Kim Orlesky | The Premium Solution Sales Process for Getting the Premium Price

Step 1: Understand your numbers.

• Reverse engineer your sales funnel and set your goals.

• Setting your goals is as important as knowing and articulating your means on how to achieve your goals.
  • How many prospects do you need to connect with?
  • How many weekly meetings you must-have?
  • How many proposals do you need to have?
  • How many clients do you need to talk to to be able to meet your revenue goals?

• Articulating and doing these tasks will make way towards achieving your business goals.

• Make sure that your numbers are realistic. If not, adjust according to your capacity.

Step 2: Identify your ideal buyer.

• Identify your ideal buyer. Understanding their fears, uncertainties, challenges, goals, and aspirations is the key to having a sales conversation with them.

• Know which specific problems your ideal buyers are looking to solve as well as getting to know your ideal buyer’s customers.

• Kim suggests creating your ideal buyer’s avatar and lists out the top 100 people/companies that you’d feel honoured to work with.
  • This helps you to be laser-focused when it comes to handpicking your prospects.

• Choose an outbound strategy.

Step 3: Make your value proposition and your elevator pitch.

• Your intention of connecting with your ideal buyer is that you can have a conversation with them.
  • Create conversation starters that are based on conversational questions.

• Your elevator pitch should show how you engage your prospects.

Step 4: Connect with your ideal buyers.

Initial Contact

• Once you have your list of top ideal buyers, make your initial contact with them even if it’s through online platforms (such as their LinkedIn profiles).

• Initial contacts that are made online should be converted into another offline conversation as quickly as possible.

• Provide your elevator pitch upon your contact and show a genuine interest in getting to know them more.

• Go back to step number 1 as it will serve as your guide as to how many connections you should perform given a certain period.

• Not meeting your goals and numbers means there might be something wrong with the way you execute your conversations, meetings, and proposals.

One-to-one Conversation

• Your initial contact’s main goal is to have a one-to-one conversation with your ideal buyers.

• It doesn’t matter if it’s via email, phone call, or text messaging.

• The goal of doing a one-to-one conversation is to set up a face-to-face meeting with your prospect (booked phone meeting, in-person meeting, etc.).

• It is normal to make several attempts first before getting your prospects to agree to a meeting. Just keep trying.

Step 5: Lead qualification.

• Consider the meeting as your lead qualification step instead of focusing on talking about your business.

• Sit back during the meeting and ask yourself if that prospect is a perfect fit to do business with.

• Ask questions using BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline).
  • Budget: What’s the financial component of the conversation? How much money are they willing to invest?
  • Authority: Who else is going to be a part of this conversation? Who are the decision-making people? Who are your prospect’s influencers?
  • Need: Where does the client want to be? Where are they currently?
  • Timeline: When does your client want to decide? And why is that time so important? What impact does it have on their business?

• If you can’t clarify the questions using BANT, the prospect stays at the lead qualification step until you do so.

• In addition, you should not send proposals their way if you’re not BANT-clear with your prospect.

Step 6: Create your value.

• Ask as many questions as you possibly can to your lead during this phase.
  • Consider asking open-ended questions.
  • Select your who, what, when, where, how, and why questions.
  • Be cautious when using close-ended questions (did you, should you, are you, etc) as these may corner and restrict your lead’s answers.
  • Asking open-ended questions encourages creativity and collaboration.

• Use the transportation versus destination analogy to create your value.

Step 7: Send your proposal.

• Making proposals can be considered the same as proposing marriage as Kim suggests. The one who’s sending the proposal should feel a level of certainty that the other party is going to answer yes.

• Before leaving your last meeting during the value creation phase, and before entering your proposal meeting stage, set your proposal up for success.
  • At your last meeting, mention to your lead that you’ll be giving them everything they need for them to decide on your next meeting.
  • If your lead says they’re not ready yet to make a decision, go back and stay at your value-creation phase.
  • This might mean that your prospect still has questions and would want to know more.

• During the proposal step, outline the entire journey as a story and treat the proposal as your selling document.

• Proposals should be:
  • Delivered in person.
  • Hand-stamped.
  • If you and your prospect are in different locations, consider doing a video conference where you can screen-share.
    • Record it.
    • Be in-charge.
    • Send them a link to the recording after the conference.
    • Send them a PDF copy of the proposal as well.

• Kim suggests limiting your proposal into six simple slides:
  • First slide: Outlining the client’s goals outside of your products and services.
  • Second: Their current stage. What are the impacts if they stay at the same level?
  • Third: Ideal state. Elaborate where will your products and services take your prospects.
  • Fourth: Talk about one to three high-level solutions. Emphasize your transportation analogy.
  • Fifth: Bring out your timeline. Talk about when will your services be done and how will your client use that business transaction after providing them with your products and services.
  • Sixth: Investment / Return on Investment. As you lay your pricing anchor on your prospect, make them see the benefits they can have after availing of your products/services.

• Keep your proposal concise. Use PowerPoint.

• Have a contract available in case your lead immediately accepts your proposal.

• If your client says they still need time or approval, ask for a highest-level agreement if they would like to pursue it.

Step 8: Negotiate.

• After showing your proposal, your lead might bring up interest to negotiate.

• Negotiation may happen the same day you presented your proposal.

• As much as possible, never negotiate on price. Instead, negotiate on your quality, or your service.

• You may also negotiate with payment terms, plans, and even connections.

Step 9: Follow up and cross-sell.

• Try to upsell and cross-sell.

• Continue the relationship and expand your level of service.

• Approach them with new opportunities and prospects.

• Ask them for referrals and testimonials.

• Ultimately, do not leave them hanging right after agreeing on your proposal as it might make your relationship with your client sour.