Stand For What You’re Worth

What a week. We’re in quite the lull when it comes down to our lead-generation system but sure enough, at the same time we’ve been gifted with some strong referrals from our clients. Referrals are not overly common in the automotive industry. Dealers, in my experience, are quite possessive when they have something that is working. I take that as a compliment. 

With one particular referral there was a lot at stake. Our company is in a great spot, so while our pipeline is on the dry-side, we did not NEED this referral by any means. But of course, if a prospect is a great fit I’m going to do my best to get the deal done. 

This prospect has a rather big group of stores; so this would most certainly be a nice addition to our client base. Everything looked really good after our diagnosis but we ended up encountering a hurdle. 

I got “price-checked” because of some information that was shared with him by the referrer. Just like that, the deal was dead. 

As a salesman in this situation, I did what was necessary. I followed my “value stack” framework and because of my experience I knew what the value was. That’s the key part here. 

I know how much time we’re going to save. I know how much money we can save them. I know how much revenue we can generate. This is the takeaway! 

It’s very difficult to turn down a big deal that would supercharge growth but YOU JUST HAVE TO. Every time I’ve taken a short deal I’ve regretted it. You can never become an equal with that client. You will always be one negotiation away from being fired. 

So, I let things settle for a day and I called my referrer. I told him I wanted to get this deal done but I needed what I asked for (within reason). We were worth it, all damn day long, but I needed to know if a circle-up was worth my time because I really liked this guy. 

I received some wonderful advice from the referrer and started a conversation with the prospect. Long story short, three hours later the deal was done and the contracts were signed the next morning. 

It had been a long time since I yelled after a contract-signing but this one amped me the fuck up. 

If you’re wondering what got me most excited it’s not the money… It’s the opportunity to prove that this partnership was as valuable to both parties as I presented. 

Light the fucking lamp!

-SJ