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Sell the Solution, Not Services

Gray MacKenzie
Gray MacKenzie is a true operations nerd who has spent the past decade helping hundreds of agencies build more productive, profitable, and healthy teams by solving the core issues plaguing their project management.

To chat with Gray and have ZenPilot lead your team through the last project management implementation you'll ever need, schedule a quick call here.

You do yourself a huge favor when you help one ideal-fit client solve their costly problem

When you get this specific about who you help, you can apply your creative and problem solving energy to creating the fastest path to their desired outcome.  

This shift in positioning removes your services as the center of your business and replaces them with the ideal-fit client. 

When you do this, you kill the competition.

This requires a shift in thinking.

Place yourself in their world.

Your ideal-fit client is at the bottom of the mountain. They’re stuck in the mud. They’ve tried to get out before, but they’ve just sunk deeper.

They can see the peak of the mountain through the clouds. But they have no idea how to get there.

This is the place where you come into the picture.

Take Airbnb as an Example

When they got started, they focused on connecting people who had extra space with people that were looking for a place to stay.

As the platform grew, they started to get to know their ideal-fit clients better.

They learned that guests loved staying with hosts that went the extra mile. Extra linens, a few drinks in the fridge, fresh coffee for the morning, and extra-clean feel.

Hosts that added these amenities made their guests happier and got better reviews. Airbnb noticed this and designated these hosts as “Super Hosts.”

Next they launched Airbnb Experiences to help connect guests with things to do in the town they were visiting.

And now they’ve launched Airbnb Adventures. These are small-group trips where lodging, meals, and activities are all included. They handle all the planning. You just show up.

airbnb-adventures

With each evolution, Airbnb has helped their ideal-fit client get what they want: an amazing experience in a new place.

They could have stayed put and just helped by connecting people with space to people looking for a room.

But by getting to know their ideal-fit customers really well, they’ve been able to craft an experience that fully satisfies their ideal-fit client.

This means their clients are happier with their experience and they make more money.

Bringing this to Life in Your Client Experience

This shift has a big impact on client retention and happiness.

Instead of just giving them what they asked for, you’ve transformed them into who they’ve wanted to become.

They’re no longer stuck at the bottom of the mountain, longingly looking up to the summit. They’ve made it to the top and they couldn’t have gotten there without you.

Happy clients are easier to work with and they make your delivery team happier, too.

But it also takes a lot of pressure off of your delivery operation.

You’re only delivering the services that will have the maximum impact on your client’s situation. That allows you to eliminate many deliverables.

And since you’re working with same type of clients, that means you can deliver the same set of deliverables over and over again.

This repetition creates mastery. Mastery creates confidence.

Confidence improves leadership. And leadership creates happier clients.

To recap, selling the solution, not services leads to:

  • Happier clients
  • Happier team
  • Higher profit margins
  • Less work
  • Less errors in client work

How awesome does that sound?

Put this model to work for you: zenpilot.com/freedom.

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