October 13, 2016

If I always start by trying to talk the client out of hiring me, how will I ever get hired?

During your initial sales call with a prospect, it is vital to uncover their root motivation for the project (and by extension, the value).

The way to do this is to have a Why Conversation, which basically amounts to you trying to talk the prospect out of hiring you.

This is a counter-intuitive approach and therefore raises fears in folks who’ve never tried it. The thinking basically goes:

“But... what if I CAN talk them out of hiring me?! How will I ever get hired?!”

It is certainly true that if you try to talk a prospect out of hiring you, there is a possibility that you might succeed (i.e., they decide not to hire you).

I would argue that if you CAN talk a client out of you, then you SHOULD because anything else would be against the client’s interests. Putting your clients first is at the core of value pricing and pays off handsomely in the long run.

That said, I understand that it can be scary at first. There are two things you can do to allay your fears of the Why Conversation:

• Take steps to decrease the likelihood of a prospect not hiring you
• Take steps to decrease the impact of a prospect not hiring you

Over the course of the next few days, I’ll talk about each of these topics in more detail.

Stay tuned!

Yours,

—J

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