People buy from people.

And they buy solutions… not specifications.

So when Meadowlane Construction** wanted to expand their customer base, it was important to show people how they go ‘above and beyond’ to solve their client’s problems, in a way that made the stories real for them.

Because I don’t know about you, but when you look at a long list of features or specifications, do you find it hard to see just how they apply to your situation directly?

Like watching a good movie, it’s easier to put yourself into the title role when you recognize the situation the characters are going through.

And if you’re actually been through something similar, you’ll know just how they feel…

You’ll identify with the problem, and you’re relieved to find someone who can handle it successfully for you.

Fortunately, Meadowlane has a long history of ‘fixing things’ for their clients.

So when I sat down with their CEO and their Marketing Director and they started telling me how the company started… where their expertise came from… and some of the incredible turnaround tales they’d been part of,  I couldn’t write them down fast enough!

There was plenty of raw material to work with… and that was the problem.

After about 2 hours of conversations, the question was clear: which stories were relevant to their prospective clients?

And how to condense them down to their hard-hitting core and still keep the important, customer-attracting details in?

That’s where having an ‘outsider’ in the game helped Meadowlands tremendously. As I prodded with questions and listened to the answers unfold…

I take on the role of a ’sales detective’.

That’s when I listen as if I’m discovering your stories for the first time
(which is actually true, if it’s our first conversation!)

But I’m listening as one of your prospects… as a business owner or manager with a real-life problem, looking for an expert to take care of the solution for me.

Not just to ‘make it go away’… but also to position you strategically in your prospect’s mind as the ‘Go-to Guy’ for the expertise you need.

That’s where your profitability comes from.

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** I’ll be honest with you… “Meadowlane” is not the company’s real name. That’s because I was brought in as a ’secret weapon’ on this case by one of the city’s advertising firms. So we’ll protect their client’s confidentiality, while making sure they still get the best results…

Pure Science Supplements uses several marketing streams to generate interest and trust for its line of natural health supplements.

Here, they offer prospects a free report on the results of scientific research into their product’s approach… in exchange for email contact information. This allows them to stay in contact with added info and promotions.

When you offer your clients and prospects good information that they can use, you’re solving one of their most important desires. You can also promote your company’s products or services as a solution to their needs or core desires.

Don’t be afraid of giving away some of your ‘best stuff’…

That heightens your reputation as an expert, leaving an impression with your readers that “if this is what they’re giving away, imagine what I’ll get as a paying customer!”

And it also positions you as an expert… which is the kind of person your customers want to deal with.

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Holiday DVD is one of those unique services you wish you had around years ago.

They transfer pictures or offline movies to videos on DVD, adding music and graphics effects to make your snapshots playable like a slideshow on a computer. Or even for online use.

And that’s a good thing. The service was created when entrepreneur Tony Lewis watched travellers on a holiday cruise take dozens of pictures with their digital cameras…

But when they got home, there was no easy way to show off those pictures to friends and family afterwards.

So with his computer savvy and inventiveness, Tony came up with a hit.

Just one little problem… and I bet you’ll know exactly what I mean when I tell you about it.

Have you ever listened to a ‘computer guy’ describe anything technical to you?

Now don’t get me wrong. Tony’s a great guy, and smart too. He knows how to get brilliant results with the technologies he works with. And he really works to make sure his customers are happy with their DVD photo collections.

But he might be just a little too close to the work sometimes, and well… he describes it like a computer guy. The passion is clearly there, and so is his expertise. Like most people, maybe it just needs a little wordsmithing and polish to get his message across.

Case in point…

When I first saw the FAQs page on Holiday DVD’s website, it was ‘okay’. But there was so much more potential being left on the table.

Because a well-written FAQs list can do 3 important things for your business:

• Increase your prospect’s comfort with using the product or service you’re offering, by clearing up the most common questions that get in the way with most users
• Reduce the time your customer service staff spends on the typical things that can be easily handled with a few well-placed words on paper
• Every answer should lead the reader back to your product or service in a way that makes them want to get one (or more) now that the mystery’s solved!

When I mentioned these things to Tony, he recognized the value of the idea. And he was curious to see what that might look like for his business.

Like I said, Tony’s a smart guy. He realized that he might as well use the FAQs space on his website to do more than just ‘give the facts.’  If it could increase his customer satisfaction and add to sales at the same time, he was game to give it a try.

And he realized that maybe he wasn’t the guy to write them. Not that he couldn’t learn to, just that it made sense to put his time and talents where they were most useful.

And since I’d suggested the idea, and seemed to know best how to put it into play…

Well, I got the job.

Now Tony seems to be as pleased with the results as his customers are with their Holiday DVD’s!

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