Lately, I have really touched a nerve with my boss. We are working on a number of opportunities and it seems all the conversations have become centered on price. I am being accused of not of focusing the full suite of benefits my company has to offer and jumping right to price. As a disclaimer, and clearly sucking up to my boss, he is very fair and a tremendous sales person. In fact I have the freedom to write this because he trusts our relationship. So, as much as he might be right, I am exploring if leading with price is a good tactic or not?
As a sales professional sometimes we make decisions based on what our gut or what a prospect is telling us. There are definitely opportunities, usually the "Whale" type, that require submitting a best price just to get a seat at the features and benefits table. What is the best way to handle these? Here are three things you can do to gage the validity of the RFP:
1. Ask the right questions:
-Is this a real opportunity or a budgetary exercise?
-What is driving the cost analysis?
-Will price be the determining factor in choosing a vendor?
-Who are the getting quotes from?
-Ask for a meeting or a 15 minute phone conference?
What I'm looking for is detailed answers, the more information the prospect can provide me the better chance this is a real opportunity. This may give me indication to put a strong enough quote on the table to get a seat at the meeting. If the questions cannot be answered, chances are this is a fishing expedition, I give pricing without incentives and follow up regularly.
2. Ask the right people:
-I check my LinkedIn connections, there is a good chance I am connected to someone at the company.
-Ask at networking events, on occasion I have even ask a competitor, "What did you think of that RFP from XYZ"
-Ask your boss for permission to discount outside of normal parameters! If I ask the right questions, it helps my boss make the best decision.
3. Sell into the opportunity:
-This is the strongest advice I have received and if your not involved in a group like the salesplaybook on LinkedIn, you are missing some great sales tips. With tools like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook I now have the ability to stay close to prospects and to my competitors. I can follow company blogs to see what if any challenges they may be facing. I can post relevant content in groups they are members of, I can provide helpful links to industry information or post success stories similar companies have experienced with a similar solution.
I am a big believer is selling something you believe in and asking for a fair price, but when I find myself stepping onto the price war field, I want to make sure I am prepared. Before you fire the first shot make sure you have all your basis covered and have a plan to sell into the opportunity.
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