Upselling With Imagination

"Good salespeople are persistent, but great salespeople don't need to be persistent. They know how to engage and be thoughtful, educational or insightful. People want to speak with them." – Robert Blatchford

SALES IS NOT A SERVICE

At the PromaxBDA Creative Entrepreneurs Conference on Sales last week, I walked the attendees through several, practical sales strategies. One of the key strategies was “upselling with anchoring.”

My argument centered around viewing Sales not as a service, but rather as expertise and leadership. Once you shift your thinking, you find you hold the power to develop solutions which solve your client’s deeper (read: more interesting and more expensive) problems.

What does it look like in action? This example below from the legendary Don Draper powerfully demonstrates how the master salesman performs his art: he appeals to your imagination. He leads you. He presents a vision where the value in question is so great, who would dare mention price?

TAKEAWAYS

In case you’re thinking, “Yes, but I’m no Don Draper…” let me share some simple takeaways we can all employ to channel our inner Draper:

• Kodak requested a proposal for “The Wheel” to which Draper effectively said no, then showed them a better solution: “The Carousel.”
• Takeaway #1: Your expert “no” can be more powerful than your reflexive, service-oriented “yes.”
• We can safely assume that if the client’s budget for “The Wheel” was $X, their minds are now receptive to a budget for “The Carousel” of $XXX.
• Takeaway #2: The client will increase the budget if you can solve their deeper problems.
• The sarcastic comment, “Good luck at your next meeting,” reveals how Draper and his team are confident their solution is uniquely superior.
• Takeaway #3: When your Three P’s of Positioning (Purpose, Power, Personality) are boldly put on display, the competition is marginalized.

WIELD YOUR POWER

Now that you’ve seen this approach to sales in action, you may be realizing – for the very first time – how much power you can wield in your client relationships. So use it! I encourage you to tap into your experience and expertise, inspire your client with imagination, then lead them to deeper solutions that only you and your firm can deliver.

Happy upselling!

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As a RevThink consultant focused on high performance firms in media and entertainment, Joel Pilger comes alongside owners of motion design and production studios to help them run their business, focus on their genius and create the future they desire. Find more insights at the RevThinking blog.