Show Me Value & Show Me Results

Do you know that your clients and customer’s don’t really care about your credentials, what you know and where you trained? What they really care about is WIFM- the real deal: the “What’s in it for me” factor! Ultimately what your customers care about is what value you provide THEM and the benefits or results you bring to THEM.

This can be tough to digest-especially after the myriad of gut wrenching science courses, rigorous training and competitive internships we go through to obtain that R.D.N status. You mean we didn’t need all that elite training? Actually we do. To be an elite dietitian we need to have elite training and even cross training into other disciplines- how else can we dig narrow and deep into our niches and get really good at what we do. Our training provides value to the client and makes us competitive. But credentials are not enough. At the same time, we need to be cognizant of our clients and their needs. Clients are at your doorstep because they want two things: 1. Value and 2. “show me the” results or the benefits you can offer.

Our mindset has to change from, “I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist therefore I am credentialed to help you.” To “I am going to help you solve your problem by providing you with great value and I am going to provide you with the results and benefits you are asking for. That’s just the hard reality of today when the paradigm has shifted from the health care provider being the keeper and dispenser of health information to now patient’s having health information and advice at their fingertips. Our services are patient centered and now often patient driven. Your client is in the drivers seat and though I would suggest never to take the back seat, we certainly have to come to grips with sharing the wheel.

To be able to better steer our services into the fast lane, I suggest you think of yourself as “A Problem Solver.” By doing so you are adding value to your services. Think about what problems you solve for your clients and what the benefits or results are to them (WIFM!). This will allow you to better sell the benefits and measure the results.

Here’s a test: Finish the following sentence for your niche. Even do this a few times with different answers.

“I help people _____________________so they can_______________________ (Solve Problem Result/Benefit)”

Here are a list of the top 9 benefits most businesses offer… you may think of a few more.

Save time
Save Money
Make Money
Avoid Effort
Find Success
Be Pain Free
Be safe & Secure
Live & Love
Increase happiness.
Notice that these benefits are measurable and if they are measurable you will be able to provide measurements of improvement. All about measurable results, no?

So my tip this month comes down to—Provide your clients with value and give them the results.

Tip of the Month: June 2013

Emma Fogt, MBA, MS, RDN, LDN
www.reignite4wellness.com
“light the fire within”
www.ewomenwellness.com
“empowered, energized, effective”
Past NE Chair 2013-14