by Duane Weber
Have you ever done the limbo – for real that is? Maybe you know the game: go underneath a pole without touching it or falling to the ground. While it’s great at parties and the roller rink, it’s not the game to play in sales.
I had a prospect tell me that she was sick and tired of her salespeople constantly getting into price wars to win business. She was upset that even some of their customers, long-time clients, still shopped around “to keep them honest.” Those were her exact words.
She couldn’t figure it out; these customers loved them. Their service and quality was great. Clients gladly accepted lunch, golf, and seats to the ball games. Yet, they still had to waste time quoting and requoting just to get an order.
Then, with a defeated attitude she sighed: “I guess that’s just how it has to be”.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Stop doing the limbo, win more business, and make more money.
Change The Salespeople or Change The Salespeople
Traditional sales people are great relationship builders. Their clients love them. But they have one big flaw – a burning desire to be liked and the belief that they must be subordinate to their customers. As such they’d prefer to beg you, the owner, for discounts rather than tell the client they’re holding their price. Salespeople are professionals and deserve to be treated as such. Buyer-seller relations are between equals. Salespeople should make friends after hours, not during. If salespeople aren’t open to changing their ways, it’s best to find new sales reps.
Change Your Sales Culture
Even if you’re in a commodity industry (we have plenty of clients who sell commodities), stop accepting the status quo. Stop wasting time bidding again and again knowing you’ll only win a small percentage. Take control of the sales process. Stop encouraging your salespeople to continue playing the ‘how low can you go’ price game. Stop believing ‘that’s just how it has to be.’ Start believing in the law of abundance instead of the law of scarcity. Start believing you’re better than the competition and that your prices should reflect that. Start believing that your clients will still stick with you when you hold the line on prices – because they will!
At Sandler Training, Trustpointe, we raise the bar, not lower it. To learn more about need for approval , the games people play, and original thinking contact Duane Weber at 317-845-0041 or dweber@sandler.com.
Conga anyone?
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