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Dan Kennedy is successful, there is no question.  Even so, Dan still deals with prospects and clients that are more successful that he is at times.  Dan gets requests and inquiries from large companies.  Companies that are doing in excess of a billion dollars in revenue per year.  For the most part, Dan operates solo. How can a single man convince high profile CEO’s and executives to pay him large sums of money?

Fortunately, at this year’s SuperConference, Dan revealed his five step formula for selling to those more successful prospects.  The steps are simple, but they can have a profound impact on how you sell and whether or not these high profile prospects will  buy from you.

1. Use Flattery

Simple. Right?  Compliment them.  Acknowledge what they do well.  Remind them of their successes.  Let them know that you know how great they are.  Everyone likes hearing others brag on and compliment  their successes – but only if the compliments are sincere.  So, before you jump on the flattery bandwagon, be sure you are sincere with your compliments and praises.

2. Honest Acknowledgement of the Situation

They know that they are bigger and more successful than you…so don’t beat around the bush, just get it out in the open.  Acknowledge to them that you know they are smarter, bigger, richer, more talented, more successful, and better looking than you.  Don’t stop there, though. Use this acknowledgement to lead them into step three.

3.  Smack Them in the Face

Make a big reveal, which will in turn position you as the person they need.  Often, you can accomplish this by asking a simple question to which you know they won’t have the answer – you know the answer, though, because you researched it before you showed up. Once you do this, move to step number four.

4.  Establish Authority

You’ve knocked them a little off balance, but, unlike a boxer in a title fight, you aren’t going to knock them to the canvas. Instead, help them recenter their balance by establishing yourself as the authority on the matter.  You do this buy providing them with a satisfactory answer to the question you asked in step three.  This displays your value to them while also nurturing dependence on you for the solution.  Next it’s time to apply a little sales pressure using….

5. Exclusivity

Find some way to offer exclusivity to them, IF they choose to do business with you.  It may be that you won’t do business with any of their direct competitors.  It may be that you will not take on any new clients while working with them.  It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you make them feel as if they are the only one!

Now here’s an example of how to apply all five steps:

(Flattery) Mrs. Prospect it’s a privilege to be with you today.  I wanted to congratulate you on such an amazing track record.  It’s not often a company is able to pull off 12 consecutive quarters of double digit growth, much less be able to do it in the middle of a recession. Prospect responds

(Flattery) I also wanted to personally thank you for all of the work you do for the American Heart Association.  From a very young age my father had heart problems, so I have had first hand experience in seeing how the contributions companies like yours have made directly changes lives. 

Prospect responds

(Flattery/Acknowledgement) I don’t see how you do it.  I mean you’ve got over 10,000 employees, 13 divisions, locations around the globe, and a family at home.  I just have myself and my assistant, and I often get completely overwhelmed from all the inquires we get.  When time permits, I’d love to pick your brain about your time management practices. 

Prospect responds – And you transition into your presentation with a question

(Smack in the Face) What percent of your current customers are referring business to your company? 

Prospect looks at marketing VP.

Marketing VP looks at Sales VP.

No one knows. 

(Establish Authority) I completely understand. You must have a million irons in the fire, and this metric is an easy one to ignore.  Ignoring this one metric is costing you at least $5 million a year in revenue, though.  Here’s how:  in your industry, one out of every ten customers will provide you with the name and pertinent contact information of a friend or family member when asked. 

You currently have 100,000 customers, and if we were only able to obtain industry norms, we should be able to generate 10,000 referrals in the next year.  I really believe that with your exceptions customer relations we can get almost double that number of referrals within 12 months.  Assuming we keep the same annual customer value of $500.00, that alone would generate $5 million in additional revenue next year. 

Prospect Responds (likely without showing much interest)

Not only do I believe we can increase revenues by $5 million in the next 12 months through referrals, but I’ve also identified 12 ways we can increase the annual value of each client.  So, with my strategies and techniques and your brilliant implementation, I believe that together we can increase revenue by $10 million next year alone. 

Prospect Responds

(Exclusivity) Here’s the way I work.  We’ve spent X hours doing research on your industry.  We’ve studied all your competitors, and we know their strengths and weaknesses.  When I take on a new client, which I don’t do very often, I offer them complete and total exclusivity.  That means that once we start working together, I will not even consider working with one of you competitors.  It’s just you and I.  Would you like to get started on the 15th or 25th of the month? 

Conclusion

Selling to those more successful than you doesn’t have to be complicated.  Actually, by using these five steps, it can become fairly easy.  Leave a comment below and let me know the most common objection you receive when selling your product or service.