Every sales engagement is a competition. Stop worrying about lowering your cost to close a deal, especially on big ones like a $5 million contract. Focus on winning instead of being cheap.
What does it add when you show up? And what does it subtract when you don't show up and someone else does? Like, you have to think about this because this is— we don't talk about this. I've only written 3 books. The 3rd book is called Eat Their Lunch, and it's about competition. This is a competition. You are a competitor. You may not want to be a competitor. You may not like competing. You may not think that you should have to compete, but reality doesn't care about your feelings one way or the other. You're a competitor. So you have to think, how do I get a competitive advantage that allows me to win this business over everyone else? And if you, if you think I should try to lower the cost of what it costs me to sell, you're just being stupid. Like, that's just stupid. Don't worry about how much it costs you. It's a $5 million, 5-year deal. Okay, so that's what you're playing for. $25 million. You won't get on a plane. That's not good thinking. I would worry more about my effectiveness than I would my efficiency.
