Starting Your Concierge Business: Conquering The Fear of Selling Factor

Now that you’re in business you have to find customers. If you’ve participated in our webinar “Ten Places To Find Your First Concierge Customers” you have an inkling where to start. Even if you haven’t had a chance to attend the free webinar, you know you’re going to have to get out there and sell your concierge services. your business, and yourself.

So what’s holding you back? Many concierge business owners tell us:

“I hate selling!”

This is a fear you absolutely must conquer or you won’t be in business long. I did and you can too. From first-hand experience here are my suggestions:

1. Practice talking about your business with everyone you possibly can. Your family, your friends, people you meet standing in line, the plumber who comes to your house. Get familiar and comfortable with telling your company’s story and the services you provide in a succinct and conversational manner.
2. Open your eyes and ears. Everyone is now a potential customer so, when you’re having conversations about your business (see #1) don’t back down when the person wants to hear more about what your company has to offer. Just because you’re talking to a friend doesn’t mean you have to discount your service or (worse) give it away for free. In fact, your very first customers will almost always be your friends and family members.
3. Be a problem solver. A great personal concierge recognizes problems and offers solutions. People are under an inordinate amount of stress today. It may be managing their repairs, waiting for a delivery, or finding someone to take their dog to the vet–you undoubtedly provide a service that will make their life easier. Is it selling when another mom at your son’s baseball game tells you she’s been frustrated with her son’s grades and you tell her your company has three great tutors you’d be happy to recommend? Sure. But It’s also being a problem solver at the right place at the right time.
4. Be authentic. Rather than “selling” task management, I like to concentrate on the big picture. Even when someone calls my company wanting us to do a specific thing, I work to turn the conversation from a one-time hourly job to an opportunity to add value to their life. “Sure, we’ll be happy to wait for the cable guy. You can save money by purchasing one of our flexible monthly packages–then you can use the time however you’d like as things like this come up. We take care of car maintenance, pets….” They may only use you for one task this time, but you’ve put the big picture in their mind.
5. Use marketing tools like your blog, your Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, your website, to reach out to people in a big way. Use keywords smartly so prospects can find you. Put some real effort into your social media and you’ll reap results. 80-90% of my new business every month comes from my website. If you’d like help with this, email us. Our web team is expert at getting you to the top of the Google search list.
6. Finally…remember…they can’t buy if you don’t sell.

Be sure to join our Facebook family and the concierge conversation on Twitter. We have daily affirmations, quick marketing ideas, and opportunities you won’t want to pass up–plus, you’ll hear ideas from other concierge business owners about how they manage their businesses.

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