The Pipeline

AUGUST 27, 2019

This is exactly what you are doing when you choose to discount instead of sell. If it isn’t quota, then why discount? Not only wasting time in the process but then doubling down by offering discounts. Many will argue that sellers give away too much of their insight and time, to begin with, I’ll go further.

Wireless 264

Wireless Face-to-face Discount Scale 264

The Pipeline

APRIL 6, 2021

Doing a much better job selling the manager on the discount than selling the value to the prospect. Yet they are willing to fight for a discount every time, no matter the profit erosion. The victim develops positive feelings toward the person holding them captive or abusing them.

SME 299

SME Lead Rank Lead Scoring Discount 299

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

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Course 235

Course Hiring Video Discount 235

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Clearly, we do not want to discount or offer incentive that will reduce the total value of the client. Even if we assume they do; it does not change the fact that you can’t three months into a two-month bag. Which means you have to either cut corners or come up with a way to effectively shave a month without negative impact.

Top of Funnel 188

Top of Funnel Face-to-face Sales Cycle Incentives 188

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

You can use it to distract you from the other in line or at the mall, or stop you from getting trampled as you reach for that last discounted super-duper flat screen. It is a recent interview I did on Biz Radio Canada, talking about what else, Pipeline and Sales.

Hiring 292

Hiring Discount Sales Cycle Pipeline 292

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

The others are 80% plus the same; the winner has better salespeople or deeper discounts. Not being nasty, but why not have a bake-off with a couple of copier reps, or call me for the name of a SaaS rep who offered me a discount on the first intro call. Like any other asset, garbage in garbage out!

Vendor 255

Vendor Discount Insurance Insurance 255

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 19, 2012

For example, a new, online kids clothing boutique could partner with a photography studio and offer a special for a free photo shoot with purchase, or a coupon for a discount on clothing with every photography session purchased. Print is still one of the more common ways that companies offer coupons and discounts to their customers.

Fashion 293

Fashion Small Business Small Business Hiring 293

The Pipeline

MARCH 22, 2013

You can do so by offering exclusive discounts or other promotions to your Twitter followers and to those who entered the contest. Perhaps you can offer a discount on the product, or you can offer a special free bonus for those who buy the product.

Twitter 266

Twitter Social Media Promotion Advertising 266

The Pipeline

MAY 9, 2012

Deals you would disqualify, now you try to compromise, and let’s face it in sales speak “compromise” means discount. Discount means lesser margins, less reinvestment opportunity for your company, and more.

Top of Funnel 282

Top of Funnel Discount Funnel Energy 282

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 22, 2012

Much better to get your clients addicted to your value/quality, then you becoming addicted to discounting. At first you figure you hey what’s a 3% discount. As with anything addictive, you run the risk of not just selling at a lower price, but for the wrong reasons. Once that is comfortable, you need a bigger fix.

Discount 303

Discount Margin Commission Trends 303

The Pipeline

JUNE 20, 2012

Let’s frame the discussion, we are talking about a B2B sale, the client has options, the “other guy’s” product is very similar to yours (their shade of blue is two digits darker on the hexadecimal chart), and you are resolved not to win the business by discounting.

Discount 276

Discount Intent B2B Pipeline 276

The Pipeline

AUGUST 20, 2019

Anything October 1 on, Is January business unless your manager tells you to discount it to get it in this year. If you have a three-month sales cycle, you’ll only have September to add to your pipeline for this year. Want to really differentiate, prospect in while other sellers take their pipeline to the beach.

Pipeline 254

Pipeline Face-to-face Discount Buyer 254

The Pipeline

JULY 18, 2013

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Prospecting 275

Prospecting Cold Calling Discount Maximizer 275

The Pipeline

JULY 15, 2011

Discounting works on the Internet, too – but be careful. Discounting price also discounts value. Be careful about a blanket discount that can reduce the perceived value. This is one way in which discounting can work – sign up before midnight tonight to get 35% off. Reserve your spot in line.”

Pipeline 243

Pipeline Twitter Discount Hiring 243

The Pipeline

AUGUST 5, 2013

What is the take away for the new recruit – “hey this is the way they do things around here, if I’m gonna fit it, I best do the same”.

Hiring 275

Hiring Discount Sales Talent Groups 275

The Pipeline

MAY 28, 2013

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Travel 257

Travel Discount Sales Leadership ACT 257

The Pipeline

MARCH 6, 2017

After having done their research and travelled 57% of the “Buying Journey” (Notice the complete absence of the word SELL or SELLING), in stealth mode, they now decloak in time to witness the beauty contest of order takers, willing to take it all off to win the sales and discounted deals for years to come.

Ideal Customer Profile 210

Ideal Customer Profile Travel Discount Webinar Metrics 210

The Pipeline

JUNE 2, 2015

As a presenter, I have been given a special discount code that I’d like to share with you. I am participating in what promises to be one of this years most engaging B2B Marketing and Networking events. FEATURED SESSION: SMB Interactive Panel Session. You don’t want to miss!

Retail 120

Retail Networking Discount ROI 120

The Pipeline

AUGUST 29, 2016

The challenge with that is that servicing their immediate purchases without aligning it with Objectives will often leave vendors exposed to the next flash or discounter who comes along. After all, the company may not realize their Objectives for some time, but may buy the first piece now.

Objections 192

Objections Vendor Discount Quota 192

The Pipeline

JANUARY 30, 2014

And once you are the incumbent, your competitor, number 2, will embellish that 20% until only a small discount is needed to entice your client away. The way the seller engages, and conveys value to the buyer has to transcend the product, especially in a world where on a good day the overlap between you and number 2, is at least 80%.

Webinar Metrics 257

Webinar Metrics Cold Calling Objections Discount 257

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 17, 2019

Once you learn to discount as a rep, it’s just a steppingstone to paying more for SDRs when you become a manager. But having a regular chance to peek behind the curtain, it is truer that they are having challenges keeping talent. Part of it is a “pricing” issue; habits do not change with a title.

Hiring 136

Hiring Sales Talent Salary Discount 136

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Discounting is an issue in most verticals, either you close the buyer on the value you deliver, or they close you on what you have to surrender to win the deal. The buyers are usually the better closers, simply by closing you on the fact that they have other options, and unless things are done entirely on their terms, you’ll lose the deal.

Sales Qualified Lead 281

Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Buyer Discount 281

The Pipeline

APRIL 5, 2013

Or any other question of this sort, they develop a standard canned answer, which if not deflected by the seller, will lead to the same predictable outcome, no sale or discounted sale, I guess that’s the penalty for bad questions.

Demand Generation 272

Demand Generation Demand Generation Targets Sales Qualified Lead Penetration 272

The Pipeline

MARCH 6, 2012

In these times of shrinking margins and diminishing returns, Mark’s insights will change the way you think about discounting, price, negotiating, and, above all, the all-important concept of value.

Pipeline 212

Pipeline Hiring Top of Funnel Cold Calling 212

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

The problem is buyers are jaded and discount much of what sellers say. OK, that’s a start, but not really, because that buyer already has ideas, conceptions, plans, and a list of favorites. But I know you’re good, and you can get past that. Especially when the voicemail touts what they consider to be unrealistic results.

Call-back 319

Call-back Forecasting Face-to-face Buyer 319

The Pipeline

JUNE 30, 2014

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Cold Calling 302

Cold Calling Government Direct Mail Advertising 302

The Pipeline

JULY 15, 2013

Left to their own devices, it will never be the right time until it is too late, they go to market, and you are part of a crowd willing to drop their pants and sell at a discount. Not for you, the time is now. The simplest and most effective way to do that is to move the discussion off time and on to their objectives.

Cold Calling 303

Cold Calling Objections Vendor Call-back 303

The Pipeline

JUNE 13, 2012

We have all heard reps say, they “have earned the right”, this could be to not prospect, to not follow the process, to discount, and more. They were there when the company grew ten years ago, they have experience, so they have earned the right to live off their base, even if it is shrinking.

Territories 267

Territories Government Discount Account 267

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 11, 2018

You see this every day; some sellers will try to close too soon, serving up the pie in an unready state that is hardly appetizing, other than the discount offered to close it this year. It’s like baking a pie, the box says 30 minutes at 350 degrees, but you have to serve it in 22 minutes. Sorry, No Magic Dust.

Buying Cycle 203

Buying Cycle Sales Cycle Quota Retail 203

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 10, 2012

Who will the journeymen turn off during their stint, how much money will they leave on the table or discount in deals they do get, and how many deals will they miss just because who they are. The journeymen will underperform, as will the territory, but a bigger cost is opportunity cost.

Hiring 254

Hiring Wireless Sports Territories 254

The Pipeline

JUNE 26, 2018

This means work, which explains why many chose the lazier path of discounting. It would seem odd that after all the time and effort, they would willy-nilly say ‘NO’ It is usually the case that the can’t square a circle and without which they find it difficult to see anything beyond that “issue.”

Sales Qualified Lead 200

Sales Qualified Lead Objections Fashion Call-back 200

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 14, 2016

So when they are actually involved in a real competitive “sale”, and have to do things to win the order (other than discounting and negotiating with their own company rather than the prospect), and it doesn’t go their way, how they react becomes the measure of those reps.

Sage 120

Sage Account Based Marketing Fashion Policies 120

The Pipeline

MARCH 3, 2016

Given the propensity to flee risk, and the premium people are willing to pay for safety, seems like a better idea than discounting. By this I don’t mean working on minimizing your risk profile, but increasing the risk profile of where the buyer is now.

Insurance 120

Insurance Insurance Margin Policies 120

The Pipeline

APRIL 11, 2016

So before you can roll out your brochures, white papers and discounts, you need to bring them into the market. Whereas the other segments are buyers of varying degrees, these people are several degrees removed from the market.

Segment 120

Segment Prospecting Objections Vendor 120

The Pipeline

JULY 18, 2011

Every December the “Leadership”, would roll out the same special offer, an annual subscription for $30,000 if the customer committed before the all-important year-end, a $6,000 discount for those who bit. The other obvious lesson learned was not to sell at a discount. Note to self, need to raise my prices).

Pipeline 271

Pipeline Lead Rank Lead Scoring Top of Funnel 271

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

Value here meaning helping the buyer achieve their objectives, not giving them a discount. But without a next step, there is no destination, and as such there are no results. I am painfully surprised when I ask reps what they want to get out of the meeting they are about to enter.

Sales Meeting 120

Sales Meeting Meeting Cancellation Buyer 120

The Pipeline

AUGUST 14, 2013

What’s worse is their managers perpetuate the problem, discounting many of the forecasts and scaling things back subjectively to cover their own. Sure some of this is a result of a poor pipeline and opportunities to forecast, but the root cause is the same.

Scale 293

Scale Forecasting Call-back Account 293