Sell results, not activity

A $20 million company has a sales and marketing dilemma that is costing them $1 million per year. 

An entrepreneur doing $200,000 has a sales and marketing problem that is costing her $30,000 per year.

They both have the same problem, but the larger company has staff and a board of directors and internal silos and politics and turf protection that necessitates charging $50,000 for the same “fix” that I can help the solo-preneur implement for $5,000.

Many of you will think

Really?

Let’s take a look at a few key points, then let me know if you still feel the same way.

• The company will realize a 20x ROI on their $50,000 investment in me.

• The solo-preneur will only realize a 6x ROI on the $5,000 she invests in me.

• The company will require three factory tours, 3-4 iterations of the proposal, 100 emails, seven on-site meetings, and a lot of hand-holding and counseling over 12 weeks.

• The solo-preneur buys within 30 minutes via my online shopping cart and is implementing what I recommend during our first 60-minute call.

• The company has inventory issues, declining morale due to recent layoffs, old habits, and an identity crisis that must be reconciled in order to affect change and produce results.

• The solo-preneur just needs a fresh set of eyes, a sounding board, and a little pick-me-up to accelerate into the stratosphere.

Now do you see why you must charge based on the results and not the activity? 

You must also include in your price an “annoyance fee.”

For me, sitting in on meetings and listening to corporate staff go through their death throes as I slaughter their sacred sales and marketing cows is painful, so I build in enough money to make it worth my while.

I could charge the company $100,000 and they’d still have a 10x ROI.

I could charge them $500,000 and they’d still double their investment. (If I asked you for a $5 bill and handed you $10, would you think that was a fair trade?)

In professional selling you must understand the value you bring each customer and charge accordingly.

To understand the value you bring you must ignore how quick and easy it may be for you to implement your products or services (in an ideal situation) and start by asking more and better questions. (Hint: you know you’re asking great questions when the prospect can’t answer them. I show you how to do that in this community.)

I have a list of questions for salespeople and sales managers that spans eight typed pages.

It’s included in the 30-Day Sales Growth Program.

Now go sell something.