For the first few years of my career, I wondered why “Sales” and “Marketing” were always in the same department. The personalities of the teams were strikingly different, the functions seemed to support each other, but they were more at war for budgets, and resources, and espoused completely different cultures more often than not. But looking at the teams holistically – in the context of scaling a company – they were truly a match made in heaven!
Similarly, selling marketing services is as much an art or a marriage as it is a certain automation or business development person. While the selling of your services needs to solve prospect’s problems, you also need to be “appropriately aggressive” in pursuing prospects – much like the tenacious, deal-making strategies outlined in Donald Trump’s famous book, *The Art of the Deal*. While his approach to business inspired a relentless focus on closing, the same spirit can be applied to converting warm leads into loyal clients. This guide will take you through the essential steps to mastering the art of the sale, ensuring you turn interest into commitment.
1. Understand Your Warm Leads Thoroughly
The first step to successfully selling your services is to know who you’re talking to – you need to understand your warm leads inside and out. These leads have already shown interest, so it’s crucial to understand their specific needs, challenges, and motivations. And more importantly, you need to know how your services speak to or solve their needs and challenges.
Tip: Use your CRM and analytics tools to track lead behavior and interactions. Knowing what content they’ve engaged with and what questions they’ve asked will help you craft a more targeted pitch.
2. Tailor Your Pitch for Maximum Impact
Your pitch should be more than just a presentation of your services—it should be a solution to the specific problems your warm leads are facing. Focus on the outcomes they can expect from partnering with your agency. You can even retarget these leads with that same messaging – helping coax them down the funnel to conversion or prepping them to book a sales call by answering their questions in retargeting ads.
Tip: Highlight case studies and success stories that align with the lead’s industry or challenges. Make your pitch about them, not just about what you offer.
3. Create a Compelling Call to Action
Prospects need a reason to act now. Creating a sense of urgency can help push them from consideration to decision. Whether it’s a limited-time offer, a free trial, or the promise of immediate results, your CTA should motivate action. One ecommerce brand I worked with simply added a “Satisfaction Guaranteed” badge at the bottom of every page. This action alone (not even parameters or disclaimers unpacking details of the guarantee itself) drove a 15% increase in conversion. Now, we were ready to stand by our guarantee if we ever had a disgruntled customer via refund or replacement, but it rarely came to that. The reassurance was enough to instill trust and confidence in our brand.
Tip: Use phrases like “limited availability” or “start seeing results within weeks” or “satisfaction guaranteed” to create urgency. Make it clear that delaying could mean missing out on significant benefits.
4. Address Objections Proactively
Prospects will certainly have objections—whether it’s the cost, timing, or doubts about the ROI. Address these concerns directly and with confidence, providing data or testimonials to ease their worries. Try to mitigate as much risk for the prospect before ever hopping on a sales call with them. Reassure them of the value of working with your agency compared to the risk of not doing so and the impact that will have to their business.
Tip: Be prepared with a list of common objections and responses. For example, if cost is an issue, demonstrate the long-term value and ROI your services provide OR (if margin allows) show a discount for services in the proposal itself as an added value for this prospect. It shows you’re willing to have some “skin in the game” with the client because you believe so strongly that you will be able to help them.
5. Close with Confidence
When you’ve addressed a majority (if not all) of the prospect’s concerns and they are ready to take the next step (onboarding to become a client), it’s time to close the deal. Confidence and reassurance are key elements here—guide your prospect smoothly through the final steps, making it easy for them to say yes – even reminding them of questions you’ve answered along the way.
Tip: Use closing techniques like the assumptive close (“When would you like to start?”) to encourage a decision. Ensure all final details are clear and straightforward. Then book the now-client’s onboarding session(s)!
6. Follow Up and Support a Long-Term Relationship
The sale doesn’t end with a signature. In fact, now the real work begins! Set up the client for a solid onboarding (defining the scope of work, developing their messaging and offers, and defining what success looks like in your partnership is essential for client retention)! On top of that, proactively following up with quick wins or reporting to ensure client satisfaction and continuing to nurture the relationship is crucial for long-term success. This approach not only secures future business but also opens the door for referrals.
Tip: Implement a healthy client mtg cadence and proactive follow-up schedule that includes checking in regularly, reporting on performance (if relevant), updates on the project, even providing additional value, and identifying new opportunities to assist your client.
Conclusion: Seal the Deal with Confidence
Selling marketing services to warm leads, converting them to prospects, and eventually onboarding them to become new clients requires a thoughtful, strategic, and confident approach. By understanding your leads (first), tailoring your pitch, addressing (prospect) objections, closing with authority and onboarding strategically, you can master the art of turning interest into long-term business relationships.
Are you ready to streamline your lead generation and sales process? Partner with Done For You and gain access to a steady flow of high-quality leads without the hassle. Become a partner today at DoneForYou.com/Partners!