woman building a profitable business by asking her customers what they want

You can find out right now what your customers want to buy, if you do this one thing.

Too often, business owners do all the talking and none of the listening.

After all, we are the experts in our products and services.

We get wrapped up in following our internal sales script and often forget to pick up on the cues that what we are trying to sell may not match our customers' immediate needs.

Instead of making the sale, the business owner walks away with an “I’ll think about it” (read: no, I am not going to buy).

The customer still has a problem that we might be able to solve – if only we knew about the actual need.

How do you solve this disconnect?

Instead of overthinking and brainstorming what your prospects might want, why not ask them what they want?

Selling what your customers tell you they most want and need can be surprisingly easy. That sounds like a no-brainer, right?

Ask your customers and leads what is missing or what else they need.

Yes, it is that simple. And you might be surprised where the conversation leads.

Let’s say you sell online marketing services.

Instead of trying to sell them the SEO package you think they need, ask them what their most significant business issues are.

They might not care or understand SEO page rank but struggle with social media, email list management, or funnel building.

Your follow-up questions are critical once someone tells you their real issues and pain points.

  • What would their business look like if that problem went away?
  • How much money are they losing because of these problems?
  • How long have they been struggling to solve this problem?

Ask these questions with genuine curiosity and concern.

Listen carefully to how they phrase their answers.

What words do they use? Frame the questions around their needs.

Ask follow-up questions.

By letting customers describe their needs, pains, and concerns, they tell you what to sell and how much these services are worth to their business. You have insight into exactly what services or products could fix their problems.

You are now a trusted business partner rather than a salesperson. The customer ends up selling themselves on your value.

The more you talk about yourself or your services, and the less you listen to their needs, the less likely you are to land those sales.

This method works well for existing customers and prospective customers. Adding these products or services may be incredibly easy for you to provide.

By listening and asking questions, you might find that current clients practically beg to buy a different product or service you could easily add.

Or you may uncover an untapped or unserved market that your competitors have missed.

What if this new service or product is outside your scope?

Here are some easy ways to tap that market.

Outsource.

Can you hire freelancers to complete the work and make a profit? There are lots of marketplaces to hire people to do practically any service.

For example, if you run a web hosting company and your customers ask for updated websites, hire someone and profit from the difference between what you pay the freelancer and what you charge your customers.

Find a product or service that you can white-label.

Are you a fitness expert who wants to sell supplements?

Find a company that offers what you need and brand them to your company. Want to add SEO services? Find a freelance expert and white label their services to your brand.

Team up with a complementary business for referrals.

Do you do auto repairs? Team up with an auto detailer.

Are you a web developer? Team up with an SEO expert.

Graphic designers can team up with branding experts. Find businesses serving similar customers where both companies benefit from referrals.

Once you start looking at the entire customer journey, it’s easy to see where you can add products or services - even if you can't deliver them yourself.

You can add in-house services, hire as-needed freelancers, add white-label services or products, or team up with other trusted professionals.

Here are six profitable reasons to talk to your clients and ask questions about what they need.

New products or services:

You may discover products or services that you can use to provide custom solutions.

Use customer feedback to identify and create solutions to your customers' problems. You may find new products or improve existing ones, making your offerings more attractive to your target market.

You may also discover a new business model that provides custom solutions tailored to each client's needs.

Profitable partnerships with clients:

You may decide to partner with clients to develop new products or services.

This could be through idea submission platforms, beta-testing groups, or community forums where customers can suggest and discuss potential features or products.

Bonus: This approach generates ideas that align with customer needs and fosters a sense of ownership and loyalty among customers.

 

woman building her profitable business by asking her customers what they want to buy

Offer custom experiences:

You may decide to offer custom experiences for your clients. This custom experience can take many forms.

The custom experience may have you recommending products based on past purchases, customizing email marketing campaigns based on feedback or providing customer service that considers the individual’s history and preferences.

You will be able to segment your marketing much more effectively.

Use customer desires and needs to segment your market more effectively.

By understanding different customer personas, you can tailor your marketing strategies to address each segment's specific problems and desires, resulting in more effective marketing and higher conversion rates.

You can optimize customer service.

Apply insights from customer feedback to optimize your service delivery. This could mean simplifying processes, reducing wait times, or providing more comprehensive support—all of which improve the overall customer experience.

You can be proactive about solving your customer's problems.

Anticipating and addressing issues before they become major pain points can save time and money and improve customer satisfaction.

By actively asking for and listening to customer feedback, you can identify trends and solve problems early, avoiding negative reviews and fostering positive word-of-mouth.

It all starts with asking your customers what they want and need and then determining how best to fix their problems.

Just ask—you might uncover a profitable new part of your business.

 

Download the worksheet: A No-Fail Way to Find Out What Your Customer REALLY Wants

 

Taken from Profit-ize your Business Book Five: Prospecting, Client Acquisition, and AI for Your Business

Like this post? It was taken from the Profitize Your Business series

Patricia Browne

Patricia Browne

Patricia Browne is the author of seven books that help businesses grow and profit.

Read about The Profit-ize system and what it can do for your business

Leave a Comment