Sales & Marketing Consultant, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

Have you been losing business and wondering if it’s because your price is too high?

I beg you to take a step back and take a close look at your book of business before you go tinkering with your price points.

Why?

Because, in most cases, your price point is perfect just the way it is.

Yes, the economy is a bit rough and tumble lately and yes, people are shopping for the best prices whenever they can. The truth, however, is that most businesses are loyal – even during rough times. I urge you to take a look at your customer service team and how they interact with your clients, even if your customer says he is leaving due to price.

In many cases a customer or client will tell you that he found a better price (whether he really did or not) because it’s easier to say than, “I’m unhappy with you because of xyz…” Unless you had a very serious falling out, most customers leave without expressing their concerns. They feel as though it’s easier to move on to another organisation than it is to “cause a conflict” by registering a complaint.

I’ve found through my own research, and have seen several other salesmen recommend as well, that you should not change the way you price your products unless you can objectively prove that you have lost at least 10% of your book of business because of price and price alone. If a customer leaves, do a little digging. Check his file to see what his relationship has been like with your customer service team; call him and ask him if there is anything else you could have done to save your relationship.

Listen carefully to the answers. It won’t be difficult to determine whether or not price was the real issue at the end of the day. If it was – then go ahead and work with your marketing team to alter your price point a little bit. If not, take a step back and figure out how to prevent further losses due to bad business relationships.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

You’ve spent hours preparing your sales presentation and managed to land a meeting with the decision maker at a local corporation. After the presentation you are asked a series of questions about your product and then the decision maker starts to ask you real questions.

He wants to know about the price of your product.

Of course he does – and rightfully so! But here’s where most salesmen begin to falter. They’re uncomfortable talking about price because they aren’t sure how the customer will respond at this critical point in the sales process. What they don’t realize is that their level of confidence visibly drains, their body language completely changes, and their response to this question is more of a turnoff than a convincing close.

Why wouldn’t you be confident about the price of your product? You just spend a good 30-60 minutes telling your prospect about the pros, cons, and benefits of your services. Don’t you think it’s priced competitively?

Never be afraid to confidently answer questions about the price of your product, especially if you’re at the point in which the sale may close. Maintain eye contact with your prospect, use the same hand gestures you’ve used throughout the entire presentation, and make sure your body language and tone express how excited you are about the product and the way it is priced.

Feeling uncomfortable? Stand in front of your mirror in the morning and talk about your price point as if you are talking to a client. Repeat yourself several times until you are comfortable with this part of your presentation.

Remember this! Your confidence will give your prospect confidence!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

Are you on Twitter?

If not, I really think you should be.

Why?

Because Twitter is exactly the kind of social networking environment you should be in. If nothing else, the opportunity to practice limiting your thoughts to a mere 140 characters is something truly defining. It teaches you to be succinct and engaging while making your point using nothing longer than a simple sentence.

Being an active member on Twitter will also give you the opportunity to meet two types of people:

• People who are in the same field, or related fields, as you are.
• People who are interested in the products and services you offer.

Now, there’s skill involved in building a good following on Twitter. You have to be active and engaging. You can’t just throw out a bunch of advertisements or links to your website and expect people to care. You need to show interest in what they’re doing, or somehow show them that you really want to offer them something of value.

I could go on and on about how and when to use Twitter, but instead I’ll leave you today with a challenge. If you are NOT already on Twitter, go check it out and sign up. Take a look at the system and think about how you could possibly use it to network or build your own prospect list.

Oh! And make sure you follow me on Twitter as well if you’re not doing so already! Once you have a few days to look at Twitter we’ll talk about some of the best ways to really utilize it in your marketing campaign!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

I hate to dwell on the fact that the economy has been less than accomodating lately but I have noticed a disturbing trend.

Whenever I attend sales conferences or networking events I find myself having conversations with salespersons who can do nothing BUT talk about how terrible the economy has been treating them.

Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but I have a question.

What is the “economy?” What has the economy done to you as an individual lately? Did the economy force you to get out of bed in a bad mood this morning? Did the economy tell you to stop picking up the phone and attempting to reach new prospects? Did the economy tell you to stop working on your latest marketing campaign, to stop writing that new sales letter, or to stop handing out business cards?

I didn’t think so.

So why on earth must we keep dwelling on the negative aspect of sales? Truth be told, those with positive mindsets can find ways to be successful no mater what the economy is apparently “dictating.”

The next time you go to a networking event make it a point to keep a positive mindset, even if things aren’t going as well as you’d like. Focus on the good things that have happened and the great plans you have for the future.

Do NOT dwell in misery. People won’t want to talk to you and will be less likely to remain in touch after the networking event is over!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker