Selling advice to the IT Services and MSP Owner who hates selling… from the “Business Turnaround King,” Marcus Lemonis.
One of my clients asked a question that I hear so many ask… How do I sell IT Services when I HATE selling? He has NO problems sharing the great services and benefits that clients would get, but the idea of following up and repeatedly asking for money makes him put his foot on the brakes.
Marcus explained the process of sales like I’ve never heard it explained before. I think it’s a very useful analogy, especially to parents.
Marcus says that you can treat prospects like they’re your child in the sense that you’re trying to make them better, keep them from making mistakes, and keep them from bad things while pushing them into good things. You should go into a sales meeting with the mindset that it is your responsibility to shelter, protect, preserve, and promote the business like your child, and you won’t feel bad about following up because that business owner doesn’t know what they don’t know. Rather than indicting them for it or assuming that they’re annoyed, (which they may be) it’s crucial to actually have a sales process in your business.
“If you can go in with the mindset that it is your responsibility to shelter, protect, preserve, and promote the business like your child, you won’t feel bad about following up because that business owner doesn’t know what they don’t know. Isn’t that what sales is? You’re looking out for their best interests.”
If you start to believe this idea, your follow-up calls will focus on improving their business and protecting their assets. You don’t ever have to feel bad about that.
Further, Marcus asked the client if he feels guilty when his customers give him money, and my client responded that he only feels bad when they don’t do something right. Marcus explains that you go into your type of relationship with a clear understanding; you’re going to work on their business and provide IT services, and they pay you. The exchange is: they give you money, and you sell them IT services. If you give bad service, your job is to make it right. But if you continue to give bad service, then they should find somebody else.
In this situation, you’re not asking for something that they won’t get value from. (And if you ever feel like you are asking someone for something they won’t get value from, then you should feel bad about it.) So, it’s your responsibility to realize that your job is to follow through for your customer on all areas of IT support, because they don’t know any better than you on technology.
You’re doing them a favor by:
- Helping them provide for their family
- Giving them a better chance of succeeding
- Allowing them to be successful
- Allowing them to hire more people
It’s a unique way to look at it, but the client is benefitting from the sale, just like you are.
