Talk price early
If you’re selling something that is somewhat of a considerable amount ($$$), you want to talk price early in the game. Take it out of the question from the beginning. You’ll respect both your prospect’s time and yours. Going first into the details of what you do / sell [AKA features, or deliverables] to then try to convince is justifying the cost / effort of what it takes towards the price. “It does this, so the price is this”. Think of what they want, their desired state, what they value….
Are your competitors lying?
If you see that in your market, what do you do? Here’s an episode of April Dunford’s podcast about that, and a few smart ways to call them out (with class). 🙂 Give it a go, it’s 24 mins. 🙂 And, please, in case you’re tempted to stretch reality… just don’t. 🙂
On positioning
Positioning is not business strategy. It’s a part of, but it’s not THE strategy. Positioning is a reflection of your business strategy (your business approach). Your position(ing) can shift in time to be better aligned to your approach in business. The simplest way to start with it is: WHAT YOU DO + FOR WHOM. It’s a good way to start.
The breakdown
“Can you show us a breakdown of how the time will be used and how much will each item be?” Client / Prospect ———— “Re: breakdown. I don’t do a breakdown of items. It would mean you’d be working on an estimate —and we all know estimates are always underestimated. I’d rather give you a full, fixed price, so that you can make an informed financial decision at no risk of spending anything extra if the estimate is that: an estimate.” You’re not obliged to breakdown anything at all. Not…
The shopping list
“Can you do X, Y, Z? And also A, B, C, D? Also, can you show us a breakdown of how the time will be used and how much will each item be?” That’s exactly what it is. A trap. A trap to get you to itemize what you do, so that they can choose what works for them… according to them. A trap to get you to play in their terms —at the price they set. It’s self-diagnosis and self-prescription at its best. The (well, ONE) way to get off this trap is simple: ignore it. You’re not obliged to break down…
Can you do this?
What is your answer when being asked by a prospect: Can you do X, Y, Z? And also A, B, C, D? Also, can you show us a breakdown of how the time will be used and how much will each item be? How do you respond to this?
Is it something personal?
“No. We won’t buy from you.” What do you feel when you’re in a sales conversation and hear that? That it’s a No against you? That you didn’t convince them enough? That you weren’t good enough to close the deal? That your offer is sub-par? That you… . . . It’s hard hearing a No. Until you seek for it. Hearing a No felt like something against me. That if I didn’t get a Yes, then I wouldn’t be as good as I could have thought I was. Or that I lacked the competence. It felt personal. Then the…
The ridiculousness test
Are you that special cookie? Most messaging to the market goes as “bringing solutions”, “being creative”, “focused on success”, “the best of”, “state of the art (?)”… Ask yourself: Would saying the opposite sound ridiculous? Would your competitors go to the market and say they “Bring problems”? “Are incompetent”? “Are not creative”? Since this scenario is highly unlikely, find out what truly makes you stand out. It’s hard work. And it’ll be SO simple to understand, your clients will “get it”.
What happens in a sales conversation
Being interested in what your customer actually wants —whether or not they buy from you— and qualifying if there’s a fit between what they want and what you can offer changes the way your sales will go. It’ll leave space for them to rant about their problem. They’ll tell you deeply into what’s really that they’re into. They’ll give away insights into how you could approach a way to help them. They’ll tell you what’s their perfect future —and if you could help them get there. You taking good…
Having conversations
There’s a principle introduced by Blair Enns on how to approach sales: Replacing presentations with conversations. It states that instead of going into convince-solution-presentation-mode, where you do all the talking so that you get buy-in from your prospect, you go into a conversation. Trying to find a fit between their situation and how/if you could help. If there is a financial fit (can they afford you?). Going into this mode changes the dynamics of the sale. Makes your prospect go into…
