September 20, 2023
Validate Their Self-Diagnosis
Fellow list member Michael Noyola replied to yesterday’s email with a personal example of not accepting a potential client’s self-diagnosis at face value (shared with permission):
Jonathan, I hope people on your list realize you just put $1M in their pockets if they are able to absorb the full, unfettered, Infinity Crystal-like power of your last email. It is amazing when you ask a potential client to justify their own project. This conversation cures a whole bunch of issues that crop up during the sales conversation. One guy I talked to didn’t need paid ads... he just needed to fire his direct mail company and find a better provider. The clients who really don’t need your product can become really bad clients, and it doesn’t usually have a happy ending (a personal experience early on). Anyhow, thanks again for the bar of gold in the email. I felt something heavy when I logged into Gmail... Cheers, Michael
This line in particular popped out:
The clients who really don’t need your product can become really bad clients, and it doesn’t usually have a happy ending.
Moral of the story?
If you can talk someone out of hiring you, you probably should.
Yours,
—J
P.S. Do you dread sales meetings? Not sure what to say? Feel like you need to pitch yourself?
Lesson 3 of The Pricing Seminar is about what to talk about (and what NOT to talk about) in a sales meeting.
Best of all? No pitching required ;-)
Registration for the 12th session of TPS is open now. Lessons start this coming Monday, so don’t delay:
I hope to see you there!