The Longest 30 Seconds of My Life

Imagine working on a big, big, big order.*

*By “big,” I am talking about income equal to six months of what you earn now.

We’re.

Talking.

BIG.

That is what I was working on.

A large printer wanted their inside sales team trained. I’d flown thousands of miles from home to meet the client, the team he wanted me to train, and the other players involved.

I’d come up with a plan for how I was going to turn the inside sales reps into sales monsters. It was typed into a proposal, edited, changed, deleted entirely, reconsidered, retyped, and finally emailed off to the client.

Now came the time for the follow up call, aka “The Close.”

Me: “Have you had the chance to review my proposal?”

Client: “I have.”

Me: “Do you have any questions?”

Client: “No.”

Me (using an assumed-sales approach): “Great, then when do we begin?”

Client: “Well, my issue is with the price. To be honest, it’s double what we can afford. Can you do better?”

Me: “Only if you want to train less people. Cut the headcount in half and it cuts the price in half.”

Client: “No. We want everyone on the same page.”

When the client challenges your price, you have two options:

1. Justify the price.
2. Lower the price.

I chose the former.

When I was done talking, I again asked for the order. Next, I waited for a reply.

Tick, tick, tick…

It was the longest 30 seconds of my life.

Tick, tick, tick…

And finally … ”Okay, Bill. We’ll find the money. Let’s go.”

The rule of thumb in this situation is easy to say, hard to do: Shut up. The next person to speak, loses.

It was a contract that would eventually be renewed four times.

Silence truly is golden.

You’ll find sales best practices like this inside The Sales Vault. Contact Bill Farquharson at bill@salesvault.pro or by calling 781-934-7036.