Lose the Staples and Increase Sales
Lose the Staples and Increase Sales
Proposals are common especially for products so that buyers can do price and feature comparisons. Within the service industry, proposals are often the accepted norm to ensure that there are not cost overruns as well as the scope of work stays within the agreed terms.
The day has arrived to deliver your sales proposal. Fortunately, you have avoided the often used request of send me your proposal via email. This request unless it is a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) is a sure way not to increase sales.
As you sit down with your future customer (always think positive) be it a small business owner or C Level executive, you hand her your stapled 3 to 5-page proposal. And what does the prospect do? Usually, she immediately turns to the last page to find the price. Years of conditioning have created a belief system in that the price is on the last page. This belief drives the action of turning to that page and delivers the results that she wants and not necessarily the results that you want.
What would happen if you lost the staple? Instead of stapling the pages, you hand each page, one page at a time to your future customer. Then you explain each page and secure agreement before giving to her the next page.
Since I have adopted this behavior, I have yet to lose a statement of work. What I have learned to do (thanks to the advise of an incredible mentor and coach Ray Overdorff) is to position myself entirely differently.
As I sit down with my future client (yes this is what I am thinking), I explain to him or her that our meeting will take the agreed 30 minutes. My first question that I ask is “Has anything significantly happened between our last meeting and today’s meeting that may affect what we previously discussed?” I wait for the response. If the response is No, then I proceed in sharing the first page. If the response is Yes, I ask for additional clarification to ensure that I have included all the necessary facts within my statement of work.
My future client receives the first page and we review it beginning with his or her situation that was previously discussed. Then I briefly explain the approach that I take to improve the situation be it for example customer service. At the bottom of the first page, I discuss the value that my services bring to the table. Before I share the second page, I ask these three questions:
1. Have I correctly and succinctly identified your challenges?
2. Have I missed any problems that you are currently facing?
3. Do you have any questions about my approach or value?
After any discussion and further clarification to ensure agreement, I then pass out the second page. On this page are the following:
1. Recommendations
2. Deliverables
3. Assumptions
4. Return on Investment
Again, the same process is followed. I make sure I have agreement before I pass out my final and third page that contains:
1. Investment
2. Payment Terms
3. Signature Lines
As previously, the same process is completed. I explain the investment and then wait for agreement. Silence during this time is absolutely golden especially if your prospect is thinking about his or her actions. For me, usually the silence is less than one minute.
After agreement, my final question is “Great, where do we begin?” or “Great, what is the next step?”
By losing the staple, I have dramatically increased sales because I have retained control of the sales presentation process. Additionally, I am consistently told that my proposals are the most thorough and succinct proposals that the prospects have ever read. This bodes well given that I want 3 referrals from each new client. On several occasions, I have received referrals from new clients before I actually begin work with them because of how I present my statement of work.
When you staple your presentation, you have directly handed control of the meeting to your future client. Maybe that works for you, but from my 30 plus years in sales, I have found that does not work for me. Simply speaking the bottom line is save your staples if you want to increase sales.
Lose the Staples and Increase Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
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Being in sales means that you must continually meet new individuals. As you separate the wheat from the shaft (qualified prospects from the suspects) and then build those critical relationships, you may eventually have to deliver a proposal or what I prefer to call a statement of work.
Proposals are common especially for products so that buyers can do price and feature comparisons. Within the service industry, proposals are often the accepted norm to ensure that there are not cost overruns as well as the scope of work stays within the agreed terms.
The day has arrived to deliver your sales proposal. Fortunately, you have avoided the often used request of send me your proposal via email. This request unless it is a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) is a sure way not to increase sales.
As you sit down with your future customer (always think positive) be it a small business owner or C Level executive, you hand her your stapled 3 to 5-page proposal. And what does the prospect do? Usually, she immediately turns to the last page to find the price. Years of conditioning have created a belief system in that the price is on the last page. This belief drives the action of turning to that page and delivers the results that she wants and not necessarily the results that you want.
What would happen if you lost the staple? Instead of stapling the pages, you hand each page, one page at a time to your future customer. Then you explain each page and secure agreement before giving to her the next page.
Since I have adopted this behavior, I have yet to lose a statement of work. What I have learned to do (thanks to the advise of an incredible mentor and coach Ray Overdorff) is to position myself entirely differently.
As I sit down with my future client (yes this is what I am thinking), I explain to him or her that our meeting will take the agreed 30 minutes. My first question that I ask is “Has anything significantly happened between our last meeting and today’s meeting that may affect what we previously discussed?” I wait for the response. If the response is No, then I proceed in sharing the first page. If the response is Yes, I ask for additional clarification to ensure that I have included all the necessary facts within my statement of work.
My future client receives the first page and we review it beginning with his or her situation that was previously discussed. Then I briefly explain the approach that I take to improve the situation be it for example customer service. At the bottom of the first page, I discuss the value that my services bring to the table. Before I share the second page, I ask these three questions:
1. Have I correctly and succinctly identified your challenges?
2. Have I missed any problems that you are currently facing?
3. Do you have any questions about my approach or value?
After any discussion and further clarification to ensure agreement, I then pass out the second page. On this page are the following:
1. Recommendations
2. Deliverables
3. Assumptions
4. Return on Investment
Again, the same process is followed. I make sure I have agreement before I pass out my final and third page that contains:
1. Investment
2. Payment Terms
3. Signature Lines
As previously, the same process is completed. I explain the investment and then wait for agreement. Silence during this time is absolutely golden especially if your prospect is thinking about his or her actions. For me, usually the silence is less than one minute.
After agreement, my final question is “Great, where do we begin?” or “Great, what is the next step?”
By losing the staple, I have dramatically increased sales because I have retained control of the sales presentation process. Additionally, I am consistently told that my proposals are the most thorough and succinct proposals that the prospects have ever read. This bodes well given that I want 3 referrals from each new client. On several occasions, I have received referrals from new clients before I actually begin work with them because of how I present my statement of work.
When you staple your presentation, you have directly handed control of the meeting to your future client. Maybe that works for you, but from my 30 plus years in sales, I have found that does not work for me. Simply speaking the bottom line is save your staples if you want to increase sales.
Lose the Staples and Increase Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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