A true story about a missed pitching opportunity

A number of years back, I was in an elevator of a major bank, after finishing a meeting. I was joined in the elevator by two, senior business people. A moment or so after the elevator door closed, one of the business people said to the other, “We should have asked for more”. The other retorted, “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” Obviously, the two people had been pitching the bank. Most likely the buyer from the bank had agreed too readily to the fee the two business people had proposed. What’s the point in sharing this vignette? Simply this. When you’re with prospective buyers, you need to

know the value of your services and/or products,

appreciate that value, and present the value with certainty. Now, I’m not suggesting that you over-value your products/services. But being sheepish when stating your fee is dangerous. People may not buy because of your timidity. Most people who have power (eg. buyers) want to use it wisely if someone believable would tell them how, simply. Your CALL to action/HOW to apply for this post: In the next seven days 1. Go into your bathroom, look into the mirror, lock onto your eyes, and with certainty, speak your fee.* For example, here’s an example you can adapt. ‘The fee for the work is $___________’ 2. When you’re with a prospective buyer, when/if it’s appropriate to state your fee, speak the fee with certainty. *Tell other people in the house what you’re doing so they they don’t question your sanity. Check out this post on hiring sales people  Check out this recording of my ABC radio interview with my body language and speech analysis of Australian Treasurer, Scott Morrison’s May 2016, budget speech [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/269155431″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Please follow this link to listen to the audio clip in your browser.