A prospect asks you for your resume plus your hourly rate. Or they request a client list and your product's price. Maybe they want to know how much you charge for one service.
Do you provide these answers? If you do, you're just filling orders. You have turned your products or services into commodities that they will compare to others and if your price is higher, you're out of contention.
If you're thinking "that's the what my customers expect and if I don't give it to them I have no chance of getting the business" then you've allowed them to put you in the position of filling orders.
I'm not just telling you to do something I don't do myself. I'm writing about this because of my recent experience.
I was asked to provide a resume to prove that I have long experience as a full-service Orals consultant (Orals are presentations by government contractors to government selection boards). I was also asked to provide my hourly rate. I replied that I would invest my own time and effort to discuss their needs with them. I would then prepare a consulting and coaching plan that would get them to their objectives, and I would provide a project fee that would reflect what it takes to implement the plan. I emphasized that my contribution is not time; it is my years of experience, my expertise and my intellectual property.
Three times they came back asking me for an hourly rate so they could evaluate me against other potential consultant/coaches. And each time I reiterated my offer to meet with them, customize a plan and give them a project fee.
Finally, they agreed to use my proposed approach in their decision-making process. But they did not talk to me or ask me for the plan, which I offered to them in advance of an agreement.
So it seems that they would prefer to make a decision on the person they are going to entrust their future contract win to based on an hourly rate and a resume. If they decide to hire me, I will be delighted to have the contract and I know I will help them.
If they don't hire me, I am still happy that I offered them a solution rather than filling an order. Over time I will get better at this approach and I know I will start winning more work.
How do you sell solutions rather than filling orders? Share your ideas through our comment link.
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