Saw this course description from Richard P. Farrell and think it hits the nail on the head so wanted to share this:

Prospects will do whatever it takes to commoditize your product. Here’s how customers, using the “Client Buying System,” try to destroy your value:

Clients gather all your information up front — price, terms, guarantees, conditions, service and creative ideas. They give you little or nothing in return, maximizing their time and wasting yours. Holding all the cards, they leverage their position as savvy, informed buyers, beating you up on price and pitting you against your competitors.

Prospects aren’t bad people. They’re just looking out for their own interests. And the Client Buying System works because most salespeople go along with it. We’ve educated buyers to use it!

Is this really the way you want to spend you sales career? No. And you don’t have to. In this conference, sales expert Rick Farrell will show you the four biggest mistakes salespeople make that allow prospects to control sales and commoditize products. And he’ll show you how salespeople can circumvent the Client Buying System, take control of the selling process and negotiate deals from a position of strength, not weakness.

The four big mistakes Rick will discuss are:

1.    Salespeople don’t protect their own assets – their time, knowledge, resources and relationships – so they lose control and devalue their position.

2.    Salespeople rely on feature and benefit selling to differentiate themselves, but it produces the exact opposite effect.

3.    Salespeople aren’t keenly aware of the customer’s buying process, which is designed to defeat them

4.    Salespeople lack a disciplined sales process of their own to truly differentiate themselves from the competition. Learn a disciplined 7 step sales process that levels the playing field

My take is – stay in control or it’s a slippery slope and a less than optimal conclusion.

Brick