Before You Discount Your Price

/in /by

By Brooke Green

So close…How many times have you been in this situation:

*You meet a prospect
*You take them through your process
*You ask them the right questions, tough questions
*They reveal that they have a problem
*They know it is costing them money
*They think you can help them fix it
*They say “NO” because they can’t afford your solution

WHAT? WAIT A MINUTE! EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL.

What’s really happening…

I think our first instinct is to believe what they’ve told us – our price is too high. We obviously didn’t hear something right, or our pricing process is flawed. So, maybe I should discount. STOP! If your arm is falling off and you’re bleeding to death, do you negotiate with your doctor for a lower price?? Do you decide to let it bleed a little bit longer before you do something about it?

No, you realize you have a problem, you know you have to invest something to fix it, and you believe the doctor can fix it for you. If you have a prospect with a problem as big as a “dangling arm” should they behave differently? My experience is that it’s not about price at all. It’s a belief issue.

What to do about it……..

If you have helped a prospect identify a problem, denominate the cost of the problem, and you and the prospect have decided together that you can fix it, what does price have to do with it? NOTHING! It’s about belief; belief that the problem they have exists, belief that it’s worth investing time and money in to fix, and the belief that you are the person to fix it. So, if the prospect wants to keep making it about price, what can you do? Go back to your process……….

  • Historical Review – How did you get to this point?
  • Up–Front agreement – “I want to find out what is really holding you back”
  • Compelling Reason – What was the pain that was revealed to you? Remind them of it – over and over and over.
  • Economics – What is the cost of not fixing the problem? How much is the problem costing them currently? Is the value your solution higher than the dollars they will invest to fix it? If yes, than logically, they should move forward with the solution.

If you take them back through your process and they are still hung up on price, you have to lay it out for them:

“My experience is that the problem here is really not the price. Maybe your gut tells you that the problem is not worth fixing, or that I really can’t help you. That’s okay, but if that is the case, I will have to walk away.”

If they allow you to walk away, they weren’t serious about fixing the problem. The thought of you leaving them with their problem will force them to “get real” and get you back on track for the real, true conversation.

 

Getting to the Decision Maker–Your Attitude Matters

/in /by

Recently in our SELECT (advanced sales training) program, we got into a conversation about getting to the right person in the sales process.

As we went down the path, it became apparent that it was less a technique issue and more of an attitude issue on our part.

I went back in to the studio and recorded a short eight-minute recap for all of our client base and anybody who has subscribed to our email newsletters.

Hopefully, it can provide you with a little guidance when you are faced with this idea of “How do I get to the decision maker inside my prospect company?”

What is Your Customer’s Mentality?

/in /by

Just like you have an outlook and a mentality of how you see the world, so does your customer. And many times that mentality they have does not fit in with your plans or your solutions.

Recently, I was asked to come in and do a half day training program for a group of 20 sales people. A manager “just needed someone to fill a slot” and thought I might be the right person to do it. However, in our business I don’t consider myself a slot filler. I consider myself a problem solver and until the customer’s mentality changed from how do I fill a slot in my sales meeting to how do I solve sales problems, he was not a prospect for me.

So the question becomes, can one change another’s mentality? I think you can. But it’s unlikely you will until you realize “the current state of the customer mentality.” 

In many instances the customer’s mentality is save money or get it for cheap, protect and defend my current status or laziness (doing as little work as I can on this). You might consider changing your customer’s mentality by writing down what you would like it to be. What would a client’s mentality have to be for him/her to be open to telling you about his/her problems and your solution? Once you write down the ideal mentality then you are on your way to being able to assess whether or not you see that in a customer.

Another example
I have a client that sells therapy equipment to clinics. When I asked him to do this exercise, he wrote down that the “ideal client mentality” would be to “find a way to leverage my patients and the relationships I have with them to grow the average per patient revenue per visit.”
Even though that wasn’t always the mentality of the prospect, when he was able to articulate that and say this is the kind of person we can help is one who has this “mentality” he immediately started to see change on how the doctors saw his value.

So, do the same thing. Write down that ideal client mentality and see if it enables you to change someone’s perception of what you do.

Fear Installment #2 “Fear & Self-Sabatoge”

/in /by

By Brooke GreenI posted a blog a few weeks ago about the Fear of Learning billcaskey.com. In that blog, I talked about how the fear of learning can stop us in our tracks.   It’s hard to believe that we would want to stay stagnant.  Why wouldn’t we want to get better?

Sounds crazy, right?  Not really. Think about all of the ways that you self-sabotage.  You complain about how your jeans are too tight as you stuff another Girl Scout cookie in your mouth. You talk about getting out of debt, but then come up with a reason to put those great shoes on your credit card.  Not that I have any personal experience…

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. 

Diagnosing The Problem
When we go into companies and do a diagnostic on the current situation, it is usually clear why we’ve been invited in.  As we talk about how we can fix problems, the discomfort in “what might be” starts to show itself.  Sometimes the pain of doing nothing is so much less than the pain of change.

What are we afraid of?  Will people’s expectations of us increase?  Will we have more to lose?  Will we just be TOO fabulous?

Can You Handle Change?
Maybe you’ve imagined what life looks like when you’ve accomplished the learning.  Are you afraid it will turn out differently than your plan?  My experience is that I can handle learning (change) much easier in small bites.  Instead of looking at the end of the learning, take it as it comes.   It’s kind of like not looking at the total amount of your mortgage, but just the monthly payment – much easier to stomach, isn’t it?

What is one thing you would like to learn / change? (Hint:  What is not working in your sales process?  Can’t get to the decision maker?  Not enough activity?  Deals fizzle out?) What is the smallest step you can take?  Once you’ve accomplished that, what’s the next step, and the next and the next…. You’re on your way.

You say that You Want Your Sales Results to be Different – Are You Sure You’re Ready?

/in /by

By Brooke Green”Fear” Installment #1

I read an article recently in Fast Co. (www.fastcompany.com) magazine about the Fear of Learning.  Marcia Conner states that while some people say that they need fear to excel, too much fear about what there is to learn can actually shut you down.   It started me thinking about how fear manifests itself in training.

Of course, when we start working with a new client there is a lot of fear:

*Fear of the unknown – What if I find out something about myself that I don’t like?
*Fear of what you aren’t very good at being revealed – What if I appear stupid in front of my peers or my boss?
*Fear of not being able to “get it” – What if everyone else catches on and I can’t?  What will they think?
*Fear of losing the familiar – What if everything I thought I knew was wrong?  What if I learn something new and people expect more from me?

Ms. Conner goes onto ask the question, “Are you afraid of revealing the terrible secret that you aren’t as brilliant as you’ve led people to believe?” 

Are you afraid of looking dumb to get smarter?  We are in a constant state of learning.  Sometimes that means being open to not knowing everything.   I had a mentor once tell me “If it doesn’t hurt, you aren’t learning.”  It’s so true.

Think about one part of your sales process that isn’t working.  Maybe it’s your income overall.  Do you find yourself looking to the outside – bad prospects, bad territory, bad product?  Try looking inside – is it really something that you’re afraid of fixing that’s holding you back?

Stay tuned for “Fear” Installment #2…

Don Imus Went Too Far

/in /by

I’m a huge Don Imus fan–or should I say, “I WAS a fan.” I thought he was brilliant in how he reinvented his career (after his drug filled 70’s and 80’s) and made his NY radio show a leading morning TV show. A lesson in repurposing content.

But his latest vulgar episode with the Rutgers basketball slur happened for one reason–he started to believe is own sh_ _. He thought he was invincible because he was Don Imus. He cut himself off from anyone who could challenge him on his methods–surrounded only by ‘yes men’ whose future depended upon kissing up.

Let this be a lesson to us all.
The moment we think we’re invincible is exactly the time the walls start to cave in on us. It happens to great sales people who start to make enormous amounts of money–and then get sloppy with customer service or stop prospecting.

It happens to great sales managers who think they don’t have to learn any more–and continue to manage using old fear-based tactics.

It happens to business owners who refuse to take the internet seriously and who refuse to learn new marketing methods and business models.

So, if you think the Imus story has nothing to do with you, think again. It just might. Check out your connection with real people–your customers, your coaches, your family. Make sure you continue to learn and grow–keep your intent high. The ego has a subversive way of sneaking up on you and telling you you’re invincible.

Is “The Secret” Really THE Secret?

/1 Comment/in /by

Just finished The Secret DVD. Although the book left me a little cool, the DVD was quite good.

Here are my LIKES and DISLIKES and a recommendation. By the way, if you’ve been living in Bahrain the last month, The Secret is the Law of Attraction, which says you attract to things/situations that mirror your feelings and thoughts.

The Secret LIKES
*The production quality of the DVD was outstanding. Other than a few annoying things (like the announcer reading quotes from famous people that you could barely hear–he was whispering–you see, it was a secret), it was worth watching.

* The interviews the producer (Rhonda Byrne) had with other supporting authors (Bob Proctor and Henry Beckwith and others) were well done. Joe Vitale (Dr.) was good as well. (Is that Dick Vitale’s brother? Sure looks like him.)

* The last hour of the program was very good because it addressed the reasons the secret works, which I didn’t think the book addressed well.

The Secret DISLIKES
* I despise this idea that they started this program with the attraction of material things (necklaces, bikes, parking spaces). It seems they’re taking a big idea and dumbing it down for the consumer society.

* They should have told the truth that, sometimes, even though you might think about things, you can’t attract them to you. Because you aren’t mentally/physically or emotionally ready for them. Sometimes God actually stops things from coming into your life–they just aren’t right for you. In other words, what we might hope for might not be right for us.

* They never talked about the Reverse Organizing Mechanism of the mind. (Although they did talk about the vast power of the mind. ) This “organizing phenomena” kicks in when you put an idea (goal) out there. The Universe has a way of helping you recognize situations that will help you accomplish those goals. In a way, the mind “reverse organizes” all the things you need to see to accomplish that goal.

In the video, Jack Canfield had a perfect example when he said he wanted to sell 400,000 books at .25/ea. He was in a store one day and saw National Enquirer and thought that would be a good way to do it. In the next 30 days, he met a writer for the Enquirer which ultimately led him to the goal. Do you think he would have noticed the Enquirer in the store if he had not written the goal down? Probably not.

But they skipped that part of the phenomena.

Recommendation
Ok, so here’s where I think The Secret is good for sales professionals. A good selling strategy has to do with qualifying people who can buy what you have.  In order to execute a sales strategy, you have to have a good idea of what an Ideal Client looks like.

Your Assignment
In the next week, write down your definition of your Ideal Client. We did a podcast on that called The Ideal Client. Be very clear about what that client looks like–how much they buy per year, how they are to work with, how they treat you, what kinds of pains/problems they have which would make them perfect for your solution etc., Look at that list each morning.

And as you come across people you’re tempted to add to your sales funnel, stop and ask if they meet the attributes of the Ideal Client. What you’ll find is that your awareness will become much keener in how you see the market place and you’ll become more discerning about who you pursue.

Now, that’s the REAL Secret!

You’ve Been Given a Gift. Are You Using It?

/in /by

I heard a commerical the other night that posed a profound question: “Are you using all of the gifts (talents) that you’ve been given?”

Thoreau said many of us, “live lives of quiet desperation.” To me that means we sort of meander through life–taking what’s given us, but not really exploiting our gifts and talents.

As sales professionals, we have many gifts–the gift of creativity–the gift of being able to touch people with our work–the gift of solving problems–etc. But how many of us really “exploit” those gifts?

One Gift That Stands Above All Others
In sales, one gift we’ve been given, that most of us fail miserably to exploit, is the gift of intuition. That gift is a sixth sense…a  feeling…a notion of what’s not right in the relationships we have with prospects and clients. Yet, how often do we follow that intuition–and act on it? Not often.

I was working with a group of accountants last week and we talked about that very thing–“acting on your intution.” If you feel something isn’t right, you must call it out to the prospect–not in an angry, accusatory way–but in an honest, all-truth-on-the-table way.

I was taught early in my career that when you disregard your feelings and hold them to yourself, you bottle up  your creativity–and your ability to be in the present moment with people. Plus, you “own less of your self.”

I hope you’ll think about your intuition–listen to it–and follow it.

It’s a gift you’ve been given.

CORPORATE SELF ESTEEM-Well Kept Secret? Or BS?

/in /by

You all know Dr. Phil. He talks of self-esteem and how important that is in leading a life of well- being and happiness. We all know the price we pay for a poor self image—lack of assertiveness, no dreams, unworthy goals, self-sabotage, little energy.

I am not a social psychologist, an Organizational Theory specialist, or a corporate counselor. And I have only had experience in consulting with over 100 companies and a few thousand people in the last 19 years.

But my belief is that a Company does have a self-esteem. And it impacts EVERYTHING EVERY PERSON does in the company.

Clues
The following are clues that lead one to believe there is a Corporate Esteem problem:

• Energy low inside your company (the physical part). Think about Starbucks vs. your company. Any difference?
• Do you have to sell your product OR are people attracted and compelled to buy it? The more you have to beg to sell, the less corporate esteem you have.
• Attract low vibrating people or high vibrating people. Do your people “humm” throughout the day or merely sputter around?
• Discounting price. You should NEVER discount price. If you do, you have an esteem problem.
• Can’t follow a process. Create a sales process that is in the prospect’s best interest. If you can’t follow it, look inside — not at the customer.
• Don’t have a comprehensive business plan (real and authentic). No vision…no well thought out strategy for getting to the vision.
• Have no cause beyond bottom line. It’s all about money. One sure way to zapp people’s energy for motivation–and that is to make EVERYTHING about money and profit.

The Solution-Some Suggestions
These are five things you can do immediately to improve the CE of your company.

• Connect with the cause (these are the root issues of why you’re in business…the human cause…why did the company start? What did the founder want to accomplish by starting the business? What is the soul of your business? Why do people come to work everyday? How much extra capital do you invest in a cause outside of stakeholder wealth?

• Understand your value.  What is your company value in the products you sell and the services you provide? How does your value impact the people of your client company? How are your clients’ lives better because they have you in them? Don’t have meetings on successful implementations of systems…have meetings on successful results your clients realized as a result of your value. Usually the only time we do that is when we’re creating a company brochure.

• Find customer “pain.” Understand how your value solves problems and make an all-out assault on problems your clients (prospects) have.  Be relentless about understanding the pain, the impact of the pain on the people in their company. Be indignant about ‘denominating the pain’ into $ prior to proposing. Pay no attention to competition. They are irrelevant if you do well here.  If you say you are a “hawk for pain” then do you see the drive to find problems in your client business?

• Have conviction in your process. This speaks specifically to sales people. Does your sales process really have the best interest of the prospect in mind? Do you just jump to RFP’s or do you take the time to really understand the problem, the economics of the problem and the solutions process? You will find this conviction when you do steps 1-3.

• Stop Discounting. You might think discounting helps you get the business. It might, but it also wreaks more damage than it fixes. When you discount and you get the deal, then you have just confirmed that your value isn’t what you said it was. Many times, the prospect sees your value at a higher level than you do.

• Have honest dialogue with people. We live in a corporate America where there is a never-ending supply of babble…blah blah blah. Everyone loves to hear themselves talk and justify, and rationalize and make excuses. Most of it is not lies and deceit, but it’s far from truth. One sure way to live in continuous web of lack is to never talk the truth. If it’s good and the truth, talk about it. If you’re the best in the world at something, tell people. But don’t dress up the pig and pretend it’s something that it isn’t. Your employees and team are on to that. Everyone sees the truth, but if you aren’t talking about it, shame. If your competition is better at something, tell your customer that. If you lose deals because of that, then why haven’t you changed it?

These are some sales rants I had the other day. We’ll get back to the Lost Journal later this week.