trusting my intuition - and making the call

Last week I had an awkward sales call. I thought we were getting to know each other - "let's talk and decide if we want to work together". So I was prepared to have a deeper conversation about their problems, our philosophy, potential solutions, and how we might structure our work. I left feeling completely ambushed.

As I sat in the parking lot, dazed and confused, I thought about what happened. I didn't have the level of interaction and connection that I have come to expect. I didn't get any positive signals. A few things seemed really strange...

1. The guys I met with continued to stress how complex their change was... I thought OK so this is a relatively big change - restructuring, layoffs, and new roles. But in the big scheme of things?... not so complicated. I wondered - how come he thinks this is so complex?
2. They were concerned about our capacity and scale - how would we be able to ramp up, what happens if they don't like someone on the team... It seemed that he didn't get our approach at all. that we don't build a small empire and that we push the work back onto the managers to lead the change. that having a gigantic team of consultants is not going to change behaviors. They just kept pushing on how we would scale up and make sure people were available
3. They wanted industry experience...considering I had worked at their company for 8 months, I wasn't sure what this was all about. especially considering our variety of industries and depth of expertise. seemed really weird that they kept asking about this.

It seemed that they were looking for reasons to not hire us.

Today I found out that they selected a big-4 consulting firm to help them. All the pieces now fit together. Typical MO... this change is really big and complicated, you need a really big team, and you need a gigantic bench of resources in case it gets even bigger and more complicated. And we have deep industry experts who can provide deep industry expertise.

What I learned - hard, hard lessons.

• Why didn't I ask if they were looking at other consulting firms? - I could have easily turned the conversation around...
• Why didn't I stop the meeting and say that this was not what I expected? - I could have dug to find out what was really going on...
• Why didn't I do one more conversation prior to flying there to confirm expectations for the meeting? - if they met with the other firm and had different priorities I could have prepared...
• Why didn't I get skeptical when the main guy wasn't able to meet with us? - I could have rescheduled, or at least figured out what was going on...
• Why did I accept the meeting getting cut short because they were late?

Because I had worked there before, I had a direct referral, and our phone conversation went well... I trusted that the next step would be continuing to build the relationship. I haven't been side swiped by another firm before. I let my guard down, didn't read the signals, didn't take action when it was obviously needed, and lost the opportunity.

So what a great learning as I develop my sales acumen. But what a crappy way to have to learn these lessons. Hopefully I got it and don't have to learn this again.

math is hard

The hardest part of making the big sale for women selling professional services?  the pricing conversation.

The hardest part of buying services for executive women?  the pricing conversation.

Why is this so hard?

• We have taken the time to build a good, trusting relationship. We like the other person and can imagine working together. 
• Then we shift gears to negotiating price... we have set it up to be a confrontational "win/lose" situation. (Think car buying). 

Women don't like this, aren't comfortable doing it, and I believe our reluctance to learn to do it well is hurting us.

I think about the last senior executive woman I worked with. When we went through all the "getting to know you" steps and finally came down to discussing the price, she told me she hated these conversations. I laughed and said I did too. It loosened things up and I realized that it isn't just on my end that it seems awkward and uncomfortable.

I have read the books on selling and negotiating. Some are good, some not so much. But here is what I find works for me.

Prepare a "discussion document" vs. a proposal

When putting together the proposal--think of it as a discussion document (until it is signed). 

• Use it as a way to engage in a conversation. 
• Find out what works on their end, do they have other resources that could help? 
• Are there other considerations that might change how you structure your work or your team?
• Don't talk pricing until both of you are comfortable that you understand each other - what the problem is, how you might work together to solve it, and what you are proposing.

By working together to revise, refine, and create the final version - you are giving a taste of what it will be like to work together, you are showing that you understand her needs and are flexible in your solution, and you come up with a better solution.

Prepare pricing options and scenarios vs. a pricing number

Once the nuts and bolts are figured out, then you come up with pricing OPTIONS. I'm always surprised at what comes out of these conversations. I will present resources and different models - as an example, perhaps some strategic oversight with some day-to-day support and a few workshops... which ends up turning into much more time for strategic help, one of their people running workshops, and a more senior person doing capability transfer. I would never know what they really want (and they wouldn't either) without presenting different scenarios and finding out what makes sense.

Be open to new ideas... seriously

We tend to glom onto the solution (which we know is right, of course) and then pretend to listen and make a few changes to appear flexible. This is not what I'm talking about. This is why I think it is important to lay out at least 2 different scenerios in the discussion. Force yourself to think about another way to meet the client's need.

I see 3 options here...

1. Learn to sell like a man
2. Learn to sell in a new way
3. Fail to sell...

I like option 2.