Sales Psychology: Never Appear Hungry

Less is often more. Not being the dog is imperative ie; bowling them over with information when they come in the door or meet with you to discuss. Asking great questions and listening to the answer on all levels is also key. Getting to a person's point of tension reaches a client on an emotional level rather than on a facts and figures level.

I agree, I tell salespeople to stop thinking of themselves as selling and start thinking they are helping. A better title for a good salesperson is Buyers Assistant. All you are there to do is help them make a decision yes or no. Either way you have done your job. Your product or service is never for everyone. Helping the customer come to that conclusion faster is your job.

Good tips Brad.

I'm usually the buyer of services or products in business. I agree with having a price and sticking to it. I'm always out to grind someone down as low as I possibly can (must be the dutch in me). If someone starts dropping their price I always am left wondering if I could have got them lower. If you have a price and it's the same price across the board there is great value in knowing that I'm being charged fairly and I won't hear from someone else that I got ripped off.

I experienced this first hand with hosting companies in the past few years. Prices have gone from >$30 per mb/s down to <$5 per mb/s. A few years ago, during a re-negotiation of our bw prices, we got our hosting company to drop their price substantially. We were assured this is as low as they go and they can't do better. They said all the right things to make me feel like I just got a steal. A week later I was at a trade show talking with a friend of mine who hosts at the same company. I found out he was pushing less bw and paying less than I was. My confidence in that company was shattered and I eventually left them.

It's funny, when you move a lot of traffic, you purchase by the megabit. Although there are different tiers of hosts to work with, within each tier there is some serious price competition.

Even hosting to some degree comes down to a level of confidence. I know the company I host with makes me feel warm and fuzzy. That's important when your business relies on uptime. I am willing to pay a little extra per megabit or even an added service fee to give me that feeling.

I also feel as if I have lost a little whenever I'm able to get someone's price down. It's funny, we almost feel better about buying products when prices are concrete than we do when we get a discount.

Exactly. I remember one of the popular scripts 7 years ago. The owner refused to drop his price. He told me it was $600 for everyone no matter how big or small. Whenever I needed another version of his script I never hesitated to buy it. I knew the price and knew it was the same for everyone. I feel the same about apple. Apple generally charges the same price across the board. The only thing I ever worry about with Apple is a new product coming out (on that note I'm looking forward to seeing if the tablet is announced today).

I'd much prefer hosts having set prices based on volume and them adjusting those prices as their costs go down. Our main host now is phenomenal. Their pricing and support are second to none. I truly feel like we are business partners and I think that is very important. Thanks to their support and competitive pricing we've been able to push our bandwidth to over 10,000 mb/s.

I'm watching the ipad launch now.

Pretty slick stuff. FYI you can buy macs through CDW as a corporate user and save a whopping 1-2% lol. That's what we do.

So much opportunity with the iPad launch.

Agreed. We are already investigating the iBook platform to see if we can publish content with it. This could be a huge opportunity for e-book publishers with good content.

Hey Brad, great advice!

I've also made the experience that not appearing desperate is really important. And I would even add: If you really are desperate for attention and sales, maybe you need to rethink your product/service?

When you know that what you are offering is top-of-the-line and more than worth the money you're charging, then you know that it's your customer's loss if they don't take you up on it. In other words, it's important to believe in the product/service you're selling and to be clear to yourself about how valuable it is (even if it's yours and you are uncomfortable thinking overly positively about yourself and things you create).

And this too, applies to dating as much as marketing.

Shane

I agree that you need to be confident in what you are selling. In most cases you are selling yourself or your abilities, so you already know what you are worth. Never accept less.

The more I think about it, the more parallels I find between business and dating. I think there's a book there somewhere.

I've had the same thoughts quite often when reading books and material about marketing. There's definitely a book in there. :)

One thing I struggle with is making clients feel like they have won me over. For example, one thing I hear all the time from new clients is "this is the first of many projects" or "I am looking for someone long term" etc...

And I wish I could trust every single person that says that...but I need to pay a mortgage. I might not be hungry for the job, but sometimes you want to throw them a bone too. Just so they feel like their doing something right, or getting something out of the deal. Another very common theme in dating is stroking that ego...

The best writers have a 2-3 week waiting list. Start taking deposits and don't budge on cost. It will make you more important to your clients :)

Good post mate... I had the exact same problem today... I posted on my daily blog about this and your video... and the three meetings I had today with people that ALL knew about my website etc...

Always appear busy....

If anyone is interested in my blog post its here :

http://millionairechallenge.tv/daily-posts/mark-lyford-day-95-i-think-www-millionairechallenge-tv-is-working-against-me/

Cheers all

Mark

Great video Brad! Thanks for the props. I know you and I have discussed this topic at length on a number of occasions and we have seen your message proven true time and time again.

When it comes to the consulting and coaching game, I think this strategy gets amplified. Its like the more work your prospect has to do in order to get to you, the more they will want to hire you. For example, if a prospect wants to speak to you to scope some work and you make them fill out 5 forms as a prerequisite for them to speak to you, they are now heavily invested (time wise) to doing a deal with you. Assuming you are the right consultant for their needs, the client will now chase you down to get the deal done.

Like you said, it seems counter-intuitive...but it works.

Ultimately it comes down to self confidence, knowing what you're worth and delivering high value.

Thanks for your input here. You are absolutely right, you come from a position of confidence when you have a long line happy customers already.

I make all my coaching clients fill out a questionnaire which not only helps them figure out what they want it also helps me make sure they get it.

Great idea Brad, is there a sample or draught template avalable that we could look at to get an idea of what to put in our questionnaires? - please.

I use a PDF form for coaching calls. I would imagine you need something customized to your business.

Smooth answer :)

My plates full today so I was not sure I would have the time to make a comment....

Brad, I know this is area you are very strong in, glad to see you share your experience with us.

Cheers,
Mukul

Oh you and your jokes LOL.

I appreciate your kind words. Looking forward to seeing you next week.

Hey Brad - On a more serious note...I totally agree that posture is paramount when dealing with people in business and sometimes on a personal level too. Thanks for posting this. Rock with your sock out!

Thanks for your input. Any experience to share?

I once was involved with a MLM program that began with 'A' and ended in broke...anyway, one of the reccomended books to read was Allan Pease - Body Language. It gave me an insight into the fact people pay more attention to your body language than your words. Hence I now pay more attention to the way a person's posture is rather than what they are saying. You can often tell when they're faking it too.

I wonder if the company you are referring to rhymes with slam day...

When you think about it animals draw cues from our tone and body language. My dogs know when I'm happy or angry with them in an instant. I think I heard somewhere that words spoken only make up 40% of our communication.

I agree with the basic premise... you don't want to look like you NEED work. That said, I think giving the perception that you are overwhelmed (which works for product launches) can be a turn-off for some people (people that may be great customers). They might think that working with you will mean their work will always be on the back-burner, or that you are in a constant state of "busy").

It probably works for you, because you express it in a way that works... and deliver the message in a customized manner. I just want to point out, that viewers of this video need to understand the nuance of something like this before attempting it :). It must be sincere, and not forced.

Rick I couldn't agree more and thanks for pointing this out. There is a delicate balance.

I agree with everything you said........I used to build Condo's, Apartments, and 80 Houses at one time, with a crew of 150 men. My Boss at the time told me (When he was training me to run work) Never bid a job like you're starving, He said to always bid a project as if your plate is already full. He said to have the attitude,when bidding, that sure you could work this project in. But, if the bid goes to someone else, it's ok, because your to busy anyways...........

In this way you're bidding to make a profit on the project and not to buy a job............................

Thanks,

Ron Martin

Love that. Thanks for sharing your story. I think it applies to every business.

Great insight Brad a lot of folks make those mistakes appearing hungry even if you are is just suicide.
I appreciate you sharing this.
-WD

Glad you enjoyed it :)

Dude! What happened to your left eye??? Did some chicks hubby come home early? LOL :)

LOL no idea man it doesn't normally look like that. My wife does hit me when I snore...

Only when you snore, you are one of the lucky ones :)