Here’s one of those questions that I get a lot. Usually it comes after I’ve given a presentation on the need for salespeople to solve problems and improve the customer’s condition. There are variations in wording, of course, but the general gist works something like this:
“Troy, how can I keep my customers from taking my ideas, that I give them, with the appropriate products and services – and running to my competitor just to get a lower price?” Whenever I’m asked this question, I can literally feel the frustration coming from the questioner. I understand completely. I’ve been there, and there are few things worse than spending hours developing a very detailed proposal only to have the customer run to my competitor who chisels a few bucks and gets the deal. And I always have one answer for the questioner.
You can’t.
I know. It’s not fun for me to say. It’s not even fun for me to write, and I know it’s not fun for the questioner to hear, but it’s also true. One of the biggest fallacies in the world of sales is that there is some magic combination of words, “up front contracts,” and other manipulative nonsense that we can use to back a buyer into a corner where, dammit, they HAVE to buy from us. But it’s not so.
I encountered a similar situation recently. A business owner called with a question about an upcoming Webinar that I was doing. He said, “I have a large sales force all over the country, and it would be hard to get all of them on at the same time. Could I pay for one registration, record it, and then distribute it to my people?”
I told him, no, that would not be acceptable, since I charge on a per-person basis. Since I do make the recordings available to paid attendees afterward, however, he could pay for all of his people and then send them the Webinar link to my recording.
He considered this, and then said slyly, “Yeah. But you really don’t have a way to prevent me from doing what I said, right?”
I responded honestly. I said, “Well, if the knowledge that you’d be stealing my intellectual property doesn’t stop you, then no, I suppose I don’t, but I’m fortunate enough to have a large base of people who pay per-person on the honor system.”
Two days later, he paid. For one person. It’s a similar frustration to the questioner, because in both cases, the other person is basically stealing ideas. In my irritation, I was reminded of something that one of my speaking mentors told me.
A few years ago, he had learned that many of his audio programs had been posted on a free file-sharing website. Of course, he charges for those programs, so this was theft. He engaged a lawyer, spent a lot of time and money, and got the programs removed. And they stayed removed.
For six days.
And then they were back up. He considered getting the lawyer again, but then had a profound thought.
“Those people who steal my work? They’re not my customers.”
What he meant by that is simple. If someone is going to steal ideas, they’re not going to buy them – and they’re not the customers that he wants or needs. He made a conscious decision to stop worrying about those people and instead spend his time and energy focusing on the customers who do see his value and are willing to pay for it. I did the same when confronted with the program theif (although I did remove his name from my email list).
The point is this – there will always be people willing to take advantage of you. And yet, there will always be people who are willing to see your value and pay you for it. And if you’re doing your job right, there will be more of the second than the first. Which people deserve your focus?
When you’re confronted with a situation like my questioner, here’s how you handle it. Ask yourself – and answer honestly – these questions:
- Did I do a quality discovery of the customer’s needs and desired result?
- Did I create customized solutions that were specifically directed at that result?
- Did I quote a fair (profitable) price for generating that result?
- Did I demonstrate value in doing business with me specifically?
- And did I lose the deal solely on price, with the customer getting a lower quote for my exact ideas and products/services?
If the answer is “yes” to all those things, you’ve probably been taken advantage of. The key is to not let it happen multiple times. Your mantra should be: That’s not my customer. And don’t let it happen again.
In other words, don’t work with that prospect again – or if you do, don’t work with them the same way. You already know that they are a price buyer, and if you’re unprepared to be the absolute lowest price provider (and don’t fool yourself – ‘lowest price’ is always a moving target), they don’t justify your time.
Getting taken advantage of once by a person happens. That’s their fault. Letting it happen multiple times is yours.
