Sales Training London: How to Spoil the Pitch for Your Competition
Sales Training London: How to Spoil the Pitch for Your Competition
You do that already, I know .... so there's no value in taking this further?
..... OK, if you're not, have you ever considered the "Monkey's Paw" approach. Sell them a little in the form of an evaluation, a site study, an assessment or a pilot so they have a financial stake in the ground and offset that against the final fee if they buy the big ticket item.
I know I often used to lose sight of the opportunity by being blinded by the big picture, (by my greed or ambition), by wanting the big deal so badly, that I forgot about the steps along the way. I remember pitching Origin in Holland for 120 consultants when I was in recruitment. I worked on that deal for 4 months. We visited HQ 4 times (several flights, hotel bills, time away from home, opportunity costs, expenses), I involved the MD, the Chairman of the company, used up resources in research and free consulting ..... and never saw a penny back.
We got letters of intent and they paid lip service to the buying process .... and did it using their current provider on the back of my hard work and my small company's scant resources.
I failed to qualify properly. I was needy and they could smell it! So they played me like a fiddle and I played the game in my company gathering resources together to build the pitch. Silly me. The game was skewed so much in their favour because I'd unwittingly started working for them instead of protecting our interests. There were 2 people on their team and none on mine! They were kicking the ball against an open goal.
I failed to test their commitment by not selling them a pilot or a study, or 1, 2 or 10 positions first. I'd have made some money along the way, they'd have been committed and we would have (at least partially) blocked out our rivals.
By defining the initial sale as part of the larger sale and agreeing the initial success criteria (and of course meeting them), you can offset the intial investment against the big investment, and lock down the bigger budget. Closing the big budget up front by closing the smaller piece of work first helps reduce the pressure on your buyer too.
This couldn't also have an impact by shortening your sales cycles, could it?
I don't know if this will work in your business. I don't even know if your company can offer these smaller options to customers. You decide if this might work in your business.
Please feel free to share your experiences of this approach with me on EVANCARMICHAEL@SALTeurope.com and similar ones you've tried to help others find ways to eliminate losses, do away with free consulting and block out competitors.
It's often simple stuff that works best.
(C)Copyright Sandler Systems Inc, 2006
Regards
Marcus
Sales Training London How to Spoil the Pitch for Your Competition - To learn more about this author, visit Marcus Cauchi's Website.
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I don't suppose you ever wondered how to get your prospect "off the street" so he won't invest time talking to your competition while he's making a decision whether or not to buy what you have to offer?
You do that already, I know .... so there's no value in taking this further?
..... OK, if you're not, have you ever considered the "Monkey's Paw" approach. Sell them a little in the form of an evaluation, a site study, an assessment or a pilot so they have a financial stake in the ground and offset that against the final fee if they buy the big ticket item.
I know I often used to lose sight of the opportunity by being blinded by the big picture, (by my greed or ambition), by wanting the big deal so badly, that I forgot about the steps along the way. I remember pitching Origin in Holland for 120 consultants when I was in recruitment. I worked on that deal for 4 months. We visited HQ 4 times (several flights, hotel bills, time away from home, opportunity costs, expenses), I involved the MD, the Chairman of the company, used up resources in research and free consulting ..... and never saw a penny back.
We got letters of intent and they paid lip service to the buying process .... and did it using their current provider on the back of my hard work and my small company's scant resources.
I failed to qualify properly. I was needy and they could smell it! So they played me like a fiddle and I played the game in my company gathering resources together to build the pitch. Silly me. The game was skewed so much in their favour because I'd unwittingly started working for them instead of protecting our interests. There were 2 people on their team and none on mine! They were kicking the ball against an open goal.
I failed to test their commitment by not selling them a pilot or a study, or 1, 2 or 10 positions first. I'd have made some money along the way, they'd have been committed and we would have (at least partially) blocked out our rivals.
By defining the initial sale as part of the larger sale and agreeing the initial success criteria (and of course meeting them), you can offset the intial investment against the big investment, and lock down the bigger budget. Closing the big budget up front by closing the smaller piece of work first helps reduce the pressure on your buyer too.
This couldn't also have an impact by shortening your sales cycles, could it?
I don't know if this will work in your business. I don't even know if your company can offer these smaller options to customers. You decide if this might work in your business.
Please feel free to share your experiences of this approach with me on EVANCARMICHAEL@SALTeurope.com and similar ones you've tried to help others find ways to eliminate losses, do away with free consulting and block out competitors.
It's often simple stuff that works best.
(C)Copyright Sandler Systems Inc, 2006
Regards
Marcus
Sales Training London How to Spoil the Pitch for Your Competition - To learn more about this author, visit Marcus Cauchi'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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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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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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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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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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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander'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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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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