If you’re a salesperson you’ve been in the place I’m about to describe. You’ve presented, what you know to be, competitive prices. You’ve shown your prospect what an outstanding job your organization can do for them and they agree. You’ve explained how you have the resources to get the job done in a timely fashion.
Then your prospect starts to press for lower prices, faster delivery and talk of their need for uncompromising quality. You’ve invested time and energy into this prospect and hate to lose out now. You begin to feel the pressure to make concessions.
To my way of thinking concessions are similar to eating potato chips. Who can have just one? And where does it stop? Maybe it’s time to have the “The Magic Triangle” conversation with your prospect?
The Magic Triangle is a technique I learned years ago to help qualify prospects, set realistic expectations, put a stop to endless requests for concessions and establish myself as a sales professional. I bet if you try this you’ll be impressed with the results.
Take out some paper and draw a triangle. Label the sides of your triangle “Time”, “Quality*” and “Price”. Explain that to be successful a project must be completed on time, satisfy the need for quality and be affordable. Ask for confirmation from your prospect on this point. Explain that your proposal provides all three without compromise. Further explain that you understand that, in the real world, sometimes compromises must be made.
*I have also used “Services” to better describe some solutions.
Look your prospect in the eye and explain that making a concession in one aspect of the project always impacts the other aspects of the project just like changing the length of one line in a triangle always impacts the angle of the other lines. Explain further that it may be possible to make some concession in one aspect of the project but more than that would put the project’s success in jeopardy. Add that your projects are successful and that this is one of the reasons why. Then ask the prospect where they are the most comfortable making a compromise; on the completion date, the quality or the price?
To put it simply you’ve just asked your prospect where they are most willing to make a compromise in exchange for you making a compromise. You can lower your price but they will have to accept some concession in quality, or completion date or perhaps payment terms. Often you can make a small concession without impacting any of the three aspects of the project but you have put them on notice that there are limits to what you can do and that any compromises in project outcome will have to be their decision.
You may get a dumbfounded look at this point. However I suspect your prospect will quickly understand that they are dealing with a knowledgeable professional. If they’re good they’ll appreciate that you’re willing to work with them without jeopardizing the success of the project. Or you may just have qualified your prospect and discovered this is one you’re better off keeping away from. Either way you win.
On a good day an honest and realistic conversation, or negotiation, about how you can provide a successful project or service will ensue. Congratulations, you’ve started the process of setting realistic expectations for a successful solution for your prospect, you and your company!
Next blog: how talking about risk can add to setting achievable expectations and help you protect your profit margins.