Closing doesn’t need to be that hard
Going into a sales conversation to close a deal that might feel significant to you in terms of revenue doesn’t mean it’ll be the same for your customer. You need 2 main things: Be willing (and ready) to hear No. And follow up with more questions to understand, not to convince. Be willing to walk away. If it’s not a fit, it’s not a fit. And that’s ok. It’s just a number. Say your offer is 50 000 euros / dollars —and keep the straight face. The more you practice saying it out loud, the more…
Do you know what’s the easiest way to not stand out?
Do the same as everybody else. Set prices based on the market. Focus on revenue at all costs (literally). Go for the easy sale (at the low price). Fight any chance you see change coming. Block crazy ideas. Do what you’re told. Not standing out is safe. Makes life easier. You face no resistance. You subdue. And then you fade.
Build it right and they’ll come
Pre-S: Funny thing, friend of the list Genevieve Hayes, just sent an email with an approach to the same subject. Go check it out here. “Build it right and they’ll come” takes a few assumptions in mind: That you’re building FOR SURE the right thing. That your customers will automatically know you built it and will give you their money. That there’s certainty about your offering (aka no risk, since they will come). There’s one more to add: lack of focus. When building your offering, you might…
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….
Nobody will pay this
“It’s too expensive. Nobody will buy this thing. The price would be too high.” — Will . salesperson The price? $ 100 K. Here’s the fun part, though: Without context it sure feels like a lot of money. It’s 100 K, right? However, the customer is currently using an alternative for $ 200 K.PER YEAR. This 100 K? What it would be for the customer to pay. For 5 years. To them (the customer), it’s comparing 1 million to spend in 5 years vs 100 K in 5 years. For them, it’s 90% in cost savings. For the…
Are you able to ask the hard question?
When selling to another business, both parties tend to see the sale from a cost perspective. However, that’s not important. You can change the way this works and how they see things. In a b2b setting, you need to involve the ones who are making the decision (for this you can deff check The Challenger Sale, The Jolt Effect and Sales Pitch). If you get to talk to Procurement/Purchasing at the very end of the process, you’re out of the game. They have all the power to negotiate (and they’re…
The power of options. And why to give 3.
Pre-S. Influenza got me good this past week. Not fun having high fever sustained through days and nights. So, PSA, get vaxxed if you can. 🙂 ———— Giving your customers 3 options actually helps them. It gives your customers agency. That they are in charge —which they are— of what’s next. It gives them a better view of your expertise and how you’re thinking for them and with them. It makes the comparison easier between you and your competitors: it goes from “Why should i choose you?” to…
Incidentals
WARNING. This is a price-rant. Hotels and hospitality… it’s going ridiculous. Don’t you hate when you’re expecting to pay something… and out of nowhere there (somehow) comes extra costs that you were never aware of? Not even in the small print. Checking into a hotel (in Boston for the week, so if you’re around and fancy a meet up, coffee is on me 😁), rooms paid and they come with – “Will you also like to add incidentals to your card?” – What do you mean “incidentals”? – Oh yeah. Per…
Don’t start from the bottom
Sometimes you need to start from the bottom up. Pricing is not when. When presenting 3 options for your customers to choose from, the usual way the proposal building gets approach is: Listen to the budget. Think of what could be built based on the budget and make a profit. Think of what the next thing could be built and make a higher profit. And build an even better one that would blow their minds (and be used as the high anchor). The thing is, it takes more effort on doing it so. It requires…
Working and Running
Which one are you doing in your day to day? Working your business? Or running your business? Seems like a nuance, yet it goes deeper. One is focused on tasks and getting to the next day, to the next goal. The other is focused on transforming the business and getting to the next stage. Often times, you get sucked into only working your business, into the day to day, leaving out of focus that you also need to run your business. They’re both important, and are intertwined. Give them the right…
