Thanks for downloading

Hey Designer!

Thanks so much for downloading our nifty guide to doing better sales calls. I hope
this helps you in your relationships with your clients and sets you both up for
success.

Some things to take note of:

- Things don't need to be perfect

- Sales talk takes practice. If you need help, we can practice together
- Preparation is key to sales calls. Try not to rely on the script so much so you don't
sound like a robot. Internalize all the things I teach here and you'll be just fine!

If you have any questions or need help, email me at lyzz.pantejo@gmail.com

Hot tip! You can find an accountability partner whom you could practice sales calls
with and ask them for feedback on your performance.

Team Lyzz
Your Design Biz Bestie!
Sales Call Preparation Guide
When entering a sales call, you need to be well-prepared. Send an inquiry form
to the client with basic information on their project. Don’t overwhelm the client
at this stage as you don’t want that.

ACCESS OUR INQUIRY FORM

MAKING SURE YOU GET PAID RIGHT

One of the key things to ask in an inquiry form is the Client's allotted budget for
a specific project.You can either ask for a budget range (which is what
designers typically do) OR you can ask for their monthly revenue in dollars
(USD) and provide the following ranges:

Less than $5,000

$5,000 - $10,000
$10-000 - $25,000
$25,000 and more

If they are a product-based business (e-commerce), you can ask them instead
of their average orders per month.

HOT TIP: Give them a reason why you're asking this amount, e.g. "to help
create a better proposal according to the needs of your current business". It's
an industry standard to allocate 5-10% of annual revenue on
marketing/branding/website design. So if a client has an annual revenue of
$100,000, then they expect to pay $5,000 - $10,000 on
marketing/branding/web design. You can determine your pricing somewhere in
that range if you feel that the service you're offering is what the client is looking
for and seems willing to pay.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN ENTERING A SALES CALL BECAUSE THE

BUDGET IS OFTEN ONE OF THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE
CONVERSATIONS YOU'LL HAVE DURING THE CALL.

Having an idea of the budget will also help you adjust your pricing and scope
accordingly. So if the client does not have the budget for your main offer, you
can either adjust the scope of the project or refer him/her to another designer.
My Winning Sales Call Formula
When you’re in the sales call, you’d want to take charge. Never let the
client control the discussion or you’ll lose the conversation.

Make sure to time your conversations so you don't go beyond what's

necessary. This also helps you enforce boundaries on a client.

So here’s what you want to do.

1. BUILD RAPPORT

You want to research the heck as you can about the client. If you see that
they are dog lovers, you can say “I had a look at your profile earlier and your
dog is just so cute. I also have a dog (if you do have a dog)”

Just make small talk instead of going to business right away. That would
make clients lower their guard and be more open to talking to you as if you
were a friend they can trust instead of just another business person.
Remember, you are a personal brand.

Keep this short, however. Some clients can go on and on about their personal
life. I transition by saying

“That sounds great! I love your passion for this stuff. By the way, thank you so
much for your time today! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your
[type of business] and chatting about how we could work together. I had a
look at your responses and I'd like to ask a few more questions. Is that
alright?”

2. GET THEM TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PROBLEM

So you want the client to talk about their problem. Some people prepare
some guide questions at the beginning but make sure these guide questions
match how they’ve described their project in the form they filled out. Here’s
what I usually say.

"I have an idea about your business already, but I want to know how you
would describe it. Can you tell me more about what you do and the clients
you serve? This would be helpful for me to….
Justifying why you’re asking a question makes it more legit and the client
would think that it is necessary. It’s a psychological trick in copywriting
that you can apply in real life.

Here are some other questions that would really help you understand
your client's business. It also shows them that you are interested in their
overall business success and that they are not just some random design
client who's looking for a one-off transaction.

Tell us what your business looks like now and where you hope to take it.

Why do you feel like now is the time to rebrand/redesign your website
[whatever your services are]?

What would you say is the biggest problem/hurdle in your way of reaching
your goals?
IF YOU ARE OFFERING BRANDING SERVICES:

How do you feel about your current brand?

Do you have an aesthetic vision or style you are leaning

toward for your new branding?

Do you see yourself using any of these additional collateral items?

(brochure, business cards, brand patterns, packaging design, stationery kit,
merch design/t-shirts, stickers, PowerPoint/Keynote slides, social media
graphics, etc.)

What would this new branding mean for your business?

How does this relate to your goal?
IF YOU ARE OFFERING WEB DESIGN SERVICES:

What is the #1 goal or purpose of your website?

What do you like/dislike about your current website?

How many pages would we create roughly?

Is your branding and copy ready?

3. POSITIONING YOURSELF AS AN EXPERT

Now that you’ve built rapport and asked them some of the necessary
questions, it’s time for you to take control of the conversation. You can say…

“Okay, if I heard it correctly, you’re currently struggling with the following…

[enumerate his/her struggles in their own words]”

“And you think a ________ (logo, website, etc.) can help you reach [describe
their goals].

“In my experience, when clients struggle with (visibility, lack of awareness,

etc.), it’s rarely because they just need a (logo, website, etc.)...

If you do branding, you can talk about the importance of branding here and
how it’s not just a logo. Talk about the monetary returns and how you do
branding differently. You can talk about strategy - make sure to research this.

If you do websites or social media, you can talk about visibility and building
trust and authority AND how your service can offer that instead of just “pretty
designs”.

This is called mindset shifting and it instantly establishes you as an authority.

It’s also why choosing a specific niche and skill is important because it helps
you to fully understand the needs of that niche and how your service ties into it.

Next, you’d want to talk about the experiences you’ve had with other clients
and how they were satisfied with the results you’ve created. It’s okay if these
clients are friends and family. If you haven’t had any clients yet, then I would
show them some of my previous work. Another thing I love to do is I would go
to their website or social media and tell them how I would improve the design.
This is why preparation is so important.

Don't make this too long. Just say a few facts that's relevant to their problem.
Make them feel that you can relate to their struggle and that you have the
solution that will get them closer to their goals.
4. CLOSING QUESTIONS

We always want to ensure our clients are 100% satisfied after working with us,
so what would success look like for you for this project?

What is your deadline for this project? (Have in mind a potential project start
and end date you could offer based on their project needs and your average
timeline.)

5. GIVING THEM A TASTE OF YOUR SERVICE

Tell them that based on their responses (especially if they keep nodding or they
are agreeing with what you’re saying), you think you’d be a right fit for this
project - remember that we’re taking control here so you need to tell the client
that YOU ARE THE RIGHT FIT instead of leaving it to them to choose or
determine who is the right fit.

Tell them how your process works (Share screen of your client onboarding kit
below). You can say that you will create a proposal based on what you’ve talked
about and will be sending the proposal within the day. If the proposal is in line
with their goals, you tell them that working with you starts with signing the
contract and the invoice.

ACCESS CLIENT ONBOARDING KIT

6. THE DEADLY CONVERSATION

“Considering everything we’ve discussed today, we’re looking at a package that

includes roughly [____] deliverables, a timeline of [____] and a project cost
around [$___-$____]. Is that about what you are expecting and budgeting for
this project?”

(Prepare a price estimate range before the call based on what they said in their
inquiry.)

[THEN PAUSE. DON’T SAY ANYTHING AND WAIT FOR THE CLIENT TO CHIME
IN. THEY WILL EITHER SAY OK TO THAT RANGE, OR THEY WILL HAVE
CONCERNS/QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRICE THAT THEY WILL BRING UP.]

*If the client says “ok that range sounds good/that’s what I was expecting,” you
say:

“Great! Our next step is for us to put together a custom proposal for you based on
what we’ve discussed today that you need. We will send the proposal to you by
[today/tomorrow] in an email, along with a video recording of us walking you
through everything that’s included. After that, if you confirm the proposal, we will
send your contract and invoice and secure your spot in our calendar.”

*If the client has hesitations/questions/concerns about the price range, here are
some questions you could ask:

If they say that was a little more money than they were expecting, and they just
seem unsure but not totally against it:

“We understand this is a big investment. We always want to ensure that our clients
see a huge return on their investment, and we believe this custom package will be
able to bring you [their desired outcome they expressed].”

(Then pause and see what they say to that. The key here is to be so confident that
the client will trust in your confidence as well and will not fear booking with you.
They may say they want time to think about it. If they do, tell them that’s totally
fine, and if they can get back to you within 24 hours of you sending the proposal
then you will give them a discount off their project cost [we normally build in $200
to the proposal price for this]. This is a great incentive for them to book sooner
than later. Just work that booking discount into your project proposal so that
you’re not really charging any less than you normally would but it is a discount for
them if they book within 24 hours.)
If they say that price is WAY out of their budget and they seem shocked:
“We understand this may be more than you were budgeting for. Is there a different
price range you were hoping for?”

(Then, depending on the range they say, you could offer to do only part of the
proposed package or offer an alternative service at a lower price point if you have
one. If you don’t want to split the service or cut anything out though, and you think
this is a lost cause and they definitely seem against that price, then thank them for
their time and do not say you will send them a proposal. Tell them you wish them
the best, and you can offer to send them referrals for a designer more within their
budget range if you want to).