Willing to Do Whatever It Takes for Better Sales? ReWork Your Consultations
With Allison Tyler Jones
Owner | ATJ Photo & The ReWork
Gilbert, Arizona
atjphoto.com
dotherework.com
DATE: September 7, 2023
Welcome friends to Season 3 of The ReWork Podcast! It’s that time of year again, time to dig back into your business and make this the best holiday season yet. And today’s topic is meant to help you do exactly that. It also happens to be one of my favorite topics – Client Consultations.
First of all, are you providing clients with a consultation?
If you are, how are they working?
What’s not working?
I would submit that there is NOTHING in your business that can impact your success more than making small, but important changes to how you conduct your client consultations.
This is an area of my business where I spend a lot of time finessing, evaluating, reworking, rethinking, and reflecting on how I can make them more effective for my clients and for our business.
We know that building relationships equates to the best experience and creates clients that keep coming back (and tell others). The consultation is another opportunity to do that and establishes the trust you and your clients need to make the most of your time together capturing the perfect image.
Listen in as I tell you how we’ve ReWorked our Client Consultations.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why you should be doing consultations–but for REAL!
- Points you MUST cover with your clients to get on the same page.
- Tell-tale signs that your current consultations need some tweaking.
Here’s a glance at this episode:
- [3:03] – Consultations establish trust with clients through transparency.
- [4:02] – We don’t want clients to be blindsided and surprised by anything in the process.
- [5:06] – How do you know if your consultations need some tweaking?
- [7:04] – When more money is being spent, clients need more time to understand and decide.
- [9:19] – Consultations also become more collaborative and less salesy.
- [10:46] – A client’s opinion of a consultation comes from your presentation of what it is and why it’s important.
- [12:53] – In the first phone call, we set the tone for each appointment.
- [14:23] – Virtual consultations are an option as well and can be productive if the client is not distracted or multi-tasking.
- [15:50] – What are the goals of a consultation?
- [17:56] – Defining the scope of work during this time is extremely important.
- [21:30] – Learn about the ATJ Game Plan Booklet.
- [23:15] – The mistakes Allison makes now in consultations are different from the ones she made in the beginning.
- [24:23] – The first phone call is not for the details. That is what the consultation is for.
- [26:17] – A big mistake is not talking about price at all.
- [28:39] – Another common mistake is talking too much about how and not what.
- [30:54] – Different clients have different questions that need to be cleared up. The consultation is the time to answer these questions honestly.
- [33:21] – Commitment is hard and most people will delay big decisions.
- [34:27] – “Is that going on the wall or is it going in an album?”
- [35:31] – Another mistake is not listening for qualifiers and minimizing language.
- [37:25] – In Allison’s experience, she has never had a client go away angry because she was honest and transparent with them.
- [39:02] – What if they cancel? Some of them will, but without exception, they will thank you for your time and realize what you do as special.
- [40:59] – Starting consultations this way can be scary and it’s easy to fall into common mistakes. But a good consultation is an absolute game changer.
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