When it comes to winning deals, there’s no single path to glory.
And despite what the many, many sales gurus on LinkedIn say, there’s no secret cheat code or brilliant ChatGPT strategies that’ll magically increase your revenue by 600%.
But as disappointing as that may be, there are still ways you can improve as a startup and not-yet-tried techniques that may work for you and help move the needle.
And this is especially true when it comes to the way you structure your deals. When you’re selling, many issues arise from poorly thought-out pricing and packaging. And who wants to lose a deal because of pricing and packaging?
Not you, I hope.
So before you give up on your next deal, try these 3 ways to structure your deals that can help prevent the deal from collapsing at the final moment.
Customers often have a set dollar amount they can spend on software to solve a problem or pain. But they also greatly underestimate the cost of it. They know they need a solution but they aren’t aware or willing to pay the cost of the going price for modern software.
Many buyers have a budget set from their leadership team and coming back with a best-in-class solution that costs significantly higher might put you out of the running.
And while sometimes there’s nothing to talk about, other times the numbers aren’t so off that it’s worth taking the loss rather than figuring out a way to make it work.
You can do this by giving your customers a one-time discount that helps them align to what they can get approval for and purchase. This way, you’ll be able to prove your product’s worth and then receive your full price when it’s time for renewal.
You can also position the discount as a “give-to-get” as Mark Cranney, early partner at a16z says in many of his forecast calls. Common asks you can pose to your customers include: marketing case studies, quotes and referrals, and agreeing to execute a contract on your timelines such as end of week, month, or quarter.
But remember: The way you structure your discounts and the way you present it to your prospects matter. Done right and the customer feels like they got a great deal on a great product. But if done wrong the customer can feel like the price you initially quoted was too high and they’ll lose trust in your value.
Buyers are always cautious about money leaving their bank account too fast. And honestly, who isn’t? And this is especially true when it comes to large sums of money.
That’s why understanding buyer’s criteria, goals, and budget is essential for structuring the right type of deal. You can immediately stand out from the competition by providing more options for payments that meet the buyers’ needs.
For example, if the customer cannot spend money in the next few months, it may be worth it for you to give them the option to start paying later. Or if they don’t want to pay for your solution all up front in one payment, let them break it down as they wish into quarterly, semi-annual, or monthly installments.
The important thing is to talk to your buyers to see if your payment terms could influence their willingness to buy. Being flexible here can be the difference between gaining a multi-year customer or losing a winnable deal to a competitor.
Everyone wants free stuff. So incentivizing your prospects with free services is a great way to beat out the competition or encourage them to buy now.
But that doesn’t mean you should devalue your product or provide them with over-the-top services that you usually charge for. Instead, find smaller services that you can throw in that’ll help butter up the deal.
For example, most vendors charge for white glove implementation. Offering an onboarding or implementation session and discounting it significantly helps the buyer feel like they are getting some extras. Pin this as an incentive if the client signed by a certain date to help drive urgency to execute the agreement.
By remaining flexible when crafting agreements that align with both parties' objectives, startups can use their size and agility to their advantage.
Implementing flexible terms, leveraging innovative solutions, and prioritizing long-term relationships fostered through thoughtful deal structuring not only secures immediate victories but also lays the groundwork for sustained growth and resilience in dynamic markets.
But I know what you’re thinking: It sounds great, but implementing these deal structures is gonna be a pain in the ass. Just think of the number of spreadsheets I’ll need!
Well, that just happens to be one of the reasons why we created Salesbricks. Because we thought no deals should be lost based on pricing and packaging.
With Salesbricks, customizing deals for specific customers is as easy as filling out a form. And keeping track of the specifics of the order? Well, we’ll do all that for you. The result is the freedom to sell the way you want to by letting us worry about the complicated math and revenue processes.
