The Difference between a Small One and a Large One

by | Mar 6, 2018 | Negotiation, Strategy

Do you know the difference between a small sale and a large Sale

An excellent book that I have had tucked away in my library is called Spin Selling by Neil Rackman.

In Neil’s book, he maintains that there is a difference between a small sale and a large sale and different philosophies are used for both.

If you are able to know the difference between a large sale and a small sale you might just be able to save a lot of time when you go to prospect.

So what is the difference?

How does that relate to your long-term success?

If you can grasp this idea you will able to avoid all those frustrating “no calls” you keep making and begin to focus on the calls that do matter.

The general rule for small sales is the one from Neil’s book.

He is sitting in an airport waiting for a connecting flight; he was browsing in a store and spotted one of those multipurpose knives, like the Swiss Army knife, the price $15.

Within 2 seconds of seeing it, he bought it and his immediate need was satisfied. To him, it was what I call a no-decision decision.

Now, what about a bigger sale? Let’s take another scenario, you are meeting your client for the first time, potentially that client could invest with you several thousand dollars worth of product or services.

Are you going to get him or her to buy on the first call?

The best way to approach the larger sale is to expect that it may take a little longer. They simply have different needs than smaller sales.

Here a sure fire way to make sure that you do know the difference:

  • A larger sale will contain more than one decision maker
  • A larger sale involves asking more specific questions about their problems and moving them up to solutions.
  • Larger clients tend to take a more rational approach to decision making than a smaller client.

Do this on a regular basis and monitor what are your small sales and your larger sales.

One action you can take straight away is write down all you larger clients based on spend and see if this does stack up against the criteria above.

List all your larger clients in a notebook and begin to ask questions to discover the needs over time.

Have great fun selling your stuff.

Mike

Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media.  He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. His products and services are now sold in 23 countries and in 11 languages generating $350 million annually in sales for his clients. Mike sold the company in 2015 and now spends his time following his passions which include rugby, travel. His promise: “I can find thousands of dollars in your business within minutes – GUARANTEED”  TRY ME

Negotiation is a form of Selling True or False?

by | Jul 13, 2017 | Negotiation, Sales

We are all in sales and need to negotiate

Negotiation is a form of Selling True or False?

We all know that Negotiation is a form of selling, and our ultimate goal is that everybody wins. Impossible, right? Maybe not. In my book Selling is Not Optional- How to Master the most important skill in business and life I devote a whole chapter to negotiation.

Mutual Success

In the chapter I stress the goal of mutual success for both the buyer and seller. Often, we think negotiations can only succeed one way: we present the product, say all the right things, and get the client really excited about buying. Then we ask for the business and they jump across the desk and hug us, saying, “You saved my life.” Right?

It simply doesn’t happen that way.

What’s your fear?

Often, salespeople don’t even ask for the business for fear of rejection. They are afraid to hear, “No, not at the moment,” or, “I want to negotiate.”

As we have seen from other chapters in the book , mindset makes a difference; you have to be open to the next step. Often, after someone does decide to purchase, they still want to parry a little. People feel it is a bit of a game.

We are all in the game of negotiation. I left the house this morning negotiating with my wife about a couple of things. We negotiate with our partners and our fellow workers, and I can tell you as a parent of teenagers, we negotiate with our children.

Salespeople should avoid cultivating a closed mindset around bargaining. Negotiations are just a form of communication. Consider how negotiations can get you closer to finding a mutually beneficial solution.

 A Beautiful Mindset.

Think of the John Nash story, told in the movie A Beautiful Mind. Nash, an American mathematician, proved that when you cooperate, everybody wins, and wins bigger. Game theory demonstrates that cooperation can increase each player’s ultimate reward. Having a collaborative mindset is actually the key to successful negotiation.

Here are some takeaways from my book on the subject of negotiation. (link)

  • Plan your negotiation approach. Have a checklist. Don’t forget your agreement.
  • There are often only a few standard areas of concerns for your clients.
  • Keep your sense of humour.

For additional tips on selling your product or service go to mikebrunel.com. Look forward to seeing you soon.

Good Selling

Mike Brunel