You Don't Get What You Don't Ask For

With people everywhere trying to cut corners, you've probably experienced an increase in clients asking for more - for less! Today business expert Anne Miller tells you how to deal with this situation.

How do you respond after a client asks for more services for the same amount of money on your proposal after you changed the proposal once already to accommodate their budget?

1. You deny the client's request, saying your offer is as it stands.
2. You revise the proposal, taking out other components of the offer to accommodate the client's new request at the same fee level.
3. You ask for more money to accommodate the new requests.

Any of these could work depending on the situation. However, let me advocate for the third option first. Ask for more money. Remind them of the value of what they’re getting (justifies the investment); the fact that you have already adjusted the proposal to earlier requests (introduces an element of fairness); that making any more changes would compromise the solution and tell them, that for the added services, the incremental cost is worth the investment (helps them justify the higher cost).

And, then, be quiet.

Very often, they will recognize that if they want more, they will have to pay more, and agree. If that does not happen, you can always decide to go with options 1 or 2. But, if you skip option 3 first, you are shooting yourself in the foot: leaving money on the table that could have been yours.

Anne Miller is a popular sales and presentations expert and author of the book, Metaphorically Selling: How to Use the Magic of Metaphors to Sell, Persuade, & Explain Anything to Anyone. She works with people in high stakes situations and clients like Yahoo!, Citigroup, and Time, Inc. to sell millions of dollars of business every year. Visit her site at www.AnneMiller.com.

Digg This!	Stumble It!

Hold Off on Handouts

Sales trainer Sam Manfer has been doing a series on his blog with specific tips for sales presentations and proposals. While some tips are more general, and some are very specific, this one about handouts struck me as advice we should all follow - but often don't.

"Handouts are usually a distraction during the presentation, but can be a good reminder for after the presentation," says Manfer. "During the presentation you want people focusing on you and what your team has to say. Handouts encourage them to be reading ahead and not listening. If handouts are an integral part of the discussion, then hand them out as they are needed. Highlighting areas you want them to focus on is helpful."

"An agenda is a good handout for the leader to give each person when he starts his schmoozing," continues Manfer. "It's a good excuse for the schmooze and it looks good as you cover everyone. The agenda can also have the names of your team members on it and their role / expertise / position."

"A parting handout loaded with pictures, numbers, names, and details can be valuable. You can also fill it with points of their interest - not yours. Make it sort of a mini summary in living color - sort of a brochure. Remember they already have a written proposal."

Since 1995 Sam Manfer has been speaking, consulting, writing and leading seminars in sales and personal development. As a keynote speaker and seminar leader Sam has addressed thousands of new and experienced sales people and managers all over the world in all types of businesses and industries. Learn more at www.sammanfer.com

Digg This!	Stumble It!

Strategies for Writing Proposals

The proposal document is an expensive, time-consuming, yet necessary document. Therefore, it better hit the right buttons with the client so it takes you to the shortlist or gets you invited to do a presentation. Sales expert Sam Manfer has some excellent advice to make proposal writing a much less painful process:

The Line Items
Every line item in the spec must consider three factors. (1) You must show you understand why that line item is in there and what it means to project success. (2) You must show you can handle/deliver it. (3) You must know who this line item is important to or who is worried about it.

Competitors
Everything above is about the voters and getting their desires met. Many salespeople and companies are focused on what the competition will say in their proposals. This is a major mistake, yet competition cannot be ignored. Winning a proposal is not like a sporting event where you have to beat the competition. It is an election where you have to win the votes of the powerful.

Numbers, Names and Details
Numbers are believable. They are also easy to visualize and understand. 13 is more powerful than "many times". 21 years' experience is more understandable than "very experienced". Details of how you accomplished a line item for another project are important to the people concerned about that spec item. Names validate you. They provide concurrence and favorable associations.

Red Flags and Strengths
For each line item or section of the specification, you must consider your red flags (areas of weaknesses) and your strengths. Now just because your competitor is "better" than you in certain areas doesn't mean it's a weakness for you. That certain area has to be important to one of the powerful voters for it to be a red flag. Many people get hung-up on some capability of the competition that is meaningless to the voters. Remember it's all about the voters. The same applies to your strengths. They have got to be of significance to a voter. Being global is not a strength to someone looking for local service.

The No Contact Clause
Since most people are off limits after the spec has been issued, the best after-the-fact way to learn about an individual voter's desires is to use your network of people that know the voters. If you open your mind and do some asking, you'll realize you know people that know these voters. They will help you if you ask. However, you've got make the mental effort and then make the calls. Most people dislike asking for help and come up with every reason not to. You've got to get over it. People will help if asked.

Since 1995 Sam Manfer has been speaking, consulting, writing and leading seminars in sales and personal development. As a keynote speaker and seminar leader Sam has addressed thousands of new and experienced sales people and managers all over the world in all types of businesses and industries. Learn more at www.sammanfer.com

Digg This!	Stumble It!