Have you ever received a positive response to your proposed solution (and the company that offers it) only to have your prospect insist on checking out your recommendation on the Internet? What do you do?
If you think that sighing in frustration is your only choice, think again. The better solution: anticipate early on that prospects will go online and neutralize their findings in advance.
The key is to avoid getting into arguments or pressuring them to decide now before Internet complaints cloud their judgment. Instead, establish your expertise so that your authority trumps comments from anonymous Internet posters. Here are nine ways to do just that:
1. Get better at seeking out prospects who fit your desired customer profile.
By focusing your efforts on the types of people with whom you work best, you will greatly minimize the chance of them getting distracted by Internet comments.
2. Become more transparent.
When you go beyond the standard disclosures and really let your hair down about who you are, what you bring to the table and why you're trustworthy, you'll vastly enhance your ability to debunk erroneous online information.
3. Work harder at establishing your authority.
If you do a lot of writing, then share a compilation of your articles. If you collect client testimonials (assuming your license allows for this), then add to your current assortment and upgrade the format in which you share them with prospects. If you publish a blog, share its URL.
The goal? To make sure the prospect understands you know your stuff and have done a great job for clients in the past.
