Same Side Selling Podcast

In this episode, I want to talk about time and materials billing versus fixed price billing.

Over the last dozen years, I've had the pleasure of working with many companies who sell services to their clients. Most of them have historically priced their services by the hour. I want to suggest why that might not be a great idea for you or your clients.

This concept may make you feel a little uncomfortable, but take a listen and you'll see how a change in approach could make all the difference to you AND your clients

"So who are my best customers versus the not best and how can I optimize everything I do in the future around making sure that my best customers achieve their goals." - Robbie Kellman Baxter

I'm joined this week by bestselling author of The Membership Economy, Robbie Kellman Baxter. We discussed her new book, 'The Forever Transaction: how to build a subscription model so compelling your customers will never want to leave', which was released in April, 2020.

She coined the popular business term 'membership economy', which is now part of the business lexicon. Her clients have included Netflix, the Wall Street Journal, and Microsoft, as well as dozens of venture backed companies.

I got huge value from our discussion, I'm certain you will too and be inspired to also join the "Membership Economy"

Lisa Earle McLeod is an expert in motivating and leading organizations. She helps organizations accelerate revenue growth, increase competitive differentiation and ignite emotional engagement with a customer-driven methodology called Noble Purpose. She's the author of several books, my favorite being Selling With Noble Purpose and also Leading With Noble Purpose.

Research shows that organizations with a noble purpose bigger than money outperformed the market by over 350%. In fact, salespeople who sell with a noble purpose, whose intention is to improve the lives of their customers, outsell target focus salespeople.

On this episode, Lisa shares the steps you can take to start selling with noble purpose when coming out of a crisis. Lisa and I share so many views in common. I think you'll really enjoy this discussion

In this week's I wanted to speak with you about the challenge many people face when your potential client wants you to follow their process for making a purchasing decision. It may be that your client wants you to follow a process that you know won't result in success for either of you.

So how do you gain control from the beginning? And if things start to go off track, how can you turn it around?

Let me introduce you to a roadmap that will follow a buying process that ensures success, not a crazy one that leaves you and your client destined for failure.

My guest this week is Jason Bay, who together with his wife Sarah, runs Blissful Prospecting. Jason is a returning guest because the great value he's delivered on his prior appearance. He's one of the true same side people I've encountered in the prospecting world and he knows just how to drop the right video or email to prompt a response.

We discussed how to prospect successfully both during a crisis and then coming out of a crisis. He also shares a free resource created just for listeners on the future of prospecting, which I know you will find useful.

I always learn a ton from Jason and I'm sure you will too.

I'm joined this week by Meridith Elliott Powell and Dr. Mary Kelly. They're the co-authors of the new book 'Who Comes Next: Leadership Succession Made Easy'.

Meridith is an award winning author, keynote speaker and business strategist. Mary Kelly is a PhD economist, corporate strategist and leadership development expert and one of the first women to graduate from the Naval Academy. Mary served 21 years as a commission officer on active duty in the Navy. She comments that some of her favorite jobs included being an intelligence officer, a chief of police, an HR director, and being part of the team that ran Pearl Harbor.

Between the two of them, Meredith and Mary have authored nearly 20 books.

I was clearly not the smartest person in the room in this conversation about succession planning. Please be sure to check out the resources that Mary and Meridith generously offered and be sure to pick up the book, which contains a roadmap of exactly how to plan for success.

We're joined this week by technology strategist and futurist, Crystal Washington. Crystal regularly appears on major television networks and in business publications and she's the author of two books, 'One Tech Action' and 'The Social Media Why'.

This particular quote I think sums up how valuable this episode is for right now:

"I think a lot of people believe that the more technology we utilize, the more we should automate things in our sales processes. I take a very opposite approach. Yes, there's room for some level of automation, but I think in the new world that we are moving into right now, relationships matter more than ever. And so I'm a bigger fan of us using technology as a prompt for person to person interaction."

Crystal shares so much great information and if you ever have a chance to see her speak in person, don't miss the opportunity.

This is a solo episode where I talk about competition.

Specifically, when you start speaking with a potential client who already has a relationship with another vendor, what's going through your mind?

In this episode I give you some strategies and examples on how we can delve way deeper than just price, build trust and help stand out from the competition.

I also talk about a tool called the Client Vision Pyramid, which is covered in more detail in the Same Side Selling Academy, and will kelp you to deal with discovering more about your competition and how to stand out.

For 30 years Bob Burg helped companies, sales leaders and their teams to more effectively communicate their value, sell at higher prices with less resistance and grow their businesses.

He's best known for his Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestseller, the Go-Giver, which he coauthored with John David Mann. It's been translated into 28 languages. Across the four books in the Go-Giver series they've reached nearly 2 million copies.

Bob is an advocate, supporter, and defender of the free enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve.

We had an excellent discussion about influence and human nature. Bob is a legend and you're about to understand why.

I'm joined this week by Meridith Elliott Powell who is a brilliant sales mind who's written many books, is considered a top sales expert to follow by LinkedIn and happens to be one of my favorite fellow keynote speakers.

We're going to discuss how selling in times of crisis is not a bad thing, that it isn't time to stop and how adapting the way we communicate with and show understanding of clients' situations is so important.

Listen into our discussion for ideas on how you can adapt not only how you sell, but the products and services you can offer in challenging times. I think you'll also gain an understanding of why Meridith is one of my favorite peers.