Welcome to APEX Consulting, where expertise and experience combine to help your business achieve ever-growing revenues! Today, I want to introduce you to an exciting way to increase sales: leveraging test customers and trial offers.

Something that's very close to my heart is that many people have been asking me via LinkedIn and Instagram how to start finding customers who could benefit from my skills.

What is a Trial Offer?

Imagine you have a brilliant product or a top-notch service that can potentially improve the lives of your target audience. You know exactly which problem your expertise solves, but now you’re wondering how to gain the interest and trust of potential customers.

This is where the concept of a trial offer and test clients comes into play! A trial offer is your first step to help your target audience and ease their worries. It allows potential customers to experience your service without significant financial risk. This approach not only demonstrates your capabilities but also helps in building long-term business relationships.

Must I Work for Free with Test Clients?

If you’re new to entrepreneurship and struggling to find customers, using test customers can be beneficial. However, working for free isn't a necessity. You can attract test customers without offering your services for free. Consider charging for “material costs,” like advertising expenses, or offer your service at a reduced rate for a limited time. This approach helps generate valuable testimonials from satisfied customers, worth more than money if you are not yet well-known for your service.

How to Attract Test Customers

Here are three effective ways to win over test customers:

1. The Powerful Call: Develop an irresistible trial offer and reach out directly to potential customers via phone. Prepare a "test customer sales script" to address common objections and highlight the benefits of your trial offer.
2. Face-to-face interaction: Connect with potential test customers through personal encounters at events or in everyday life. Use these opportunities to build trust and present your trial offer as the solution to their challenges.
3. Social Media Direct Messages: Leverage platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn to reach potential test customers. You can use direct messages with a demo pitch to showcase your offer and its benefits.

Turning Test Customers into Paying Customers

Congratulations! You’ve convinced potential customers to try your unbeatable trial offer. Now, the challenge is converting these test customers into paying ones. Here are eight proven tactics to achieve this goal:

1. Build Trust: Establish a personal relationship with test customers, be responsive to their queries, and ensure they feel valued. You can very easily do this via LinkedIn by constantly engaging with your prospects' posts and activating notifications whenever they post something new.
2. Provide Outstanding Customer Service: Proactively address their needs and solve any issues promptly. Excellent service will show them you value their satisfaction and are committed to supporting them.
3. Showcase the Value of Your Offerings: Please emphasise the benefits and usefulness of your services during the trial period.
4. Offer Incentives for Long-Term Collaboration: Provide discounts, additional services, or exclusive offers to encourage test customers to become long-term clients.
5. Display Social Proof: Collect testimonials and success stories from satisfied customers and share them on your website and marketing materials.
6. Overcome Objections and Concerns: Identify potential obstacles and address them by offering flexible payment options or extended support.
7. Leverage Upselling and Cross-Selling: Once customers are satisfied, offer them additional products or services that match their needs.
8. Maintain Contact: After the trial period, keep in touch with your customers through newsletters, exclusive event invitations, thank you packages, and relevant information in brochure format.

Transforming Test Customers into Advocates

Testimonials are more than just positive reviews; they are the backbone of a strong marketing strategy. Here’s how to gather compelling testimonials:

1. Choose the Right Test Customers: Identify customers who have benefited from your product and are willing to share their experience.
2. Encourage Authentic Feedback: Could you explain the importance of their feedback in helping others and ask for detailed reviews highlighting your service's impact?
3. Diversify Testimonials: Use a variety of testimonials, including written reviews, video testimonials, and social media posts.
4. Strategically Place Testimonials: Incorporate testimonials into your sales and marketing materials, such as landing pages, product pages, and blog articles, to encourage potential customers to engage with your company.

By offering potential customers the chance to try your service with minimal financial risk, you gain their trust and demonstrate the value of your offerings. You can use testimonials and case studies to build credibility and visibility in your industry.

If you want to create a trial offer, gain your first test customers, and successfully convert them into paying clients, apply now for our free initial consultation before all slots are booked.