Demonstrate your way to new business

If you really want to attract more business, take the opportunity to demonstrate your competency rather than tell your prospects how competent you are.

Imagine that you have identified three attributes that you want to convey in your marketing materials (website, brochures and proposals) and face to face communication (prospect meetings, networking and presentations). Let's say that you want to convey that you are customer focused, professional and you work with your clients as part of their team.

Telling your prospect your attributes has limited benefit

Anyone can claim to have certain attributes and your claim is as good as the next persons unless you can provide evidence to support the claim or better still demonstrate these attributes which will take away the need to say them at all (a good presenter doesn't need to say that they present well!)

If you really want to attract your prospects...

Show rather than tell your prospects what it is like to work with you

What this might look like in a meeting:

To demonstrate a customer focus in a meeting; ask relevant questions based on research that you have undertaken on your prospect's business and explore solutions to their challenges

To demonstrate professionalism; dress professionally and provide a prompt response to any action points

To demonstrate that you work with your clients as part of their team; consider the physical layout of the room and arrange the seating so that each of their team members sits next to one of yours - avoid an "us and them" message

And get straight to it

Start demonstrating at the first opportunity, it's not the icing on the cake it is the cake, the whole meeting should be a demonstration of what it will be like to work with you

Audit your existing approach

Review all your communication today for opportunities to show rather than tell and start to demonstrate your way to new business