Fuentes Fridays #0035

Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world, what I’m thinking about, and what I’m learning about. Forward anything that you feel inspired to share.

What I’m Hearing From Sales Leaders/Professionals

This past week, I have had multiple conversations about pricing. Specifically, the questions have been about how to best present it. The reality is that I believe “the price is the price.”

Thus, if you are going to present pricing, you need to be confident and CLEAR. The issue is that often sales professionals and executives worry too much about the reaction to the price and too little about presenting confidently.

This leads to buyers interpreting that the seller does not believe in the price and degrades trust. There is an old saying that everything is negotiable. Not sure if this is true for EVERYTHING, but the majority of B2B buyers do expect to be able to negotiate price, especially at the enterprise level.

I teach that you should have a defensible price. Not that you need to defend it, but one that you and your internal team can justify for yourselves and be confident in presenting. And like every other sales coach out there, I teach to not negotiate on price until everything else is buttoned up.

The other thing I teach is that price is just a mechanism to illicit a reaction. This is just psychology disguised as economics. The market will determine by its reactions whether you have priced correctly for the value you are representing.

Notice I said “the value you are representing,” not the value you are creating. Why? Well, because I have seen many companies overvalue or undervalue what they deliver to the people they are selling to. A great example of a company that understands who they are selling to and the value they deliver with their product is Hermes with their Birkin Bag (Read this wonderful post by Trung Phan to learn more).

I do not see why any bag should cost north of $10,000. But they are not selling to me. Hermes delivers craftsmanship and status to a very specific buyer. They understand the value that they are representing.

So, if you are thinking about pricing, I suggest you start with, “What is the value story you are telling?” and, “Does it align with how you have priced?” Once the answer is yes, then work on presenting pricing in a confident and clear manner. How? Practice!

I have suggested to multiple people to get in front of a mirror or, alternatively, record themselves on Zoom just answering the pricing question. Over a very short period of time, they can dramatically change the way they speak about price.

If you want to discuss pricing, feel free to DM me.

What Made Me Laugh

It’s allergy season! Well, it is always allergy season for me. Which means I am always annoying people, from colleagues (shout out Kevin Sambat) to clients (I see you, Yulia Yanni) to family (hey Nickie Donas). Anyway, I saw this tweet, and it immediately made me think of the usual reactions to my sneezes:

This Week’s 40/20

For every 40 hours of work, I believe you should spend 20 (additional) hours mastering your craft. This is how I spent some of my 20 hours this week.

I spend a lot of time talking to my son about mindset. But like any good parent, I ignore my own advice. This week, though, I decided to try all the great advice I give my son, shift my mindset, and reenergize myself.

The reality is that I have been in a bit of a slump, and I needed to shake out of it. So, on Monday, I woke up and said, “Today, I will be great!” Seriously, I said it to myself three times. Then, I walked downstairs to my office and rearranged my workspace.

I didn’t haphazardly rearrange it; I took a moment to think about when I felt most energized working over the last few months. I then set it up in the exact same way. Maybe it is psychosomatic/placebo/whatever, but I do feel more energetic and ready to conquer the world! Now, if only my son would listen to me.

Potpourri for 800

Potpourri (shoutout to Jeopardy!) is a category that covers a variety of topics.

Shockingly, last weekend, after eating duck, fried rice, egg rolls, dumplings, golden bao, spring rolls, wings, and half a large pepperoni pan pizza (I said I was in a slump; thus, I was eating my feelings), I could not sleep. Bored, I went to Netflix and chose a show at random.

I landed on Detroiters. I then spent the next two hours laughing at the absurdity of the characters, situations, commercials (the main characters run an ad agency), and the incredible comedic writing. This show may not be for everyone, but it definitely was for me. Give it a try and let me know whether you love it or hate it; I don’t think there is an in-between.

Quote for My Son

Every day, I leave my son a note with a quote. This was my favorite from this past week:

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.” – Jim Collins

You can get weekly helpful information for sales professionals by following my company’s Maestro Mastery blog here.

Let me know what you think about this week’s edition of Fuentes Fridays. Which section was your favorite? How can I make this better? Shoot me a message on LinkedIn @willfuentes.

Until next week!