- The Business Fixer®
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- How To Handle Lowball Offers
Dude asks on X:
"You’re trying to close a potential client. He lowballs you but promises more work if the project goes well. Do you: A: Reluctantly accept the project. B: Stay firm on your fee."
This question is like asking,
"I was throwing a knife into the air...in the dark...and I tried to catch it...but I missed...and it is now lodged into my forearm to the hilt. Do I rip it out and risk bleeding to death or should I leave it in and seek medical attention?"
You should not put yourself into either situation.
The goo-roos say, "Focus on the close and overcoming objections, that's where the money is made."
I look at sales like investing: you make your money going in.
You must select the right property/stock/prospect up front, or you'll be triaging the entire time you're invested.
Great salespeople DIS-qualify prospects, they don't qualify them.
And this is not semantics.
I assume the worst about each prospect and search for the best, i.e., they are not the decision-maker, they don't have money, they don't have urgency, they're not telling the truth, etc.
If you do this right, there is no close. Good prospects who are in pain who have quantified their pain and want to make the pain go away by a certain date will ask you, "How do we begin?"
And most of the same goo-roos will tell you to hold off on discussing price, which is why there is so much stress in sales.
Analytics have proven that sales pros close more sales on the closing call—assuming a complex sale vs. a one-call close—when the big issues have been addressed earlier, i.e., pricing, availability, warranty, etc.
Now, that doesn't mean you give your exact price upfront because there are usually lots of variables, but people will call me and demand,
How much is your sales training?"
And I'll tell them,
Anywhere from free to $100,000 and up. Is that a good enough range or may I ask you a few questions to get a little more precise?"
"Fine. Go ahead."
Once I understand that he needs five people trained and, he wants a mixture of in-person training during a kickoff, then ongoing for six months, and he wants debriefs with the sales manager weekly and private sessions with each rep once a month, etc. I can say,
"That's going to be between $30k to $50k. Is that kind of what you had in mind, or is that beyond your budget?"
If this joker was thinking $3k-$5k, we can end the call then and there.
You can't fix stupid and hearing "no" early is a win.
But when he says, "Yeah, that's what I figured," then he goes into asking better questions that show interest, I know this is a viable prospect.
So don't hide from asking and answering hard questions upfront.
It'll save you time, stress, and hassle, and it'll make you a lot more money.
Market like you mean it. Now go sell something! 👍
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