Choosing ‘Good Enough’ over ‘Great’
When you are making a pitch to a new client, an old client or investors ask yourself, “What risks might a prospect see in hiring us?” Many decisions are not based on who is the most qualified for the job but who is going to provide the least problems. Forget looking like the superior choice, make yourself an excellent choice. Whittle away any minuses.
Someone tendering for my business not long ago lost the contract because they failed to answered their phone on several occasions and took up to a week to get back to me. They were a much better choice, far more qualified than their competitor but I couldn’t afford to let business slip because someone didn’t answer the phone or send emails when they had promised.
Their competitor was terribly overworked and overstretched in some areas, they were new in the industry, completely unqualified in comparison but I knew that they always answered correspondence almost immediately which would make or break a deal. I signed with them. Now, the original company gave a thousand excuses as to why they hadn’t returned the calls or emails as promised. I couldn’t afford to believe them. I didn’t sign with the superior choice but with the company that had the least minuses.
The best thing you can do for a client is eliminate their fear, take away the minuses. I recently was talking to a client who had had bad experiences with PR professionals. I did a deal, instead of paying an upfront fee (she had previously paid $7000 and got no exposure) I would bill it on an appear = pay basis. If I got her exposure in a magazine that would be one fee; radio another and TV yet another. She was elated and I got the tender.
Making yourself the ‘excellent choice’ isn’t hard. It takes a little foresight and planning. Listen to what your prospective employers are looking for and why they are considering changing servers in the first place. Cancel as many minuses as possible and you’ll end up with a truly positive response.
One Comment
David Askaripour
September 8th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
This is very true. It’s akin to what I am dealing with right now with my bank. I’m literally scared to use my bank card sometimes because every few months I encounter fraudulent activity on my account, to the point where I am about to switch banks regardless if they refund me the money or not. Absolutely: it’s all about killing that fear.
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