By Neal Glatt

In October 2010, I had the biggest sales opportunity of my career.  I was sitting in the office of a vice president trying to take over management of 500+ locations for the upcoming winter.  It ended up being the most humiliating sales failure I’ve ever experienced.  Here’s what happened (and how you can avoid the same fate).

Our team had prepped for over a month.  We measured every single property and used several different methods of estimating to make sure our pricing was correct.  We checked on what our competitors would charge.  We looked at our own job production numbers.  We consulted with weather experts to determine how many snow events we could expect.  We ran profitability models.  It was exhausting.

Then we worked on the presentation.  We took beautiful photos of our equipment.  We gathered client testimonials.  We created, edited and revamped graphics.  We argued over every word.  We strategized over who would present which sections.  We rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed.  We played “devil’s advocate” and prepared for every conceivable objection.  We were ready for every possible situation (or so we thought).

We had an hour scheduled at the corporate headquarters for our meeting.  We dressed up nicely and started presenting just as we had practiced.  The first 38 minutes was perfect.  And then we presented the multi-million dollar price tag.  That’s where the meeting stopped.

The vice president we were presenting to interrupted our presentation and said, “You’re out of your mind.  I’ve never spent that much in my life and I’m certainly not going to entertain that insane price.  This meeting is over.”

We were stunned.  It was so embarrassing.  It was such a waste of time.  We questioned everything about our business.  Did we know how to price jobs?  Did we know how to sell?  What were we missing?

Over the next 12 months, a few things happened.  We learned a lot more about sales from someone who had been there.  We validated our pricing (and learned it was actually too low).  And our prospect paid attention to his bills for the first time.  It turns out, he was paying much more than what we proposed, but he had no idea because every location was managing their own budget. 

Once we learned how to really sell, we did (and at higher prices than we originally proposed).  We signed 60 locations with the customer in October 2011.  Then 120 in October 2012.  Then 240 in October 2013.  The trend continued and that account has brought tens of millions of dollars of revenue.  

Because we had learned how to qualify, how to have a conversation around budget, and how to have a successful sales mentality, our sales success continued.  In just seven years, the company grew from a single pick-up truck to over $40 million in revenue.  And now, I want to help you do the same.

If you’re not thrilled with your landscape or snow sales success in 2019, you need to invest some time and take my FREE sales course by clicking here.  I’ll teach you all the basics of my proven, multi-million dollar sales approach for free.  And if you really want to grow in 2020, you’ll want to take the Advanced Sales Techniques course.  You can’t afford to lose your next biggest opportunity, so get ready for it now.  Trust me, I’ve been there.