Thoughtful Thursdays - It's just a minor change...

Today's thought is about how to avoid coming to the realization you have been a victim of scope creep.

It begins innocently enough with your desire to provide your customer what they want. After all, it will only take a few minutes and you want to keep them happy. You have just set the bar for your customer and they will now expect not to be charged for minor changes.

This may be followed by another small change or addition to the project and then another. I have seen this happen time and time again. Don't get me wrong, it is not a negative situation when the job grows, but if you are not duly compensated, your profits will end up down the drain unless you can put the plug in right away.

One way to increase the chances of keeping your customer and your accountant happy is to have a sales agreement in place before starting the work. The agreement might include, but not be limited to; a description what you will provide, how much it is going to cost, when it will be delivered, how you expect to be paid and what happens if anything changes.

It is up to you to make sure your customer to be absolutely clear with the terms.

Having an agreement in place will not stop the requests for changes, but will provide you with the option of re-negotiating the price due to the changing scope of project. Without an agreement in place, you may find yourself without this option - and your profitability may suffer as a result.

Good selling,
Richard

Wise Wednesdays - Razor's Edge

If you have to do it every day, for God's sake learn to do it well.
~Mignon McLaughlin

I remember watching the movie Razor’s Edge with Bill Murray; a movie about a man on a personal quest to find meaning in his life. A heavy topic. The premise was that we are so close to success and failure that we can go either way just as narrow as a razor’s edge. The answers lie in the “fine-tuning” of our lives.

In many ways successful businesses are created by how carefully they “fine-tune” their offering. Businesses that thrive are always improving what they have to offer by asking for feedback from customers, watching the marketplace, increasing their expertise, staying in front of their customers.

In other words running a business is very much like living fully -- not taking things for granted.

Cheers,

Dominik

Thoughtful Thursdays - Once More On Value

I think people get tired of me going on and on about how critical it is to establish the value you and your product and/or service brings or will bring to your customer or prospect.

Over the years I have been involved in sales, and helping people to sell, value is a constant I can count on to be a key point in most sales discussions. Value can be found in many different forms; and once established, communicated and understood can be very rewarding to the seller as well.

In a meeting this week with a client we discussed the fact that he had achieved his August forecast and was looking forward to exceeding his sales expectations for the month. He described a situation of how one of his customers came to choose his company over his competition.

They were impressed with his knowledge, the fact that he listened to their concerns, and answered all their questions before offering any advice or attempting to close the sale. Apparently the competitors were not as willing to take the time to make the prospect feel comfortable about engaging their services.

The value to the customer in this case was the confidence my client was able to gain over his competition during the early stages of the sales process. They trusted him.

The resulting value to my client is a customer that will be using his services again and recommending his business to their friends and colleagues.

It doesn't it get any better than that.

Good selling,
Richard

Wise Wednesdays - Opportunities to Pursue

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. -- Thomas A. Edison


I just got back from a vacation in Europe visiting my parents on an island on the Adriatic. Not a bad place to be. I loved my early morning swims and evening strolls.

Naturally I kept my eyes open on how people run their business. There is great potential to further develop tourism in this region. I got excited over an idea and even thought of pursuing it. Then it struck me – would I pursue this idea because I really wanted to or because people were saying I could make a lot of money?

There is nothing wrong with making a lot of money IF the venture you pursue is who are.

I never recommend people go after an idea because it’s the “in thing.” They need to be interested in it for the long run. Running a business needs to have your true motives in mind.

Vacations sometimes act as wake up calls. Many times, however, vacations just act as reminders to take time off and enjoy life. Change is good but nothing beats a long relaxing leisurely rest.

Don’t fret over lost opportunities. Pursue ones that are close to your heart -- they will require all the energy and resources you can muster.

Cheers,

Dominik

Thoughtful Thursdays - If it's so good, why doesn't it sell?

We have heard it before, "What a great idea!", "I should get one of those!", "I know someone who could really use that.", "I could use those services"... but the orders don't materialize.

If it is so good, why doesn't it sell?

If you ask me, it is because the prospect has not been convinced the value of the product or service is worth the purchase price.

It is your responsibility to your business to find out why:

1. Have to correctly identified the prospects needs?
2. Is the prospect clear on what is being offered?
3. Have you confirmed #1 and #2 with the prospect?

In many cases it is the the third question where the process breaks down. We sometimes make assumptions that make it easy to come up with "excuses" as to why the sale does not close. It is easier than asking questions that may have answers we do not want to hear.

Do not be afraid to ask the question "Why?"

Good selling,
Richard

Thoughtful Thursdays - Need Orders?

My client meetings usually open with a question about their business and how sales are going. In a recent meeting my client said sales for the past month had been very strong.

This is always a good sign and begs the question, could he attribute this success to any single action or factor in his business environment?

I was pleased to hear his response. To paraphrase, he looked at his monthly sales forecast and saw that it would be challenging to achieve and began to systematically follow up with all his existing and potential customers and guess what happened?

Orders for his services were placed to the extent that the sales forecast was not only achieved, but exceeded.

The next time you are thinking about how to make your sales for the month and need more orders, try following up with your prospects. You may be pleasantly surprised. Sometimes all it takes is one more call to close the sale.

Good selling,
Richard