What did you just say to me?
Here’s a conversation that happened last week with a founder. Them.- “Our closing ratio is over 50%. But some clients consume way too much of our resources, and a very few are just perfect (with the time-resource-profit proportion).I don’t think we have identified who our ideal clients are yet.” Question to you: While this closing rate is awesome, what if you pushed back? Here’s what came next: Me.- “Well, your product might be REALLY good… or you might be too cheap. :v” Founder’s reaction…
Politics don’t belong to…
Sure, sure. “Politics don’t belong to business”. You’ve heard it all. Here’s the BUT: Every business is an activist. Either progressive, neutral or regressive. Choosing not to choose is a choice.
After the silence
After the awkward silence came: “Why are you saying that? Our product goes for 42K per year.” Here’s the thing While this price might be high, it depends on the context. The firm is specialized in IT security (aka protecting high-profile companies from being hacked). Going deeper into the conversation, a company being hacked loses —besides reputation— a few millions. In no time. When set up on this specific context, putting 40K a year is pocket change compared to what stays secured. What…
Incompetence
There are 2 types of incompetents. Type I Here you find the ones who try new things, experiment, fail consistently, and try to bring new perspectives into new scenarios. They’re incompetent because they’re not trying to achieve efficiencies. They haven’t had the experience in doing the thing yet. They’re learners. Seth Godin writes a bit about it here. Type N Here you find the other type. Where they stick to the old ways of “We’ve always done it like this”. Where they don’t look for…
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…
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…
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”.
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…
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?
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…
