Small business wins are often about efficiency. And here's an overlooked benefit of a book that frees up hours talking to potential clients.
How often do you find yourself saying the same things to new or potential clients? It's amazing how similar the first few questions are.
It can be time-consuming and repetitive, and the fun bit of the job doesn't really start until we get past these baseline conversations and into the things we can really make a difference in.
What if your team is fielding those questions? Are you sure they are giving the best answers and using words you know to get people to take that next step?
The Subservient Chicken Principle
There was an early Internet meme called Subservient Chicken. It was actually a Burger King ad. A guy on screen in a chicken costume. You ask him to jump, and he jumps. Ask him to spin around, and he spins. Ask him to swear or do NSFW things, and he shakes his head. In 2004, this was a magic interaction.
It would have been a technical miracle if it had been interactive, but in reality, the ad agency had previously asked people, "If you saw this character on screen, what would you ask him to do?" They then recorded the top answers, which were grouped around a few common questions.
See the similarity? New clients all have broadly the same questions. At least to the point of feeling like they can make progress and mentally get to the "interesting questions."
Your Book Does the Heavy Lifting
It's one of the surprising benefits of having a book to build your business.
A client recently told me, "It not only saves me from answering the same questions, it also means that when I speak with people, we save half the meeting by getting people on the same page. It's a huge time saver."
Having a book is fantastic for collecting leads and also a huge efficiency win. It allows you to answer those starter questions hundreds of times a week without having to be in front of hundreds of people.
The best part: when you do get to meet these new people, they are already predisposed to your approach. They already know and like the way you work.
