Take the Selling Services Challenge for a Chance to Win a Kindle (and a Great Book)!

by Mary Flaherty on February 1, 2010

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The Selling Services Challenge is now closed. Check out the winner here.

You didn’t start your career in consulting, accounting, financial services, architecture, or another professional field kindle because you wanted to spend your days selling services.

But, it’s the rare professional these days who is not required to do business development—either your firm now expects you to contribute to or play a lead role in the sales process, or you’re a solopreneur, and if you don’t bring in new business, no one else will.

That’s why we’re running the Selling Services Challenge.

Share your real-world B2B sales challenges or successes, and you’ll be entered in our contest with a chance to win a Kindle—including a Kindle version of Professional Services Marketing.

All you have to do to enter:
Share a recent challenge you’ve had selling your services
-OR-
Share your knowledge and experience around how you’ve overcome challenges selling services

You can share your challenge or success in the comments for this blog post or on your own blog with a link back to this Selling Services Challenge post. Do that and you’ll be entered to win a Kindle—including a Kindle version of Professional Services Marketing.

By sharing in this way we can all learn—from peers and experts.

Share your stories, approaches, successes, roadblocks, etc. Our hope is we’ll hear from practitioners about their experiences—and the challenges they face—and that sales experts will join the conversation with their comments and suggestions.

To get the juices flowing, here are a few B2B selling services challenges we’ve heard from practitioners over the years:
•   “Closing—actually asking for the business—that’s the tough part.”
•   “There’s a mystery of what’s going on in the background at our clients’ and prospects’ companies. I often don’t know how hard to push.”
•   “I have a great network and great relationships, but actually getting the business is a challenge.”
•   “We face the ‘small firm’ challenge. We are a very small firm relative to the size of our clients and are often asked, ‘Why should I work with a small firm?’”
•   “I have difficulty balancing the time.”
•   “Trying to explain to clients in a non-technical way why they should buy our services (which are rather technical).”
•   “Prospects don’t take my calls or return my messages.”
•   “We keep getting pressured on price. Over and over we hear, ‘Your price is too high’ and that our competitor came in with a lower bid.”

What about you?

Share an experience you’ve had selling your services in the comments below or on your blog with a trackback to the Selling Services Challenge. That’s all it takes to enter the contest and get your chance to win a Kindle with Professional Services Marketing (Kindle version). The winner will be selected randomly from all entries on Friday, February 26, 2010, and announced on this blog.

(We’re making the challenges professionals face when selling services a major focus of RainToday in 2010. We’re not ready to share the details just yet, but we’ve got our heads down working on an exciting program that will help you face those challenges and take your selling process to the next level. So, if you’re interested in the topic of how you can be more successful in your selling… stay tuned.)

Contest Rules: The winner will be randomly selected from all entries on Friday, February 26, and announced on this blog. Multiple entries will not be counted more than once. RainToday employees and family members are not eligible to win the Kindle. RainToday contributing editors are also exempt from winning the contest prize.

P.S. Don’t forget to share this challenge with your friends and colleagues because they’ll want a chance to enter the contest, too!

P.P.S. If you want to learn more about how you can take you selling skills to the next level, you can go ahead and click here to sign up for our Advance Notice list. You’ll be among the very first to learn about the details of the new program.

Topics: Sales & Sales Process

104 Comments

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{ 3 trackbacks }

Selling Services Challenge – How to Multiply Your Pipeline by 10 « Sales and Marketing Mashup: February 1, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Selling Services Challenge – We Have a Winner!: February 26, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Take the Selling Services Challenge for a Chance to Win a Kindle … | Media Broker Pro: March 1, 2010 at 2:04 pm

{ 101 comments… read them below or add one }

Donna Amos February 1, 2010 at 2:43 pm

One Challenge: Keeping the pipeline filled with qualified prospects while maintaining a balance of active clients.

One Solution: I learned how to listen more and allow prospects to sell themselves. Asking good questions and then listening more than talking gives me the answers I need to make that personal connection with the client. Once they feel like I understand their challenge and I have demonstrated I have the solution, closing is easy.

Larry Salas February 1, 2010 at 3:05 pm

Although a lot experts advise bypassing the gatekeeper by using LinkedIn, Jigsaw, etc. I have found that it sometimes backfires if I go directly to the decision-maker. A quandary.

Edgardo Jiménez February 1, 2010 at 3:23 pm

Challenge: We sell web development services and were finding hesitation by customers that just ‘didn’t need/want a website’.

Solution: Offering additional or complimentary services that would lead to larger development sales such as user experience design, usability tests, search engine marketing and social media marketing consulting.

Nancy Morris February 1, 2010 at 3:25 pm

My biggest challenge has always been a prospect’s previous experiences with other sellers. Most of us bring our biases and cynicism to new conversations. As a psychological means to speed up the communication process (among other things), we filter, discern and divide based on what we have come across in the past with a tendency to lean towards the negative. The “once bitten twice shy” prospect inadvertently or quite consciously puts up blocks to my conversation.

Fortunately for me, what I actually sell is a solution to this problem for THEIR sales people!

Dallas Darland February 1, 2010 at 3:29 pm

Challenge:
Excess capacity (too many consultants) in several professional services sector

One solution:
Use recent successes to differentiate product offerings and performance with existing client pool. Extend into new client pool as quickly as possible. Active, continuous selling into a market that is historically based on quiet word of mouth referrals.

Gabe Harris February 1, 2010 at 3:33 pm

Cold calling. That has to be the worst part about selling–at least, for me personally. It can be rewarding, but I hate it.

Mike Jamieson February 1, 2010 at 3:42 pm

There are many challenges of course but the biggest is the simplest. Focusing on those efforts that offer the best chance of success. These are typically the hardest things to do. For example, attending a seminar or event is harder than sending emails or adding new linkedIn connections, but it will likely yield better results. I try to put the hardest tasks first.

Addie Ashby February 1, 2010 at 3:43 pm

Dealing with a superior that likes to take the best successes for themselves, and squash those that might involve a little work on their part. Especially if they don’t understand the process.

Sometimes the hardest person to get past is within your own firm.

Addie Ashby February 1, 2010 at 3:52 pm: Solution is takes many steps:

Education is a big piece, if someone doesn’t understand the process, they are more apt to discredit an idea instead of admit lack of understanding.

Learning to accept people for who they are, and then choosing to either adapt, or move on. (Basically choose the battles wisely)

Reply

Steve M. February 1, 2010 at 3:53 pm

Problem: Prospect has put a wall of protection up – cool or cold to your presence.

Solution: Have an outline for you time together.
1. Let them set the time. “I want to respect your time, how long do we have together?”. If they give you 5 mins, take only 5 minutes.
2. Let them set the agenda. “I could talk all day about our services, but when I walk out of here in 5 mins, what would be helpfult for you know know?” Then wait…and listen.
3. Get permission to ask questions, “May I ask you a few quetions?” And then ask probing qestions about the product, their issues, successes, failure, problems, costs incurred to fix …

Brigid Ryan February 1, 2010 at 4:02 pm

I avoid cold calling at all costs. My multiple networks have given me quite a number of referrals. Even though I can be really busy, and it’s easy to let these wait, I believe I have a even stronger moral obligation to act timely, since my reputation with my contacts is on the line. That helps me stay motivated, even when I customer does not sign. I realize that if I keep my promises, my pipeline of referrals will stay full, and I don’t get depressed over a lost sale.

Bernice Boucher February 1, 2010 at 4:07 pm

Cold calling is the hardest, which is why I try to do ‘warm’ calling as much as possible by asking for referrals from my clients, my partners, other vendors, etc. And the way the question is phrased is key. It’s “Who do you know who could also benefit from our services?” NOT “do you know anyone who could benefit from our services?” because the answer to that last question is usually ‘No’. The former question is open-ended and makes them think harder. If they provide you with a name, then asking permission to use their name is important. Using their name without permission can backfire.

Deb Moses February 1, 2010 at 4:11 pm

Our biggest challenge is always keeping the pipeline full. But recently, I was challenged with having to hold the line with a partner organization through which we are doing a pretty large piece of business for a client. The partner is bigger (significantly) than we are, and used to getting their own way. Our services are specialized, and therefore, we need to keep our rates at a specific level in order not to “dilute” the value or value preception.

I held the line, (of course knowing that the end client was already “sold” on us) and did not let the big guy push us around. Agreed to compromise on a couple of smaller items, and continued to remind them why we are worth what we get, and how they can use this project to further market professional services within their client and potential client base.

But…it’s always a gamble when you hold the line that someone will just decide to go elsewhere. You MUST continue to reinforce the value behind what you sell. What you bring to the table must be worth the cost and the effort.

Randy Friedlander February 1, 2010 at 4:19 pm

Problem: Connecting with a prospect who’s avoiding you

Solution: I’m assuming that you are leaving emails or voice messages for the prospect, who isn’t returning them.

(1) Be polite but direct. Your organization exists because you solve problems and create value for certain customers. Your job is to find more customers who have these problems to solve. Don’t try to cast too wide a net; Either they have these problems, or they don’t. Don’t apologize and don’t grovel. Your product or service provides value, and you are giving the prospect the opportunity to decide whether it does for them.

(2) Ask their permission to discuss it over the telephone. Remind them why others have found your product or service to be of value, and suggest that it may be worth a short conversation to explore. Let the prospect make the decision. Tell them how to reach you with their reply. You can announce your intention to call again to follow up, but if they are already avoiding you it may be sending them the wrong message about you and your company.

(3) Be patient. Maybe now isn’t the right time. How you conduct yourself during this preliminary dialog may determine whether the prospect calls you back someday when they do have a need that you can address.

Dan Pickett February 1, 2010 at 4:20 pm

Problem: Pricing and consulting services – the variability in pricing and budgets in software consulting makes it really hard to qualify leads. Some people expect high prices while others are shocked when you share your hourly rate.

Solution / How I handle it: Propose a smaller sized engagement to prove the value of engaging with someone that has a higher rate. Deliver something extremely valuable in the shortest possible time for this initial engagement to build rapport and trust with the client.

Bill February 1, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Challenge: Finding the time to ensure that my pipeline continues to grow with qualified prospects.

Solution: Went back through and evaluated where the majority of my qualified leads were coming from. Built a time allocation model for what percentage of my work week I would dedicate to each lead gen effort I have found to be useful – and cut any others for now.

Lou Davis February 1, 2010 at 4:24 pm

As a boutique provider of customized marketing research with a regional clientele, we wanted to expand nationally in a number of industry verticals. However, we didn’t have the resources to take a traditional trade show, marketing and advertising-based approach. Additionally, as our sales and marketing team consisted of one lead and one support person, we couldn’t support a direct sales approach that relied on face-to-face sales calls to build relationships across the country. We needed a way to get in front of prospects, qualify ourselves, differentiate us from our competition, and do so in a scalable, affordable and sustainable manner.

We knew conversations with prospects were essential to begin the relationship, establish expertise and give them a taste of how we’d be to work with. We decided to turn to an email-based approach and began experimenting. Our first foray had us buying lists of targeted prospects and utilizing an ASP provider to send the emails. The content of these initial emails extended well below the fold, packed with details about who we were, all we did, all those we did it for, and everything we could do, and we attached brochures, references and examples of deliverables. This approach failed. After much thought, we were hit by a blinding glimpse of the obvious: we were selling the wrong thing. The goal of these emails was not to sell the company; all we needed to sell was the phone call. Period. We streamlined the email down to eight sentences focusing on introducing what we did for prospects’ competitors, listed three clients with the most cache’, told them why clients choose and continue to work with us, and asked for a ten-minute phone appointment. That’s it. We sent out the emails through our personal email clients with the subject line “Request for a Brief Phone Appointment”, and the effort resulted in our most profitable year in our 30-year history. We’re now working with clients around the country and have gone on to expand this effort into other targeted industries. Lesson learned: make sure you’re really selling what it is you’re really selling!

Nick Stamoulis February 1, 2010 at 4:26 pm

As a SEO/SEM service provider the biggest challenge that I face building new business is the vast amount of competition. For instance at any given time, we might compete for new business with 1,000 or more potential service providers. Anyone from a huge SEM firm to a consultant to a recently unemployed person undercutting our price or a SEM company in India or another country.

The solution:
The solution to this issue is we have narrowed our potential customer base and take on clients more as boutique type SEM company rather than competing on price or with huge firms. It took me many years to figure this out.

I do this by writing in my SEO blog, writing articles on other industry websites and publishing a weekly email newsletter. This is a much longer term type of process, but it works. Companies might hire one of the companies that we competed against in the past, but because they have grown to learn and trust us through my blog, social media and newsletter efforts, when they are in the market to hire a new firm they tend to think of us. The sales process is much friendlier and this type of potential client tends to not always focus on price (we are not over or under priced, we charge based on experience and the work we actually do for clients).

Anyway, that is my story, hopefully I can win the Kindle and the book (it really looks great). Also, I am looking forward to your workshop coming up in Mass later this week. Thanks!

Patrick Malone February 1, 2010 at 4:27 pm

To be successful selling your services you need to spend less time selling and more time asking the appropriate questions and then listening to your potential client’s answers. Once you understand the client’s business and their needs and/or wants you should be able to position your services in a way that makes sense to the client. Then if you truly listened up front you should also be able to point out the benefits/value of your services that the client thinks are important. You are not really selling so much as you are helping your prospects make a well-informed committed decision whether or not to buy. However, if after listening up front you cannot position your services in a way that makes sense to the potential client, then you and that potential client are not a good fit and it’s time to move on. Force fitting your services will create a bad customer that you will eventually have to fire.

Larry Duckworth February 1, 2010 at 4:27 pm

Challenge: Getting good margin services deals closed faster.
Solution: In my coming book “Leadership Judo” I explain it is about selling the Why before the What and How. The Why encompasses some combination (for both the company and for the buyer, who is a person as much as a professional) of the primal drives of safety, control, economic gains (revenues, costs, share, etc), ease, speed, flexibility, growth. Get an ROI model in place, even if “what if?”. Turn intangibles into tangibles as possible. Case studies proofs and industry references help arm the buyer with safety perception. Set up an energized, well-armed internal Champion to do 95% of the selling for you. Be there to support their efforts for you.

Suzanne S. February 1, 2010 at 4:28 pm

Something that is both challenging and helpful is relationships. I find in our industry that a job is won so often on relationships, this can work for you and against you as the competition understands this important fact as well, so the quality of the relationship is key.

A few ways to build strong relationships with potential clients …
VOLUNTEER: a community board is one of the easiest places to meet your communities’ business leaders and decision makers. Or being the coach for a local team allows you to become acquainted with parents who are many times a key decision maker. Making relationships in a volunteer situation creates a friend not a client, this is a far stronger relationship than you can make in a sales call.

WORD OF MOUTH: Always keep past clients as happy as possible!!! I cannot stress this one enough. We keep up with our past clients, giving them gifts at Christmas, offering support throughout the year. The more you stay in front of someone the more you are in their mind and mouth when someone asks them for the name of a good firm to use. Also about 80% of our firms work is from repeat clients. It pays to keep the client happy even after the project is over!

SIMPLY DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU WOULD: This goes along with the previous paragraph. Simply doing a good job will automatically make you stand out as our world is full of mediocre work. Put your heart and full effort in to all you do and show good business character and you may not have to sell yourself. These precious and infrequent traits in today’s business culture will sell themselves. Again about 80% of our firms work is from past clients and the remaining percentage is from word of mouth. This is because we have a solid reputation in the community. A good reputation is invaluable!

Larry Duckworth February 1, 2010 at 4:39 pm

Problem: Better top of the pipeline.
Solutions:
–Analyze “propensity to consume” detail factors so you can better target like prospects with a tight, grabbing message that gets action.
–Better decide who not to go after, to tighten focus on good leads.
–Partners bring you in well along a sales cycle.
–Smart social networking, also leveraging the above.
–Website SEO.
–Referral incentives.
–Seminars (free or small cost) to give value (that gets value). Virtual if possible, but make sure video is part of it.
–Re-sell new solutions to existing customers.

Denise Cromwell February 1, 2010 at 4:49 pm

One of our biggest challenges is that we are more expensive than almost all of our competitors. In a time of tough economy this is a hard sell. Everyone must be very consious of their budgets and it is difficult to get them to understand that cheaper is not better. When dealing with public safety ensuring that the services are being performed is crutial. Sometimes the cheaper price means that some of those services are not being completed. This adds to the liability risk and down time on your equipment. If you maintain your equipment you will reduce costs by not having repair issues. We have used an educational approach by one on one show and, tell and an educational video presentation.

Rick S. Pulito February 1, 2010 at 4:54 pm

One of the biggest challenges facing sales professionals today is the fact that decision-making has been elevated to the very top of client organizations. Gone are the days when mid-level customers had “budgets” for many of the services that were routinely purchased. Today, there are no budgets. No money is spent without senior-level engagement, and a sound ROI still won’t guarantee that funds are allocated against a specific need.

So, what are salespeople to do? The obvious answer is to “go higher” to win the business. The big problem with this is access. Senior decision-makers are being bombarded with every imaginable sales pitch. So who do they listen to? How do you get their attention?

A fundamental need is to communicate a legitimate, relevant, and significant cost (in real dollars or in lost opportunity) if they don’t hear what you have to say.

In order to do this effectively, you have to see their issues as they do and be able to succinctly articulate a desirable outcome that is available only through the service or model that you would like to share with them.
Executives need results. They don’t need better solutions or improved products. They don’t need to see you if you can’t bring real value. And unless you plan to drive down the price paid for a commodity service, you won’t garner much attention (in which case be prepared to be redirected to a purchasing manager who will happily grind you into fine white powder).

Relevance, results, reliability, and relationships will take you farther these days than just about anything else you can bring to a customer.

William February 1, 2010 at 4:56 pm

I have worked and received additional changing to move myself from being a sales representative to consultant, and from consultant to “trusted advisor”. My conversation with potential clients and current clients is totally different. I never ever sell. I never guess at what they want. I let very careful about prices and never get to that conversation until the time is right…This old dog had to learn new tricks…

Todd VanNest February 1, 2010 at 5:01 pm

I was frustrated by the challenge of distinguishing my services from large, branded consultancies that had great packaging, product histories, and industry-relevant client stories.

I shared a client with a larger firm and began thinking through the “gaps” left in a client’s success. Their purchases of product (packaged HR/assessment services) left them with a reputable partner, reliable application, and lots of activity. What was missing, however, was measurable results (though they were forecast in the larger firm’s business case/proposal) and the discipline to follow through with program participants to keep them engaged and learning week by week as high-potential leaders. Redirecting my pitch from “similar product, but faster and cheaper” to “a service package uniquely built to produce follow-through and results” made all the difference in the world. Now I’m the “A” player in that account, and the larger firm is the “B” player.

A major coup!

Dawn Morais Webster February 1, 2010 at 5:02 pm

The Challenge: Convincing nonprofits and their boards that professional communications is vital to their success. Nonprofits face the twin challenges of capacity-building and fund-raising. Yet, their boards, peopled with private sector executives who use agencies routinely, often consider the nonprofit’s use of an agency providing professional communications an expense that is not essential. And when an agency is used, it is swiftly cut when times get tough and the need for outreach is greater than ever.

Solution: An ongoing effort to build trust and conviction by providing services free at the outset, demonstrating marked improvement in the quality of communications and results achieved and offering board members education at every opportunity. We have gained a client in this way, but the struggle to keep the board from cutting budgets continues.

Marc Sebens February 1, 2010 at 5:04 pm

Cold calling, sure – but sometimes even harder is deciding who to call or who to focus on. The “right” contact is always different and can be the CEO, COO, CFO, and sometimes even director of IT or HR. Focus too high in the organization, and you may never get in; focus too low or on the wrong branch, and you may think the entire time that you are in the right place only to hear otherwise when it is announced that someone else was hired.

Deborah Valent February 1, 2010 at 5:15 pm

I actually like cold-calling, sometimes more than follow-up calls. There is so much to learn; so much to talk about. It is critically important to uncover a prospects aspirations and afflictions and to offer ideas that can lead to real solutions. Building trust and developing rapport in the beginning of a new relationship will lead to opportunities to offer solutions that can win the business. A good relationship should always be a win-win situation. The first win solves a problem for your prospective client at a price that makes sense. The second win adds a new well-paying client to your roster who is happy with the work and passes the word (about his great new provider) to his own network of associates.

PanRight Productions February 1, 2010 at 5:48 pm

One tough challenge is finding the vocabulary/nomenclature to use for potential clients for conveying what my company offers since it involves a technology solution. There are still many old-school institutions who are ripe candidates for the next level of “reach” to a demographic that is evolving beyond them, but who are not yet comfortable with trying new media solutions. Explaining the technology and making a convincing argument about how truly inexpensive and efficient the solution can be (and the reach it can provide) is a delicate dance. But the proof is in the pudding – I can send a custom demo within one hour of a conversation and suddenly the fog lifts. This works well for cold prospects especially, and gets a dialog going.

Jim "Gymbeaux" Brown February 1, 2010 at 6:48 pm

Everyone, no matter what profession, is in an information overload position. There is so much information available some, not all, take the position to ignore what could be important rather than sift through all that passes their way. As the Real Estate Broker for 100+ real estate agents I spend a lot of my time reviewing articles, books, the Internet, attending classes and listening to CDs to pick out that which will help my crew the most. To help them I created a weekly online blog at http://www.ReadForAChange.com where I post links to educational, inspirational and sometimes fun sites/articles. A lot of people in sales feel that attending 2 to 3 hour training classes takes too much of their time away from their work and family and again oftentimes choose not to attend. Realizing this I have taken sales topics and reduced them to one to four page training articles entitled Nuggets For The Noggin and then post them on http://www.NuggetsForTheNoggin.com. Over the years I have written over 300 such Nuggets all with the idea of helping the agents do what they do to do it better. If you are not learning; you are falling behind, there is no standing still.

Kent Vincent February 1, 2010 at 7:07 pm

When selling consulting services it’s generally agreed that solutions should be put off on a first visit to learn about the issues of the business and get a sense for the mission and priorities– facts, opportunities and challenges (foc’s), and, if possible, implications, financial or otherwise, of leaving things as they are. The paradox is that this format does not offer a tease or firm hint at what the offering and benefit is, taking away from the impetus for the next meeting. Even if the prospect loves you, it can be hard to get the next meeting.

R V Abhyankar February 1, 2010 at 8:48 pm

Describing what service you provide is very difficult specially if the type of service that you provide is not a common feature

Thea Foster February 1, 2010 at 11:24 pm

I provide facilitated meeting Groups for the proprietors and practice managers of different accounting firms. Across 5 different Groups, the average number of member firms is 7. They share resources, benchmark data, we have some guest speakers and cover many topics of interest on practice management and marking. Even with testimonials, it can be diffiuclt to get potential new member firms to test joing a group. I suggest they come along to a first meeting to see if that and furture meetings, will be of benefit to them and their firms. Ongoing members are all billed prior to a meeting and the fee is due on the date of the meeting. That is not suitable for potential new members. But I did not want offer the first meeting for free, especially when some said what a great first meeting it was, they received value and that they wanted to join a Group. So I tellthem I will ask at the end of their first (trial) meeting to find out if it was useful for them. If the answer is “yes” then they will be billed for that meeting. If the answer is “no” there will be no bill. Noone has ever said “no”, but it means the initial meeting is not such a risky purchase for them and I don’t feel I am giving away value.

Steve February 1, 2010 at 11:41 pm

Challenge: Convincing a client that they will still gain value when paying our rates, when compared to cheaper alternatives.

Tim Kocher February 2, 2010 at 12:04 am

Challenge: Weak Funnel
Solution: Get EVERYONE on the Hunt for Opportunities

…Even a small uptick in the effectiveness of non-sales staff at a services firm to identify and qualify opportunities can have a substantial top-line impact…

Aaron Joslow February 2, 2010 at 1:37 am

Challenge: I recently left my salaried job to co-launch a services firm. I had a large number of contacts in the industry who could benefit from working with me. How do I call friends and colleagues I’ve collaborated with and tell them about my new business? I didn’t want to “sell” these people. I did want to have conversations with them.

Answer: I gave up the idea of “selling” anyone. Instead the calls became about sharing the new venture I was up to, mentioning the challenges I was facing, and expressing genuine interest in what others were up to. The calls were driven by curiosity and the fun of sharing new adventures.

Although, starting a business may have prompted me to call people, it never became what the calls were about. Instead, I had many enjoyable conversations.

We did win some new projects and receive referrals. That was an outcome. In the moment though, that was never what it was about.

Eddie Reeves February 2, 2010 at 2:33 am

Challenge: Getting the “first meeting” with busy professional services providers that have real buyer influence/decision-making authority.

Solution: Invest quality time in a “six degrees” strategy where you map relationships to find the extended network to find a true connection. this is one of the most valuable investments of time (it generally costs little or no money) one can make, as it virtually eliminates the need to resort to true cold calling.

Phil Osborne February 2, 2010 at 8:55 am

The biggest breakthrough i have stumbled across for my business (and in advising others) is learning to loose an ‘S’… i don’t (you don’t) sell services you sell service. While service marketing did indeed breakthrough some of the goods / production based thinking by differentitiating services from products, it also tricked us into still selling things. My company doesn’t sell things (not products or services) and i refuse to be tricked into ‘tangibilising’ them by offering bundles etc. I provide service which may or may not be faciliated by services (and or products). I work hard to demonstrate why my service is superior and all my service (hence services and products) are included in a negogiated subscription / retainer fee. Who doesn’t want the best service they can afford?

Tárik Simão February 2, 2010 at 10:15 am

For my company, the greatest challenge is to shorten the time frame to sell an idea of performance improvement to multiple stakeholders with a mix of objectives, perspectives and responsibilities.

Russell February 2, 2010 at 11:13 am

I struggle to convert social or personal connections into business. I never want to be “that guy”. I’d love to hear about transitions that can be made successfully in this area.

Vickie Sullivan February 5, 2010 at 7:22 pm

Hi Russell — Here’s an idea: don’t sell in the beginning. Ask for advice or feedback. Example: if you have a speech or article coming up, ask if you can interview the person to get their perspective. That’s a great conversation starter and will “showcase” your ideas in a non-selling situation. Be sure to send them the article or video clip of the speech showing their contribution. Those multiple touch points get the message across much better than selling them first time out. Good luck!

Russell February 26, 2010 at 1:53 pm: That’s a good point Vickie, thanks!

Reply

Sharon Druker February 2, 2010 at 11:42 am

Pricing is a challenge for all service providers, since the object of the sale is intangible, it can be difficult for the prospect or client to value it and to compare your offering to the offerings of your competitors. I try to break it down and start small with a new client, so we can both get a feel for working together without either of us fearing that we have made a major commitment in a vacuum. This lets us develop trust, and makes the rest of the process go much more smoothly.

Terry Nobles February 2, 2010 at 12:03 pm

Don’t operate in a vacuum. Join your local Chamber of Commerce, look for networking groups in your area, create a Facebook page. These are long term growth areas that you need to start “seeding” today. You never know where your next referral is coming from, so start spreading your message to everyone you meet.

Paul February 2, 2010 at 12:47 pm

There are many challenges in the current climate of sales, way too much time can be spent calling people continuously because they are easy to talk to or visiting a company many times and becoming a professional visitor. After careful evaluation and an extremely long sales cycle, it was very possible that it wasn’t an opportunity all all.

Anne Miller February 2, 2010 at 3:01 pm

My best strategy for selling my training and speaking services is to speak before carefully selected groups so that people can experience what I do. No matter what service you sell, when you allow people to see you in action, hear how you think, interact with your process, etc., you gain their instant approval and trust and win more new business more quickly.

Vickie Sullivan February 5, 2010 at 7:19 pm: I agree Anne. The key is to be beyond smart and go straight to urgent. That’s a content and focus issue.

Many speakers show they’re talented but buyers sometimes leave with “she’s great. I’ll work with her someday.” And someday never comes Buyers have more priorities than budget, so if your speaking can direct solutions to a problem they are already funding…well, it’s a beautiful thing. Congratulations on your success!

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Melissa Sopwith February 2, 2010 at 5:40 pm

Challenge: Keeping the pipeline consistently full of qualified leads – and how to effectively manage the peaks and troughs of incoming leads.

Vickie Sullivan February 5, 2010 at 7:13 pm: Hi Melissa — I’ve found that the best leads come from places I consistently participate in. Find five platforms — communities, websites, etc. and be there at least once a week. For writing, find out if you can do shorter articles more often. For speaking, get a system of promoting your appearances to your community. I just got a client for a large project because she saw my video promoting a series of conference calls. She’s known me for years but that video put me on her radar at the right time. Good luck!

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Louise Lecomte February 3, 2010 at 9:51 am

Challenge: Long-term client requesting quotes for custom work and reneging when the time comes to securing budget. Time wasted on both sides.

Solution: This is not something I’ve had to do with other clients, yet it is simple enough: I now not only ask what their budget is ahead of time, but ask them to make sure the funds are approved/available. The client agreed.

Reddy February 3, 2010 at 5:04 pm

Challenge:In this economic climate services are considered to be a luxury at most organizations. The engineers working at the company don’t want to ask for help as they are nervous as it would perceived as weakness (hence easily replaceable). So, it becomes a challenge to even bring up the word “Consulting”.
Solution: Get involved in tecnhincal committees, speaking engagements, seminars, author technical papers. Advertise your capability, value and how organizations can benefit from experience. As others have already noted, you gain trust, confidence and this should lower the barrier significantly.

Nancy S February 4, 2010 at 1:42 pm

Ive sold software, services, and hardware throughtout my career. For the past 5 years, Ive sold only services and our org is known for its “high cost” services. During the economic downturn last year, I had a record year. The biggest challenges we have selling services are finding the right opportunities, qualification that we have the right culture for our services, right buyers and budgets are appropriate for work they need done (expectations vary greatly here), and our reputation has been properly advertised and is known to this customer at various levels. Another factor or challenge is filling my plate with a lot of opportunities so that if we lose some, they move out or budget is lost or they are smaller, there are plenty of backup opportunities. I have a large variety of ways I find opportunities, not enough room here to share them all, but one rule I follow is not to fill my plate with whatever comes up and then be too busy to keep looking for more. Qualification is key here, if something feels low probability it probably is, and should get some time, but I keep looking for higher priority opportunities. The qualification step is probably the most critical. The right culture means the client isnt always buying lowest cost/staff augmentation approach and doing the work themselves. If the decision makers have bought this way over and over again, it wont change for my opportunity. Setting the right budget is ultimately ideal if you are setting it rather than someone else. Meaning you have to be there early with some strong consultants discussing the process to doing this project right, invest some time to develop the scope of work and let the customer know how good these people really are. I also believe in discussing references and examples of other clients doing similar projects. Educating the client on why they should buy from us, what others are doing with us in this area of work and letting them know how we make other companies successful is key.
Overall, I overcome the price objection by having the right qualification up front, that the client places value on our services and Ive set the price point. I do a lot of education on who we are, why we are worth what we charge, and ways we can mitigate risk and cost with creative staffing approaches and the right scope up front.

SharonDrew Morgen February 4, 2010 at 1:49 pm

Challenge: The sales model is insufficient: we close too few prospects, spend too much time on folks who will never buy, leave too much on the table, and can’t differentiate ourselves appropriately causing objections and price issues.
Solution: Sales only manages the needs analysis/solution placement end of the buyer’s buying decision. It ignores the behind-the-scenes, off-line, private decision issues buyers must address to get buy-in from those who need to bring in a solution. Buying Facilitation(R) is a decision facilitation tool that is added to the front end of sales to offer a navigating capability to help buyers buy. This will differentiate you, help buyers figure out what they need to figure out very very early in the sales process, put you on the Buying Decision Team immediately (on your first call), shorten the sales cycle by at least 50%, and help prospects discover on the first call if they are real prospects or not.

Sales has been about placing a solution. But it’s now possible to help them manage their buying decision issues.
sd

Ryan Hale February 4, 2010 at 9:10 pm

To paraphrase a colleague … if professional services were sold through Amazon: People who bought “great results from your firm” also bought “more great results from your firm.” When developing your pipeline of future work, don’t ignore your most qualified prospects: the clients who already value your services. How much more opportunity exists in the areas you are currently deployed? What other areas of the business could hold similar opportunities? Who else in the client’s network should the service provider be talking to?

Suzanne Lowe February 11, 2010 at 1:29 pm: Thank you, Ryan, for hitting on one of the most under addressed selling challenges: expanding your firm’s share of wallet with current clients. I’ve read many of the previous “challenges” which described an overloaded pipeline. How many professional service firms do as good a job as they could at moving beyond “acquiring” clients, toward “retaining” them or “building our book of business” with them? In my opinion, these types of challenges are directly related to firms having not done a good job of integrating marketing strategy with sales strategy.

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Derrick Pick February 5, 2010 at 4:33 pm

Challenge: Getting through to prospects who are inundated by calls due to an inlfux of new players in my field caused by all the lay-offs through the recession. Prospects simply don’t respond to prospecting calls and e-mails anymore.

Solution: Practically the only way to get a prospect’s attention now is via a referral from a trusted source. This is an excellent way to propsect, but it’s hard to find enough people to refer you.

Vickie Sullivan February 5, 2010 at 7:07 pm

challenge: I’m fortunate to have a lot of leads coming in from writing and speaking. It can be time consuming to separate those who are serious and those on fishing expeditions.

solution: my assistant responds first, gently telling them the fee ranges and offering group options for those not ready for one-on-one projects. That has cut down the time I spend on unqualified folks and increase my closing ratio. It’s also increased sign ups for the group projects.

Maria Marsala, Business Maven February 7, 2010 at 4:06 am

Challange: How to make business planning “sexy”.

Pat Cahill February 8, 2010 at 10:54 am

Challenge: Finding the balance between matching our sales process and documents to each specific prospect while still streamlining our sales process.

Yolanda Facio February 8, 2010 at 12:21 pm

Success: I find that success comes much easier when we make sure the client understands exactly what they are getting and that we make sure their expectations are being met. This means more time going over details and answering questions. But the process itself builds trust and credibility. It makes it much easier to close the deal and they happily hand over the check!

Alaia, One Organized Business February 8, 2010 at 11:31 pm

Challenge: How long to nurture a lead and when to let a prospect go. I don’t have any higher price point services or packages (yet), so eventually more time is spent following up with someone that if they eventually DO become a client, essentially no money has been made.

Reema Duggal February 10, 2010 at 3:47 pm

Like many others, I’d say the biggest challenge is reaching prospective customers that you don’t know – cold calling. However, Peter Bregmans article today titled “The Key To Becoming A Sales Star” put a smile on my face. The challenge is only as big as you frame it and react to it.

Jacques February 16, 2010 at 11:17 am

The big problem we face is selling new services to the same client. Because we are a small firm that works on a retainer/sla basis, there is sometimes scope creep. I never seem to be able to recover from this and charge for services that fall outside the initial agreement if I provided such a service as a favor.

P Sethi February 17, 2010 at 3:42 pm

The biggest challenge is not being the best kept secret in town. We have a great track record, loyal customers and a few “sweet” engagements primarily acquired through relationships and referrals. Getting our name out there, casting a wider net and getting in front of prospects remains a big challenge esp. with a limited marketing budget.

Victor Puchi February 22, 2010 at 12:08 pm

The critical component is finding the pain point(s) and figuring out the value of providing the solution. Its difficult to determine where in your pricing range the prospect will be willing to close the deal. I find that when you clearly identify their pain points and are able to explain the value (in dollars) of your proposed solution you can maximize your profit margin…easier said than done! You should recognize early on when there is not a good fit between the prospect and your solution and cut the cord quickly, saving valuable time and money for everyone.

Kirk Shelley February 22, 2010 at 12:17 pm

I have had the opportunity to combine my desire to do public speaking/teaching with my need to increase my business pipeline. I found a non-profit that was willing to work with me on covering the costs of doing speaking engagements. While doing their training, I also use my case studies to sell my services and offer the participants information to stay in touch at least on a weekly basis. By the end of the year I will have spoken to over 5000 niche prospects, if only 1% become clients over the next two years, the pipeline is full.

Paul Arneson February 22, 2010 at 12:28 pm

I’m just one of scores of sales persons (educational counselors) working for the great Online Trading Academy. I decided to start my own blog and send an invitation by e-mail to every CRM contact I have — to see every new blog entry as I publish them. I try not to make the entries “salesy” but provide some real value. It has REALLY caught on. And the best thing is that all of this marketing is free.

Ruth Ann Stover February 22, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Challenge: Selling against a “free” or very low-priced applicant tracking solution.

Potential customers who challenge our pricing based on a quote from a competitor who offers a very low-priced product can be salvaged. Our approach is to learn as much as we can about the core functionality of the competitor and understand their approach to service and support. In many cases, that will allow me to showcase the strengths of our product and our team. We have also asked our references occasionally to proactively contact a prospect when we believe we are close and the message of our customer can solidify the prospect’s confidence in us. Once in awhile a customer has had experience with the competitor system or support personnel and can convey the reality of their expectations.

If, however, a prospect is driven mainly by price, we will counter with a reasonable concession to our pricing and call it a day. We believe that our product and team have great value, and we aren’t interested in engaging in a price war. We have done this in the past, and it never turns out well.

Mark Scott February 22, 2010 at 1:00 pm

Challenge: How to know when to let go of a prospect. We often invest significant time developing relationships with prospects we have carefully screened only to conclude after several months (or more) that for various reasons we just aren’t going to do business with them. And yet we also often hear stories of service providers who methodically maintain contact with prospects for months or years with no seeming possibility of work and then one day something suddenly breaks open and a client relationship emerges. How can we know when to persist and when to cut our losses and move on?

Lisa February 22, 2010 at 1:15 pm

My biggest challenge is that after 2 years, I am still considered the New Kid in my field. Many of my competitors have been working independently for several years, or bought into a practice with a built in client base. I have the experience and professionalism to do the job, but find it difficult to get my foot in the door when my clients are already comfortable going to my competitors and see no reason to change.

Lee Rooklin February 22, 2010 at 1:44 pm

Approach: Expanding a Company’s Reach, a Partnership

Why do people do the work they do? Sure, there are plenty of folks out there who would default to answer something along the lines, “For the paycheck.” For most successful decision makers, there’s more to their work than the money. They have had passion and a vision for success … a desire to share their unique product or service to cause a positive impact in people’s lives. For these people, increasing their company’s reach and the effect of their product/service is important. They are willing to consider strategies that will increase their reach.

I partner with my clients — they know their business and industry, and I know how to communicate their compelling messaging to their key audiences — to produce communications, placed in appropriate media that gains attention they seek and positively affects their bottom line. This is a long-term strategy that depends on an initial thrust into the marketplace followed by adjustments based on a built-in feedback loop.

Marilyn Edelson February 22, 2010 at 1:51 pm

I come from a human services background where the orientation was towards giving away one’s services and draining all of your personal reserves in the interest of helping others. I learned about selling when, in a burnout phase, I took a detour into selling residential real estate. My first boss literally locked me in a room with the local census book and told me to call all residents over 60. I thought this was ambulance chasing and immoral, but I wanted to learn so I started banging the phone.

Some personal background: My dad had been a salesman and frankly was an embarrassment to me growing up. He sold encyclopedia’s and Electrolux vacuum cleaners door-to-door, but also I realized later developed a successful sign company going door-to-door in mid-town Manhattan in all of the office buildings. So, I had lots of mixed feelings about sales.

On the third day of making cold calls, a woman thanked me, saying her husband had died, her friends had moved away, and she had no one to turn to to sell her house. She wanted to move to the West Coast to be near her children. We went that afternoon, signed her up, and she was my first sale! I still get Xmas cards from her.

I learned that if you see sales truly as service, i.e. as serving the real needs of the client, it is simply another form of helping people. I’ve since sold coaching programs to Fortune 1000 companies and a large federal government contract using the same approach. It’s what’s in the back of your mind when you are with the client that counts! Listen carefully for what’s eating at them and see if you can solve it!

Aram H Kailian February 22, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Being focused on the Federal Marketplace – there is a “target rich environment” which makes opportunity capturing, filtering and synthesizing a daunting task. The challenge is effectively choosing the right pursuits in an ever increasing competitive and challenging environment; utilizing resources to best advantage.

Craig Elias - Creator of February 22, 2010 at 2:48 pm

The biggest sales challenge we see, for those who are not in the fortune 500 that are trying to sell into the fortune 500 is…

1) You have identified your ideal target customer and the ideal contact within it E.g. CIOs of fortune 500 companies.

2) Your inbound marketing efforts attract the attention of sales ready prospects but they DO NOT fit the profile of your ideal target market. E.g VP’s of Operations at firms with revenue between $25,000,000 and $175,000,000

3) ‘Word Of Mouth’ is the best way to attract customers but it’s only bringing in more of those identified in item #2; So all you keep getting are more customers like the ones you already have not like the ones you want.

4) Your outbound sales (read cold calling) efforts finally get you in front of a CIO for a fortune 500 company but they tell you that your track record is with companies who have revenues between $5,000,000 and $25,000,000 and they want someone with a proven track record of working with fortune 500 companies.

Craig Elias February 22, 2010 at 2:49 pm

The biggest sales challenges we see, for those who are not in the fortune 500 that are trying to sell into the fortune 500 are…

1) You have identified your ideal target customer and the ideal contact within it E.g. CIOs of fortune 500 companies.

Adam Noall February 22, 2010 at 3:51 pm

Problem: Cold Contacting…

Solution: Ok, it’s tough. You have to face your fears/procrastinations and beat a path in the stampede of your competitors.

The best advice? Be creative. Use your imagination to make yourself stand out from the crowd. 85% of people say the same old crap. Be in the creative 15% and you’ve already won.

Cassy February 22, 2010 at 3:59 pm

This is very generalized for services sales, but we have experienced much greater success through using personalized emails to follow-up with email or website leads.When registrants receive a personalized email as opposed to an automated response – especially when they have registered interest in a certain offer or service – it has improved response rates. At the very least it helps our reputation so that if a potential client is unable to commit at this time they are far more likely to return to us when they have the budget in the future or to refer us to others.

Bret Kinsella February 22, 2010 at 4:56 pm

Qualifying inbound calls properly and getting everyone on the team to stay focused on key verticals instead of chasing the latest inbound lead. This is a two step challenge. First, if you have aggressive marketing outreach and publish a lot of useful content, you will get inbound calls. Great! With that said, most of those calls will be from people who are not qualified buyers. Many are simply looking for free education or to become a partner that will deliver them business because they were so kind to reach out to you. Others may be decent prospects, just not for you because of geography, industry, etc.

To address this problem, you need to have qualifying criteria that allow you to fairly quickly determine if the prospect is a good fit. Then you need a process for dealing with those that are not. Some may be referred to a partner. Others may be provided some information and not contacted again.

The second problem is people in the organization who see a diamond in every rough and believe every partner call from Dubai could be the next million dollar order. Again, having a list of qualifying criteria within the organization is helpful to combat this situation. You also can just make sure that appropriate time is accorded to these unlikely deals. Better yet, if you can have a partner handle them and agree to make you a subcontractor, they can go through the process of finding the diamonds in the rough while you pick fruit out of the trees.

Steve Kelley February 22, 2010 at 4:59 pm

MESSAGEbuzz is a mobile marketing services provider. As you can imagine SMS marketing is a relatively new industry and our prospects require a ton of education if we go direct. We have found utilizing pay-per-click (Google, Yahoo, Bing) and numerous search engine optimization techniques (blog, articles, cases) gets our phone ringing with prospects that are already fairly educated.

Sharon Druker February 22, 2010 at 5:48 pm

I think all of us in the service industry (in my case legal, but this is of general application) face the challenge of quantifying something that is intrinsically intangible. It is hard enough for prospective clients to compare products which they can see and touch, and virtually impossible for them to compare service offerings, since much of the value of the service cannot be evaluated until after the mandate has been completed. I try to start off with a small mandate so that we can see if we like working together (since compatibility works both ways) and then work on making myself an invaluable advisor as opposed to simply a generic commodity service provider.

Sandra Preikschat February 22, 2010 at 6:48 pm

Challenge:
Wanting/needing to take on larger projects but not having the capacity to do so and maintain my sanity.

Solution:
Partnering. I’ve discovered a number of my suppliers are also in a position to work with me in a partnering situation. In fact, a couple of my competitors have become partners as well. This works best if you have complementary strengths.

Brad Farris February 22, 2010 at 6:49 pm

I want to start out with a broad, general discussion to identify where the client’s points of growth are. The discussion we have together earns me the right to ask for the business. But if I start out too broad, the client doesn’t always see specifically that we are the answer to that problem. If I start to specific, I may miss the prospect’s true area of need.

I believe the solution is to better qualify the leads so that I have am closer to the mark before I get in the door to visit with them.

John Mulcahy February 22, 2010 at 7:41 pm

In the elevator commercial services industry, sales people face many challanges. A solution that be helpful to others is that we have had recent success with conditioning our customers to write checks.

Todays economy has changed the way people purchse everything from their office supplies to selecting the best possible elevator maintenance and service company. Rather than ask for a 10 year contract, as most commodotized companies do, it is HELPFUL to them if we can prove that we are the right company for them by doing so in small doses. Eventually, those small doses turn into a very large decision that your company is the one for them.

Try it, maybe it will work for you!!!!

John Collins February 22, 2010 at 7:46 pm

One of the biggest challenges selling services in these times is overcoming “we can do this ourselves.” Many companies have a large investment in a competent technical staff and as a result feel regardless of the technology, they don’t need/want outside help (this is particular true in Silicon Valley, btw).

To overcome this you must position your proposal it in a way that they can clearly see strong delta change going with you. It’s often helped me to put this in very simple terms and if I can I’ll white board it in a time chart:

A new “solution” represents change from the baseline – with expected improvement in time. However the change regardless of who implements the solution – will mean disruption and a period of decline in productivity (even if everyone is on-board as there is always learning curve and mistakes are made). The depth and the duration of the decline are what prospects try to control, or “manage.” If you can demonstrate that your services will minimize these elements over internal resources – you’ve got a sale.

NOTE: Often when I help the prospect conceptualize the above it conveys that I understand his/her pain and improves my credibility – also putting me closer to the sale.

Kim Jons February 22, 2010 at 8:28 pm

The most difficult challenge I faced this year was in selecting clients. As a new firm, it was really, really hard to turn away business even from clients that were a bad fit.

Applying my own ideal client profile has saved time and my sanity. When new clients approach me the fit rate is about 80% no. When I choose the client the fit rate is almost 95% yes.

Raj Bowen February 23, 2010 at 4:31 am

I prefer to flip ‘challenge’ on its head in my role of selling consultative services and look at it from a totally different angle-that of ‘opportunity’. To me, this makes all the difference as it defines the very attitude with which I approach my prospects. Somehow, ‘challenge’ brings up an almost adversarial tone into the sales process and tends to colour transactions in a way they were never meant to be. I approach a potential sales opportunity with an open mind about it leading to either of two outcomes for me/my organisation ( and I do always prefer the first one …(a) I get the deal and (b) I develop such strong relationships with the key decision-makers, that, in altered circumstances-maybe larger budgets, more appropriate solution fitment, I would be called back as a first choice.
While there are ‘basics’ that one cannot do without- eg-meet the ‘real’ power holders with access to money,authority and need; probe to uncover real needs; build the implications to develop the sale and communicate ‘differentiated value’….at the end of the day, irrespective of which ’selling skills process’ one follows, what works best for me are:
1. Bringing a genuine integrity to the table that tells me that my ability to make sure we have a solid ’solution for the client is a need of a higher order than my requirement of ‘making a sale’.
2. Helping the prospect, as a friend, to make sure ( even if they end up going with someone else) that they are addressing a true need and getting it right.
3. Working collaboratively with the client stakeholders to build a solution together – it’s so much more fun doing a barbeque on the lawn with neighbours rather than order the kebabs from the store
4. Pushing myself, at every stage of the sales process, to think of how I can go the extra mile for the prospect and add the differentiated bonus that makes my offering unique.
5. Never forget the old basic- a good salesperson never sells-he helps the customer to buy!

Liz Atkinson February 23, 2010 at 10:31 am

Challenge: Overcome the reluctance to sell yourself

Suggestion: Think of it in terms of the client–we are all in helping professions–focus should not be selling self but helping client–client who feels that professional is focused on helping solve client’s problem will (most of the time) be happy to pay reasonable fee for that.

Jill Jacobson February 23, 2010 at 2:32 pm

The biggest selling challenge I have is simply finding the time to build the relationships necessary to bring in the business. In my profession, I don’t sell full-time. I do the work that I sell full-time, and then have to find the time to sell on top of that. My solution is to try to do a little bit every day. I send one or two e-mails or make one or two phone calls in between all my other activities and try to stay “top of mind” with my key contacts.

Kevin Cromwell February 23, 2010 at 7:12 pm

In today’s world of people who are so afraid of “being sold something” the meet and greet has become difficult. Everyone is afraid and the selling world has become a commdity playing field. I don’t want to compete on price – I want to compete on service and commitment!

Jeanne Urich February 23, 2010 at 7:45 pm

Our biggest challenge is balancing current work with making time to market and sell. We recently published the 2010 PS Maturity Model Benchmark report http://www.spiresearch.com which has met with unbelievable success but we would like to expand our consulting and training business. The hard part is finding the time to focus on showcasing our consulting and training capabilities while still keeping our current clients delighted.

Mandy Minor February 23, 2010 at 7:46 pm

For the first four years of my company’s existence I struggled with pricing. We did the pricing exercises and knew what we needed to charge – prices that were in line with the market and truly a good value for the service and support we provide. Even so, price was the most common objection, and this whittled away at my confidence. I know objections are disguised desires to buy, but still – it gets old!

So I solved my price confidence issue in two steps.

Step 1: Gather ideas and tactics from sales pro friends and online resources.
I’m an avid networker and have established great relationships with two sales guys who know their stuff. I got their advice and worked it into our existing pricing structure; turns out our pricing was spot-on. Then I did the same from the plethora of awesome sales resource websites online, like this one. I found some real gems for handling the price-is-too-high objection, like “That’s a valid issue. Several of our current customers had those same concerns at the beginning. Let me show you some examples of how those purchases paid off.” Then it was on to step 2.

Step 2: Mind training.
I know, sounds weird. But really all it was is this: I allowed myself to become comfortable with our prices. I looked in the mirror – literally – and said – out loud – “We give our clients amazing service and expertise and are worth every penny of the reasonable prices we charge.” I took my sales friends’ advice and learned to stop talking; when sales conversations got to the price I stated it and shut up. This one tactic alone was a miracle worker, because it exudes confidence. And finally, I stopped wasting time sweating sales that didn’t happen and began using that energy to focus on upcoming opportunities. And today as I write this we have three quotes to write and more resume business than we’ve had in months.

Everything I did, you can do too. Go get ‘em!

Jami Leaf February 24, 2010 at 1:00 am

In the three years my husband and I have owned our sign company the one service we have found to be the most important is Customer Service. You can have the best product or service at the lowest price but if you can’t service your Clients better or even different than your competition you are no different than they are- you don’t stand out and in the sign industry, where price is the deciding factor, we stand out and we are not the least expensive. Our Clients know that and I let them know up front we are not the least expensive, but we can offer something better-the best customer service. If we make an error we are the first to admit it, fix it and move on! When we first bought our business I was out pounding the pavement to bring in clients and worked above and beyond to keep them. Today 90% of our business is referrals. Pretty much every other phone call I get is a referral from a one-time customer or a customer who uses us exclusively. We strive and have succeeded in keeping our business. We ask for referrals and we ask for the business and 99% of the time we get it and we keep it. The customer comes first no matter what.

Sarah Wortman February 24, 2010 at 12:53 pm

About cold calling…
Whenever I hate doing something it helps me to view it as a puzzle or a game. The “two sixes” have been especially helpful in trying to help people for whom sales, especially cold calling, is about as appealing as cleaning the toilet.

Six Calls to Contact – I came across a marketing study in the early 90s that showed that, when “cold calling”, the chances of getting a returned call go up significantly after the 5th or 6th call. Knowing that makes me feel less rejected when my first three or four tries yield nothing. It also helps me know when to turn my attention to someone else (when the 7th call goes unanswered).

Six Degrees of Separation – As one of the best salespeople I ever met told me, “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” If I want to warm up a call, this rule tells me that there’s always somebody I know who knows somebody I want to meet. I often put out calls to friends and colleagues for introductions and can almost always find a way to get to a key prospect through a referral. Key to making this successful is returning the favor whenever I can.

R. Keith Rugg February 25, 2010 at 12:20 pm

As in so many other aspects of life, good communications is key in selling services. And not just communication from the professional to the prospective client, but also from prospect to professional. The professional must use communication skills to uncover the true needs of his or her prospect, and must be able to make that pontential client aware of how the services will meet those needs. Finally, it is at the close where communication often breaks down, because it is hard to say, “This is what I can do, and this is why and how it will benefit you… May I please have your business?” But by communicating the close, the prospect knows that they have reached the crux of the conversation, and it is now time to do business.

Bruce Gill February 25, 2010 at 12:57 pm

Challenge – How to detect bad-fit clients earlier in the sales/engagement process.

Clients will contact us when there’s a problem/crisis/impending event. But often the problem is there because they don’t value, and therefore don’t allocate resources to, a particular business function (in my case, CFO/Controller services). While the engagement may start as a we-want-to-do-things-better project, it evolves into a “mop up” project . . . “just fix it”. When it’s over, the client will repeat their behaviors and the problem will recur. Because they don’t (won’t) own up to their complicity in the problem, we can become scapegoats . . . “Oh, XYZ firm charged us big bucks to solve this problem and it’s still here”. Not good for word-of-mouth, even if we did an above-and-beyond job of pulling their fat out of the fire.

Then there are others that are facing similar difficulties, but simply because they didn’t know what they didn’t know. They want to get better and do what needs to be done to avoid a repeat event. They’re highly cooperative and highly teachable.

So they both present their problems similarly. But the former becomes a long-term struggle, the latter is a long-term delight.

The trick is how to determine the difference earlier in the process so that our time and resources can be directed to clients we can actually help. Does this resonate with anyone?

Scott S. February 25, 2010 at 1:47 pm

Cold Calling Opener: The value of an truely engaging “story” is immense.

I was cold calling on a suspect that sold products and services to vineyards. I told the gate keeper that my wife and I had been in a wine bar, having a glass of wine, and I noticed an article in a wine magazine, in the wine bar, featuring their product. It appeared to me that they were using some of the services my company provided and I wanted to find out if that was the case. I was immediately put through to the proper person to begin the engagement process. We landed that account 6 months later. The wine bar story was true and the magazine listed several other potental suspects. Using the same approach we landed another customer in the same line of business.

Two morals of the story;1.) You must have a good “story” to begin the enganement process & 2.) You never know where you may find that next idea for a new customer, so always keep your eyes open and be crerative. No one can resist a good story!

Sarat Varanasi February 25, 2010 at 5:08 pm

In my previous organization at Drivestream, we had a challenge of signing up big name customers for our services and long term contracts

We followed a 3 pronged approach

1) Created White papers in our areas of expertise – made it easy for us to reach the CIO’s and decision makers of the clients
2) Always insisted on physical presence and made ourselves visible in many regional conferences and trade shows – this built our name in the industry and gave us the much needed exposure to the clients.
3) We worked with Outside Sales consultants and entered into partnerships with 3rd party vendors who had established relationships in the larger organizations but always billed the client directly

Wendy Burke February 25, 2010 at 5:27 pm

I handle sales and marketing for a construction company, and getting my highly technical service delivery folks to think about relationship management and selling new work is a major challenge. They’re mostly engineering types who are out of their element when selling, so I’ve found this approach to work: (1) define selling as a process with discrete steps, that almost takes on the feel of a checklist (a familiar tool in my company); (2) break the sales process down into digestible bites and train, execute and hold the team accountable for each task; (3) stay close with lots of support and coaching; (4) share information – make each person a teach and a student; and (5) celebrate small successes. It’s also important to reinforce that we all live and die together…create that sense of shared responsibility…

Sandy Lipten February 25, 2010 at 6:32 pm

Gosh, the comments are here are great! My current challenge is how to best broaden our offerings to our existing customers with new products/services, instead of relying on steady stream of new customers to keep revenue steady. Thanks for asking!

Cheryl Antier February 27, 2010 at 11:43 am

One of my biggest challenges is helping my clients cut through the clutter and the noise – with all the programs, products and services out there – and help them hone in on what’s going to work for them.

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