This is a little disclaimer that I will be adding to the beginning of every post in this ten part series so new readers that jump in mid way will understand the premise for these posts. If you have been following through the entire series, you can skip the following paragraph to get to the latest lesson.

If you are just joining us, I am writing a series of 10 basic principles that will help you increase your conversion rate of turning potential prospects into paying customers. If you missed that post, then I recommend that you click on the title, “10 Basic Principles for Turning Your Prospects into Clients” and give it a read before going on.

We’re getting close to the end of this series – and close to the point of turning a prospect into a client. Today, we’ll discuss the importance of keeping the heat on by submitting a persuasive quotation. You’re at the point where the prospect is ready to make a decision whether to move forward with you, a competitor – or possibly not at all. Don’t blow it by simply submitting a price.

I learned this lesson the hard way a couple of months back. I knew better, but I didn’t heed my past experience or listen to my inner voice. The prospect said that although other people quoted them on the project, they were only considering me at that point based upon the fact that I did the strongest job following the previous steps in this series.

I assumed since I was the only person in the running and since I discussed various aspects of the project with the prospect through previous conversations, all they wanted (or needed) was a break down on pricing with some quick bullets on deliverables.

In response to my follow-up inquiry on my quotation, the prospect returned to me a quote from a competitor wondering why I hadn’t submitted a quote in greater detail as they had. All I could respond with was I assumed they understood certain aspects of my services from previous emails. What a maroon!

The last I heard from the prospect, they chose to put the project on hold, but they would contacting me again at a specific date in the future. The date came and went and so did the prospect. I was the only person in the running for a project and I blew it. I turned a very warm prospect cold.

Here are my top 7 recommendations separating a persuasive quotation from just a quote.

1. Include the prospects goals and objectives in your quotation.

Since you asked the “expected results” question, you should already know what the prospect hopes to gain by retaining your services or buying your products. By re-iterating their goals and objects back to them on your quotation, it shows that you listen, that you clearly understand the purpose for your services / products, and gives the prospect a chance to correct any errors prior to becoming a client.

2. Detail out your deliverables.

Give the prospect a clear picture about what they will be buying. Don’t leave them second guessing. If you do, you create the opportunity for cold feet. For example, if you are providing copywriting services – as I do – simply creating a line item on a quotation that states “copywriting services” is a big liability. Detail out specifically by name what you will provide – i.e. press release for …, new copy for customersite.com home page, etc. and under each item provide a description of what you plan to accomplish – focus target market, improved SEO using specific keywords / phrases, and so on.

3. Include any deliverables that are the prospect’s responsibility.

In some cases, the prospect may have responsibilities to ensure a prosperous project. If they do, they will appreciate that you clearly communicated what you need from them. This will help create the impression that you are an organized, efficient, take-charge project leader.

4. Provide pricing the way the prospect wants to see it.

If you typically price your services by the hour, but the prospect requests pricing by project, submit a project price. If you are giving the prospect a discount, make sure you mention it. Don’t waste this opportunity. However, don’t create an elevated rate so you can show that you are generously giving a “discount”. Most prospects are wise to this game having shopped around. This tactic simply erodes the trust factor.

5. Don’t be afraid to include a termination clause.

Projects or multiple shipments of products over an extended period of time can terminate for a variety of reasons. Clearly defining a cancellation clause in the quote instills confidence that you are a pro – while protecting both you and the prospect should the project go awry. This gives you a better opportunity to win back their business in the future.

6. Offer up suggestions – again.

Although you offered up suggestions three steps ago, include all appropriate ideas again on your quotation. Give the prospect a clear path for continued grow – and a future need for your services. Plus, most prospects buy based upon value and not simply pricing.

7. Provide examples of similar work.

Whether including samples or dropping names of clients with similar needs, give the prospect an extra push that they can have similar results if they sign up with you.

Providing a persuasive quotation is another opportunity to turn a prospect into a client. Don’t waste it by assuming that submitting a price is sufficient. The prospect isn’t a client until they sign on the dotted line. Give the extra effort to convince them that you are solopreneur to meet their needs.

Last up in this series, “Follow-up the Same Day”.

All The Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

This is a little disclaimer that I will be adding to the beginning of every post in this ten part series so new readers that jump in mid way will understand the premise for these posts. If you have been following through the entire series, you can skip the following paragraph to get to the latest lesson.

If you are just joining us, I am writing a series of 10 basic principles that will help you increase your conversion rate of turning potential prospects into paying customers. If you missed that post, then I recommend that you click on the title, “10 Basic Principles for Turning Your Prospects into Clients” and give it a read before going on.

With today’s topic, I want to discuss why ballparking pricing right away benefits your business. I know there are some schools of thought that believe whoever puts the first price on the table loses at negotiation. I disagree and I’m not alone.

About a decade ago, I was fortunate to attend a conference where one of the speakers was then GE CEO, Jack Welch. The question came up about whether it’s better to put your cards on the table first or last. Jack said that he liked putting his cards down first because he wanted to keep the conversation moving forward instead of mired in games. Plus, he felt that showing his hand first allowed him to take control of negotiations instead of placing himself in a reactionary position.

If you sell a product, chances are that you have little to negotiate and therefore giving a price when asked is common practice, unless a prospect it trying to negotiate a packaged deal, bulk pricing or scheduled deliveries with discounts over a period of time.

However, if you provide a service, you may not post your rates for all to see. So at some point in your initial conversation with a potential client, the question of cost will come up. Instead of dodging it for a later date, use it to your advantage.

How can you use the question of pricing to your benefit?

Here are my top 3 reasons.

1. By providing a ballpark price, you test the waters, quickly assessing whether you should waste any additional time on a prospect.

 There is the possibility that when a prospect asks you to give a price, you may not have all the necessary facts to fine-tune your proposal. Unless you have little to no idea what the prospect is asking for, ballpark a price and add the caveat that you wish to reserve giving a final, accurate price until you have all the facts.

By ballparking at this point, you can gauge the prospect’s reaction ranging from utter shock to pleasant surprise. You don’t want to waste your time putting together a proposal that falls far outside your prospect’s budget nor do you want to throw valuable hours away on someone that isn’t a strategic client.

2. Giving a ballpark price right away leaves the prospect believing there is less room to negotiate.

 Everyone wants a deal. I have worked with and for people that make a game of getting the best deal possible. They have a Pavlovian response to any opening for price reductions – whether justifiable or not. You can minimize their wiggle room by framing in a focused budget range.

3. By ballparking a price, it gives you the opportunity to clear the air, move the conversation forward and ask the prospect appropriate questions to define their project.

 Once a prospect asks the question, “how much will it cost me”, they often listen to little else until they get an answer. You may be speaking, but you are simply throwing out a jumble of words. Again, unless you are truly unsure of what they need in the way of your services, by stalling, all they hear is static until you quote them a price.

If you want to turn them from prospect into client, you must manage their listening. You want them to get excited about the benefits that you offer. You want to receive back articulate responses to your questions – especially the “expected results” question. How many times have you responded to someone with a flippant answer because you weren’t really listening?

Focus your prospect by responding to their request for pricing right away.

I am not suggesting that you give a price the moment the prospect answers the phone. You want to wait as long as possible for them to discuss details about their project, needs, goals, etc. before quoting rates. However, once the prospect asks, don’t be afraid to offer your pricing.

Next up is #9 of 10, “Submit a Persuasive Quotation”.

All The Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

I wrote a piece a couple of months back titled, “How Best to Handle Customer Conflict”. In this post, I chatted with you about how to assess whether, as a solopreneur, a customer is worth keeping and what to do about it. However, I was listening to a podcast that brought up this question, and the interviewee had another thought that I believe is worth bringing up.

Before I get to his point, let me flash back to the beginning of the previously mentioned post. In it I recommend that you quickly assess the future value of the customer; no sense wasting time on a time waster and non-profit producer. Regardless of whether the customer is nice or nasty matters little to the bottom line. Their disposition may influence your decision, but don’t let it blind you to the bigger issue of future value.

Now back to the podcast interviewee’s point that I wish I had included in my post; his quick assessment of three kinds of bad customers – the arrogant, the ignorant and the worst, a combination of both.

Let’s discuss all three and whether they should stay or go.

The Arrogant

Now although an arrogant customer may make your skin crawl every time they call, they still can be of value – both professionally and for your profitability. Typically, the arrogant become assuming braggarts because of accomplishments. If they are truly accomplished, then before you decide to give them the boot, take a deep breath, and assess if there is something that you can gain from the relationship.

Are they well connected? Can you network to other profitable customers through them?

Do they have something to teach you about their industry or business in general?

Success in a relationship with the arrogant often has control at its root – or the appearance of control. Working with the arrogant often means that you may take on the role of employee instead of being recognized as a valuable partner. Can you allow a relationship of teacher / student for their area of expertise?

When you are dealing in an area of your expertise, don’t be afraid to flex your professional muscle. The arrogant appreciate working with other high-energy, successful pros, too. If, however, this role playing is too tough for you to do, touch your index fingers to your thumbs, murmur “ohhhmmmm”, and think about the profitability in the relationship. Just try not to do it in public.

The Ignorant

Although stupidity can be tough to stomach on a regular basis, if the ignorant are still willing bring in the profitable business, you have the benefit of often taking control of the situation. The roles reverse in this relationship as compared to that with the arrogant – you become the teacher and they become the student. You may have to teach on an ongoing basis, but if it is bringing in the bucks, do you really care? Get over the annoyance and get on with business.

The Arrogant Ignoramus

This two-headed moronic, egotistical beast spewing idiotic statements in a high-handed manner has no value. As a matter of fact, they can be a cancer for your daily demeanor and your ability to make the most out of your working hours. So if anything, they are a negative value.

They will tie up your time trying to teach them how wrong they are about their ideas and then they will smugly dismiss you with their rebuttals. Don’t waste your time or your energy on these awful barbarians. As a solopreneur, you don’t have the staff to pass them off on an employee – and do you really want to?

Some customers just deserve a good firing.

All The Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

Winning negotiations may not be what you think – or had hoped it would be.

Are you hoping to learn the MMA cage fight style of negotiations – with a raised fist, victoriously roaring over the opponent, a semi-conscious, bloodied pulp, beaten into submission – or the Jedi mind trick style of a quick and painless process for getting all of your terms met within the span of five minutes?

I have experienced a number of tete-a-tetes ranging from the purchase of a $100 service to the terms in multi-million dollar contracts. Here are the common characteristics of winning negotiations:

1. Have a clear understanding of your goals
2. Have a clear vision of the bigger picture
3. Know your advantage over the alternatives
4. Keep a creative, open mind

These four criteria apply whether you are the vendor or the customer. Now some will say that you succeed with negotiations when you create a win-win and approach it with a positive attitude. Not always.

I am a big believer in both the win-win scenario and a positive approach, but this assumes that there is a need for an on-going relationship. What if your relationship doesn’t go beyond a one-time occurrence?

With the one-time relationship, it can benefit you to play hardball to the point that you can achieve your goals. For example, think of the scenario of buying a home. What advantage does either party have by creating a win-win beyond what may be necessary due to market conditions? Often the market will favor either the buyer or the seller. If you are the buyer in a buyer’s market, why give away this advantage? If you really want the home, play hardball to the brink of the seller refusing your offer.

So besides that side note, let’s get back to the four primary characteristics of winning negotiations.

Have a clear vision of your goals.

This may sound simplistic, but sometimes the goal isn’t only about getting the best price. Goals may include pricing and service for the current need at hand, but can include future needs as well. The customer in the negotiation may be willing to concede on current pricing in return for premier service, favorable pricing in the future or to be first in line for new releases of next generation products.

Having a clear vision of your goals and the other party’s goals will allow you to quickly build a positive relationship, easing the process for accomplishing the tougher tasks. Start with the goals that you can quickly concede on in order to create a positive environment of give and take. By conceding on some terms, you create a positive environment and open the opportunity for the other party to agree to your needs.

Have a clear vision of the bigger picture.

What does the other party possess as possibility for you? Are they a customer that represents future profits, prestige and referrals? Are they a vendor that has products and services that benefit your business on an ongoing basis?

It is easy to see the future positives that a customer represents. However, many people fail to see the bigger picture when they are the customer making demands of a vendor.

Hopefully, you have taken the necessary step of verifying whether the supplier can support your needs. If so, they have something of value that you require. If you have future needs for their products and services, it doesn’t benefit you to negotiate out any and all profit for them. They need to make a profit to survive. This sounds obvious, but successful negotiations are not defined as the vendor giving and the customer taking. By seeing the bigger picture of your future needs, you will see where you can create the win-win and build a prosperous relationship for the both of you.

Know your advantage over the alternatives.

When you get down to the stickier points of a deal, the best leverage that you have is knowing your advantage over the alternatives. This applies whether you are in the role of customer or vendor. Each customer and vendor is unique. What do you offer to the other party that if negotiations go awry, they can’t fulfill the same way elsewhere? If you didn’t have something that the other party desires, they probably wouldn’t be talking with you to begin with. Use your alternatives to your advantage.

Keep a creative, open mind.

If you are a strong negotiator, you will do your homework prior to sitting down at the table. However, there is always the possibility that your due diligence didn’t reveal an alternative solution to satisfying your needs. Keeping an open mind and applying creative thinking during discussions can sometimes create a better outcome than what you had planned for in the beginning.

 And although not always necessary for winning negotiations, but a good policy none the less to practice is to try to complete the negotiations on a positive note – even if you believe that the relationship will not extend beyond the current deal. You never know what future benefits the other person represents or what negatives they are capable of if they feel wronged. Ending on a positive note opens the door to future dialogue. You just may find that you are thankful for the opportunity to re-negotiate in the future.

All The Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

One of my posts earlier this month focused on the benefits that playing games can have for your solopreneur psyche. And my inspiration for this post is television. Now, I know that coupling these seemingly unusual inspirations with the fact that I haven’t put up a post in about a week (which is 4 days beyond my usual) may leave you wondering what I have been doing with my time.

Have I turned into a lie-about playing games and watching the idiot box? Do you question my dedication and passion?

First, in honest defense of my habits and recent seclusion, the games I recommended have a benefit for your business habits. Plus, I haven’t written to you sooner partially because I have been distracted by the Valentine’s Day weekend with my restaurant (the busiest weekend of the year) and I don’t believe in throwing up words with little meaning simply to keep my posts on schedule. And as for the TV, I do have a value proposition.

Skip past The Real Housewives of Orange County (unless you want to learn the patterns for high profile pettiness) and forget the frivolity of getting lost in Lost. I highly recommend for the benefit of your business acumen (with a mix of personal pleasure) that you check out the BBC’s Dragon’s Den.

The basic premise for this 1-hour business reality show from the UK is structured upon the original Japanese version created by Sony. Five successful self-made millionaires sit in judgment of up-and-coming entrepreneurs from England giving their 30-second elevator pitch seeking an investment to elevate their business to the next level. This is followed by a speed round of scrutiny by the panel. The participants must raise the full amount of investment from the panel that they are seeking in order to walk away with any money.

No, watching this reality show will not earn you the equivalent of an MBA. But, it will boil down for you the basics of a good business idea and the habits necessary for success. Yes, you could make the case that Elvis was told to stick with trucking and that some of the past participants in the Dragon’s Den have been sent packing only to press on to some success. However, these dragons get it right a high percentage of the time.

What are the 4 common characteristics of winning participants?

1. Knowledge of their business. They know their revenues, profits, projections, and unique selling proposition.

2. Knowledge of their market. Winners know facts and figures about their market and how they relate to profits and process pitfalls.

3. A unique idea with market demand. A unique idea creates a barrier for entry from future competitors. Coupling this key attribute with a known demand in the market often creates a bidding war amongst the millionaire investors. Unique ideas that are easily replicated will soon lose value and are summarily sent packing. Presenters with unique ideas with no appreciable demand are given a Three Stooges-esque smackdown.

4. Passion for their purpose. Wallflowers quickly wilt under the dragons’ scrutiny. If they can’t stand the heat from these dragons, how will they perform under the ongoing demands of their market?

An added bonus to watching participants perform under this pressure cooker is to take in the dragons’ feeding frenzy when they all want in on an idea. Generally friendly, the dragons show creativity when quickly crafting deals to outmaneuver their rivals for an investment-for-equity stake swap.

This leaves the somewhat star-struck entrepreneur with an advantageous quandary. The best performers fire back with some negotiations of their own. The best deal is often a balance between the right amount of equity for investment while partnering with the dragon (or partnered dragons) that offer the optimal contacts, resources and experience.

So whether you are hoping to bring in an investor or fund your own sustainable solopreneur business, the ingredients for success learned here are the same.

Set your schedule or Tivo to allow you to catch the lessons learned from this reality show. If neither are an option, you can catch up on episodes on YouTube.

All The Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide