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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Doing something matters

Two turkeys read the advertisement for Flying Lessons. Excited to fly, they spent the day at the flying lessons flapping, and soaring and seeing life from a new vantage point. At the end of the lesson as they were walking home, one said, "that was great. When's the next lesson?"

Too often we read or hear great advice and then WALK home.

Jason, a reader of this blog, took what was said in the previous post on negotiating and the same week put it to the test. He had a product that he was trying to find out if there was a market. Jason did the following very right things:

1. He immediately asked the customer what he needed. The customer also stated that his budget was very small and couldn't afford even $100 to $300.
2. Jason then met with him with solutions to the customer's problem. (In person is always best.)
3. Jason established the value he could bring and got the customer excited about the possibilities. (You do that by knowing what he needs and showing him how you can do it.)
4. Once the value was establish and the desire was high, the customer asked the price.
5. Jason astutely said, "I've asked another professional what he would charge and he said his fee would be $3,000 to $5,000." He stopped and let the high price sink in. The customer gasp a little and said, "Ouch. $5,000 is beyond my budget."
6. Jason heroically stepped in and said, "That's okay. I can do it for about half that." A 50% discount is always compelling.
7. The customer was quite pleased to get such a good deal.
8. Jason was quite pleased to have gotten the job for $2,500. Better than the $100 to $500 the person originally thought was their maximum.

The same principles work on any product or service.
The same principles work on any amount -- $1 to millions. I'm working on a deal right now worth greatly in excess of monetary imagination and the offer has been tendered for far more than I first thought. Happily.

The prime lesson here: Go do something. Go fly. Don't walk home.

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