Sales is a battleground, but my advice, follow the guidelines set by the Geneva Conference. Not being in the state of mind where you believe something is fair is a subliminal crutch that can prevent you from performing at your greatest potential. It’s true in sales and it’s true in everything. Think back to a time when you thought something wasn’t fair. (You probably don’t have to look back too far). Everyone’s favorite is compensation right? Well, my guess is it’s easy to spot people who are not satisfied with their compensation and it doesn’t require a savant level of emotional intelligence. You can do one of two things when your underwear is in a bunch over your last performance review. You can continue to increase the value you bring to that organization, or you start draining that value until you think you have finally reached the point “fair”. That would be the “all is fair in love and war and sales” approach. I would advise against it. That fairness crutch is visible to everyone around you and your chance of recovering that reliable image fades into the distance. That same fairness crutch is visible in sales. To close more deals you need to establish transparency in the fair department. Establish fairness early and persistantly. As a salesperson, you have to defeat the misconception that you are a kniving weasel, trying to trick another person into a sale everytime you speak. To do this you need to talk value.

How We Justify Fair

Part of our goal as a sales training business is to get our clients shifting their state of mind from product and price orientation to a consultative value approach. When you present this way you can really start to believe the value you’re presenting to your prospect. Your belief is more transparent than the solution itself.  If you don’t believe that value, I guarantee you won’t be able to sell it. I see this all the time in our training sessions and it’s a hard habit to break. When you don’t believe your own message, you typically start talking about products and the conversation starts turning into a sale, and when it turns into a sale you are no longer trusted, and then the conversation is over. Sorry for the run on, but that’s the way it goes.  I think we have well documented the fact that people do not like to be sold to, they like to buy and they want to be helped the same way others have been helped! They want to believe you can solve their problems.  

How does this sound for fair?
We teach you to sell the same way we sell. We aren’t going to ask you to do anything we don’t do.

Fairness Helps in Negotiation

We believe our solution is fair and that the value we provide justifies the cost; No more, No less. When we are at a fair level we continue to seek out ways to add benefit and value to our customers in a way to get them those results we promised. That’s what keeps us up at night.

This should be your message:
“If we can do for you, what we have done for others, would you pay for those results?”

Results are what people want, talk is cheap. Does your solution provide a repeatable process to get those results? If it does, your negotiation will favor in the fair price range and the transaction will be a positive experience for both parties. Don’t fall into the “all is fair in love and war and sales” strategy thinking you can add value on the back end by skimping on deliverables if you don’t get your price. This will be one more negative impression on you and your organization. So I leave you seeking fairness, hoping that your time was well spent.
A great starting place to uncover value and to appreciate the fairness you bring to the world is talking with your current customers; they will be able to identify value you didn’t know you were creating. This step is hard. Try it out, or let us help you.

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