Passing through the Quote Gate
In the Ellevated Outcomes Business Development Playbook, we call this chapter, “Have a Dynamic, Compelling Prospect Meeting.” It’s about listening. Articulating someone’s problem. Chemistry. But last week, one of our brilliant clients called something to my attention. They said that this meeting is about passing through the “quote gate.” Allow we to explain…
One reason that prospects come to Ellevated Outcomes (especially right now) is that they got a little scared during covid. They started saying yes to every opportunity that came their way and offered “competitive” pricing, we’ll say, because they were fearful. (NO judgement, btw! I totally get this. It’s normal). But now, they can’t keep up, aren’t making enough money, and feel like they’re on a hamster wheel, working all the time.
We believe that if you’re priced correctly (assuming that you sell a mid- to high-end service), you should not win every proposal you release! And if we move one step up the funnel, you also shouldn’t send a proposal after every consultation.
In our business, proposals (our word for “quotes”) take at least 45-60 minutes – and we have the process automated! For our clients (before we get our hands on their process, mwahaha), proposals generally take at least 2-3 hours. When you spend that amount of time on every opportunity that walks in your door, you lose $1,500-2,000!
Here are 3 best practices during a consult, to save your time, enhance your reputation, and let your prospect through “quote gate:”
1. Play back what you heard & discern if you’re a good fit.
Since you’ve already screened the prospect with your questionnaire, the 45 or 60 minutes you spend meeting with them, can be spent on meaningful details: getting to know them personally, extracting their pain points, and asking insightful questions about previously provided info that gave you pause or made you think, “This is my person!”
After you get enough insight, you’ll want to replay what you heard them say. Annmarie says this brilliant thing, passed on by her executive coach,
When you can articulate someone’s problem, they credit you with the solution.
And then as part of that, behind the scenes, you need to make a judgement call: is our offer a good fit for them?
At the start of our call with a prospect, we promise to conclude the call by telling them honestly if we’re a good fit. But make no mistake: this is a brave act of discipline. For example, we are open for new clients right now and filling our own roster; yet in the past week we’ve turned away two prospects because we’re not the right solution.
2. Talk about the money.
Especially you female business owners: listen up!
Unless you’ve uncovered in step 1 that it’s not a good fit, BRING UP THE MONEY. I know that it’s scary. But be bold. It will save both of you time, and your prospect wants you to bring it up. It’s the obvious elephant in the room. Talking about money with clarity and objectivity makes you look good. It makes you look like you’re running… a business.
Personally, I usually say something like, “I’d love to talk to you about the investment. I know that it can be a tricky thing to bring up, but money is a part of business, so we don’t mind being straight-forward about it. I hope that you don’t mind.” Ten out of ten times, I’m met with relief.
If your business requires you to go away and build up pricing, that’s fine! You don’t have to give an exact number on the spot. Instead offer a range. Then, inquire: “How does that land with you?”
These are your two quote gates! Then, if responses to both are positive, and it looks like you want to work with them, and they want to work with you…
3. Ask: “Would you like me to spend time creating a proposal for you?”
Remember, you don’t have to move onto this step, if this is not your ideal client. You control whether or not they’ve made it through quote gate!
I like asking (because first, I try to not make assumptions), so it’s a form of permission marketing. If you’ve quoted a price or made an offer that is not in alignment with what they’re thinking or their budget, it’s a chance for a graceful out. Especially if money is the issue, the point isn’t to make them feel badly or excluded! It’s simply to proactively address together, “Does it make sense to move to the next step?”
Remember: my rule of thumb is that if you’re priced correctly and ambitiously going after the right standard of client, only one of three consults should end in a signed contract. Yes, it’s scary.
But sometimes you have to say no, to grow.
