How to close clients for 7x what they wanted to spend – Tip #3

Fletch directs a green screen sequence for a Phineas and Pherb 60 Second Spot

We’ve all been through it.  We’re talking to the client and we get to the budget part.

They lean back (acting disinterested) and say, “We don’t have much money for the budget. What can you do it for?” Or worse, “We’re taking other bids. How much to shoot a three minute video?”

And you’re tempted to say, “$1,000. a pound.” But you bite your tongue and say something lame like, “That depends on a number of variables.”

Instead, try one of the great lines I’m going to tell you. First, you’ve got to address his question:

“A video is a lot like a car.  If I ask you ‘How much is a car?’ there’s no real answer, is there?  I don’t have a dartboard budget for you because we’re not going to give you an ‘off-the-shelf,’ cookie cutter video.  We are going to design a custom video production that will move your target audience to buy your product or service. And that’s how video can pay for itself. The majority of our videos pay for themselves. Some of them many times over because they’re designed to accomplish your goal.”

(This usually has magical effect on them.  Up ’til now, they’ve had the perception that the video’s an expense.  We’re changing that perception.  We’ll talk more about “perception changing” in a future blog post.)

Here’s the next “perception-changing” line.

“You know when you really want to impress someone you wear your best suit?  That suit tells the prospect everything about you.  So, this video is ‘your suit’ to the viewer.  What do you want them to think?  Audiences are very sophisticated these days. They see network shows with superb graphics and production values.  We’re not going to impress them with a cheap video.  The audience will think either you can’t afford quality or you don’t know what a quality video is. Neither one is very good.”

(Pause.)

“We plan to give you the best value for your money. With us you’ll have the best chance of paying your budget back.  Let us proceed with our creative development process so we can offer you a real budget (not a guess) based on a script custom developed to reach your target audience.  We’re not going to make you a cookie cutter video that doesn’t engage your target audience.  To make a video like that is throwing your money out the window.  Let’s design you a tool that’ll produce results and pay for itself. I hope you’ll let us proceed.”

Listen for the prospect to say, “Okay”.  And get to work on the next steps in the  process.  More on this in upcoming blogs.

Let us know if this was helpful to you.

(Fletch has personally closed clients for $450,000. contracts.  The tips above will be in his upcoming book, “How to Close Clients for 7 Times What They Expected to Pay”)

- See more at: http://blog.theassociation.tv/blog/the-association/page/3#sthash.icERYS6E.dpuf

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