Skip to main content

You can't "sign" a quote

A manager within the sales group asked the following: "How can we shorten the time from quote to close?"

My answer...."Don't send a quote."

I'll add a few caveats. I have a few clients that require, based on their internal processes, that I send quotes. One account in particular requires one or two quotes almost every day. They are high volume, and high-maintenance. They will never fit the desired level of efficiency I seek in clients. Oh well.

But most of my clients will not see a quote from me. My contract is my quote.

In a truly consultative approach a white-board, a good note pad, and a comfortable seat is what is needed. High-tech A/V isn't evil, just typically unnecessary to me. Every meeting should be focused on the design and engineering of the end solution. I may bring network maps, or diagrams to help the client visualize the concept. But I avoid presentations at all costs. When done with a handful of truly engaged design meetings, any presentation should be seen as unnecessarily redundant.

If a client asks you for a quote, send a contract instead. If they aren't "ready" to be sent a contract, then they aren't "ready" for a quote either.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Patron Saint of Salespeople

St. Lucia or St. Lucy is the Patron Saint of salespeople. Her story?? She stood strong in her faith and was persecuted because of it. She was hooked to a team of oxen, but could not be moved. She stood strong in her beliefs. Then she had her eyes cut out and was stabbed in the throat. Nice metaphor. In October, I missed my 'quota' for the first time this year. My 2010 personal goals allowed for this (plus one actually), but I was attempting to pitch the sales equivalent of a no-hitter. I missed. Even though I am still at roughly 150% YTD Even though I am guaranteed to go to President's Club (they've already listed it under 'taxable gift' on my last paystub). Even though I will almost assuredly be in the Top 10 nationwide..... Even though I have not been dragged away by a team of oxen, I still feel my eyes on a plate. But, I'm the one doing the gouging. There is no one as critical of me as me. Self-flagellation....works well with the Patron Saint/Catholic mot...
Post a Comment
Read more

Telecommoditization: Part 2 / Fungibility

Fungibility is a fun word. I look forward to beating several CIOs and IT Directors over the head with it. Fungibility seems to be the defining word for what makes a commodity. The nut-shell definition for fungibility is "the same regardless of who creates it." Every telecom provider has a multitude of differences, therefore they are not fungible. Since most people tend to LOVE to talk about the negative, let's focus there. Ask any IT professional about their telecom provider. They will generally grumble and whine (typically these people hate their lives) and tell you about EVERYTHING that is wrong with their telecom providers. Each story will have different issues and problems. Each will show the weaknesses of a given provider. Logically this shows that we (telco's) are all different and not fungible. Also if each provider has different weaknesses, we must have strengths. There is an old telecom mantra "Everybody sucks, we suck less." In future blogs I will...
3 comments
Read more

Say it succinctly

I saw a play today. It was based on a movie that had, as one of it's primary characters, a very famous person. Fans of the movie will love the play. Many critics will have a field day with this play. It, for me, wasn't great. I took my mom to see it, and we had a nice bit of brunch beforehand, so it had that as a positive. My primary issue? It was too long. Two and one-half hours. It was longer than the movie it was based on. It also had, at it's center, a somewhat outdated and highly repetitive theme. It took two hours to repeat the same concepts a movie had made, much more enjoyably, two decades earlier. 'Les Miz' gets a much larger point across, in less time. So...how does this translate to my 'somewhat-business related blog?" Be Succinct. We strive daily to make our points. We inform, persuade, and influence our clients by making a point. We also (and I can be one of the worst) tend to prattle on. We like to hear ourselves talk. Let's work on that. ...
2 comments
Read more