How many times have you had this happen to you and almost laugh:
The salesperson quotes you the price and then they “shut up”…
The awkward silence sets in…
You haven’t said a word…
… and the salesperson KNOWS THEY GOT YOU NOW!
or do they?
When people do this to me, I just want to cut through the BS and have a candid conversation… not some scripted sales show.
(Don’t worry, I’ve done this plenty of times growing up but I don’t anymore because it’s unnecessary.)
Sharp clients want to have experts in the room and have direct conversations.
*Disclaimer:
- There’s plenty of literature on how to have sales conversations
- There’s also a plethora of information on how to present your offerings
- The following presumes you’ve had a value conversation with your ideal client and know how to sell the future state of your offering (not your activity), have a track record of getting clients results, and have your offerings productized
Things to consider when discussing solutions with a prospective client:
Think of your offerings as rare and only to be discussed and “brought out” if the client meets the following criteria:
1 – Their attitude is cool (and you want to work with them)
2 – Their business model makes financial sense to pay for your services
3 – Their product/service is one you can actually help with your products/services
Once you’ve had your direct conversation, it’s time to present how you will help the client get their ideal outcome (future state), use what I call a Bullseye Offer, and give options to work with you and have them tell you which option they want*
The layout I use in a 3 column table:
Row 1 – A clear and upfront sentence of what the client is actually purchasing (i.e. the outcome)
Row 2 – Set expectations of what it will look like to work with you (including communication expectations, levels of access to you or the team, and depth of engagement)
Row 3 – The timeline they can expect to see results/get their problem solved
Row 4 – The investment needed to get this outcome
*NOTE: I am not sure who invented options pricing but
- This is my interpretation of it and one I’ve used to secure 6 figure deals.
- Base your options off your profitability formula to ensure you never give an option that runs you in the red
- Bundle your productized services into the options to create truly unique solutions for your clients without creating unneeded stress to fulfill the offering
Give this a shot in your next conversation, the first time I did I surprised myself.