Scoring the Easier Win First

Many sales professionals adopt a "go big or go home" mentality. While this bold approach has its merits, landing a 6-figure contract involves more than just courage and confidence.

Understanding your customers, along with strategic planning and psychological insight, is fundamental. Every client operates within a budget cycle, and no matter how exceptional our offerings may be, they may face budget constraints that prevent them from committing.

This situation often leads to classic sales objections, and I’ve learned to adapt my responses accordingly. Here are two counter-objections I frequently use:

1. If budget is the issue, I can propose structuring payments into several milestones to navigate their budget cycle.
2. If they require approval to purchase our software, I suggest starting with a 3-month license, which can later be extended to a year post-approval.

Consider how you can achieve a 6-figure contract by piecing together smaller agreements. For instance, four contracts at $25,000 each total $100,000.

Practicality is vital. Be flexible with clients who may have limited financial resources.

Thinking in Terms of Accounts, Not Transactions

The main objective for any sales professional or entrepreneur is to maximize Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). A recent article in Entrepreneur highlighted CLV as one of the most critical business metrics because it provides insight into potential repeat business.

Repeat clients are invaluable; they buy more, remain loyal, and promote our services to others. To nurture a customer account, we must adopt a different mindset. Although a client may not sign a 6-figure contract today, consistent repeat business can lead us there over time.

In the software industry, for example, products tend to have a lasting impact. Prospective clients often struggle to transition their operational tasks from one software to another due to the steep learning curve involved.

To alleviate this resistance, I simplify the adoption process. I initiate a 5-figure contract with a pilot project, creating user-friendly software modules for demonstration. I then collaborate with the client to identify departments that are most open to change.

Encouraging clients to expand their software usage through incremental feature adoption is key. For example, they might start with customer account management and only progress once they’ve mastered it.

Over time, I cultivate the customer account through various means: - Extending the current product license, - Procuring additional features to avoid the need for new software, - Integrating our software with existing systems in the client’s technology stack.

Gradually, I transform multiple 5-digit agreements into a 6-figure deal.

Understanding Value Proposition

Value proposition stems not from our sales pitch, but from the actual benefits experienced by our clients. It is crucial for clients to recognize this value.

The most effective way to facilitate this realization is to onboard clients quickly. Focusing solely on closing a 6-figure contract can create resistance during the sales process.

My success lies in targeting product adoption early. The sooner clients start utilizing the software, the more likely they are to convince themselves to pursue a subsequent 6-figure contract.

Early adopters become advocates during client discussions, helping to sway skeptics. When clients perceive the value in our offerings, they contribute to our commercial success. This creates a mutually beneficial situation, beginning with a manageable 5-digit agreement.

Summary

Adopt a long-term perspective. Recognize that a customer account holds more value than a singular 6-figure deal. Satisfied customers return for more and become organic promoters of our products and services.

The key to achieving this is to encourage clients to utilize our products. The quickest way to facilitate this is by lowering the threshold for contract values.

This does not imply a focus solely on low-ticket deals; rather, satisfied clients lead to one 5-digit agreement after another. Eventually, these smaller deals accumulate into a substantial 6-figure customer account.

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