Craig Garber

Critical lesson on much-needed positioning: Don't bid, instead… audit:

Important lesson on positioning — it came up earlier this week in a meeting with one of my Mastermind Group members (for more info on this group head on over to http://www.kingofcopy.com/mastermind)

When you have a “consulting meeting” with someone, and then you go and send them some kind of a “proposal” or a “bid quote,” this is very bad. See, when you do this, you hand over all the decision-making power to the recipient. It puts all the leverage in their lap and makes you the needy service provider who needs them more than they need you.

And unless you’re a glutton for punishment, then you don’t ever want to be in this position.

Instead, what you want to do is NOT have a consulting meeting, but have some kind of an “audit” or an “exam” that’ll reveal several performance flaws or other mistakes you consult on, or that your goods and service remediates. (“Remediates,” that’s a five-dollar word, isn’t it?).

Then, inside your audit or whatever you wind up calling it, you list all the remedies, all the solutions to the problems you’ve identified, and you let your prospect know that as part of your service or product or whatever it is you’re selling, you’re guaranteeing to fix these problems, and you extend some kind of an offer at a FIXED price.

Not a bid, not a negotiation, but a FIXED price.

Understand the difference?

Then you may also let them know something like, you can only keep your offer open for so many days at this price, because of your busy schedule.

But stick to this. Don’t be like the woman who recently came out here to try and get some landscaping business from us. All I wanted was a pair of jeans, and she tried to put me into a tuxedo. Then she sent me a “bid” with something that said, “Good for 7 days only.”

After this, she proceeded to stalk me by phone for the next two months!

This isn’t good for her business, her credibility, and when it comes down to it, it’s GOT to be bad for her self-esteem. And since you spend LOADS of time working, you should do things that make you feel good, not things that make you feel like crap.

There’s enough other stuff going on in this world to contend with, no?

Anyway, see how this changes the dynamic, drastically? Now you’re not “bidding” on anything. Now they have to come to you.

Do you have any idea how much this is worth, both in financial terms and in terms of your dignity and how you control the relationship and not the other way around?

This is very critical to your positioning and to ultimately, your freedom. So don’t ignore this strategy. If you have problems with clients, this may actually be the one thing that changes your outlook on who you are in your business, and restores your passion for what you do…

Or not — depends on you.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Finished. I just finished this month’s issue of Seductive Selling, and inside this issue, a detailed description of how to make an offer, along with 3 live marketing examples. And if you’re going to work hard anyway… Then You Might As Well Get Rich At It — And The Quicker, The Better, Right? So find out more, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Check out all the King’s products at http://www.kingofcopy.com/products

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kingofcopy

Comments? Leave them here on my blog — let me know what you’re thinking:

Posted

in

by

Craig Garber

Tags:

Comments

2 responses to “Critical lesson on much-needed positioning: Don't bid, instead… audit:”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I am a Mortgage Broker. I read your "positioning" blog and am concerned that it doesn't hold true. Especially when clients view anyone working in a particular competitive business as providing all the solutions and resolving all problems that apply to their situation as part of the job description. They are going to choose someone from that point of view as the person who will offer to provide the solution(s) at the best price for them.

    You mentioned landscaping. Don't you think, really, that people view anyone who is a "landscaper" as someone who is going to address all their problems and provide all the solutions to their landscaping needs. They view this as part of the landscaper's job description. They believe that whether they choose ABC landscaping or 123 Landscaping that they will receive the same "solutions" and that they will choose the one that offers them the best price.

    Much of the goods and services that consumers need and want are viewed by the consumer as commodities. AT&T or Verizon, "they're the same, which one gives me the cheapest unlimited monthly calling plan". Countrywide or B of A, "they're the same, which one will give me a 90% down loan with a 700 Fico for the cheapest rate and lowest closing costs".

    So even though your theory makes sense. The truth is the consumer of the goods or services is going to view it as a commodity no matter how you "pitch it" and pick up the phone and call 456 landscaping for their quote. They're going to explain to 456 landscaping the problems and issues that were pointed out to them by 123 landscaping and ask 456 landscaping what they are going to charge to provide the exact same solutions that 123 landscaping also offered.

    See the "audit" will identify to the client what problems they have and what solutions will resolve those problems. But then, if they have an IQ over 72, they will pick up the phone and call Super Star Lawyer and 888-Lawyer1 and ask for bids to provide the solutions and resolve the problems that were just pointed out to them in their audit. They will view all the law companies as being able to provide the solutions they need and choose the one that offers them the best price.

    Clients and Customers pretty much view everything in the world as a commodity and treat everything in their world accordingly.

    You said that you offer it at a fixed price and that makes them have to come to you. That's not how it works. How it works is they pick up the phone or google or look in the yellow pages and "go to" the person who will do the same things for your fixed price at a lower price.

    What you really have to do is market yourself and sell yourself. The customer or client has to buy you and you are not a comodity. And what this really means is that the client knows they could pick up the phone and find someone else with a contractors license to also do the "job", but what they want is YOU to do it.

    or not…..

    Best Regards,
    bryanbiggs@verizon.net

  2. Craig Garber Avatar
    Craig Garber

    Bryan,

    Appreciate the e-mail. VERY well thought out and articulated, but unfortunately, you sir are the one who’s wrong.

    One of the biggest problems with many industries, and your industry in particular, is the constant and ongoing commoditization of what you sell. (I run LOTurnaround.com with Mike Miget, so I am VERY familiar with it. And I’ve created two successful lead generation programs for the residential loan industry.)

    If you make it all about the interest rate, all about the loan, then yes… you look EXACTLY like everyone else. And when you make it all about the rate, you leave your prospect with no choice but to talk only about… the rate.

    So when all you talk about is the rate, and then all they talk about the rate, who’s fault is this?

    Right?

    The most clever marketers know one of the first things you MUST do is to de-commoditize yourself, separate yourself from the rest of the pack. When you do this, there’s no selling, no convincing, none of the daily grind that drives you nuts and lowers your esteem to zero.

    You just need to figure out how to do that or pay someone who knows how to do it for you.

    Thanks again Bryan and good luck.

    Craig (yes, it’s me!)

Leave a Reply