The Proof is in the Pudding!
Reducing the Uncertainty gap, a crash course on social dynamics, & more
Uncertainty is one of the biggest roadblocks that prevents a prospect from buying.
The prospect can be uncertain about external factors such as:
You
Your solution
Your company
Market conditions
Company bureaucracy / internal politics, etc
and the prospect can be uncertain about internal factors such as:
Their own competence / ability (usually caused by limiting beliefs & attitudes)
Their hopes, fears, dreams, etc
This list is by no means comprehensive but rather serves as context for the rest of this post.
When a prospect feels uncertain it is usually because they need proof (reassurance) that your solution will work for them.
On some level the prospect knows and agrees that the only way to know for sure if your solution will work for them is to try it, but that rationalization doesn’t change their feelings of uncertainty.
That is because all Sales are emotional.
Your deal can make logical sense but if it doesn’t feel right, then no deal.
This is good because we can exert some influence over this type of Uncertainty. I believe this is where the idea of free trials was born.
Free trials became a “solution” to the problem of “reducing prospect uncertainty”
Is it an effective solution?
It depends.
Obviously every company who offers a free trial believes it makes business sense to do it.. but is it actually a good idea?
I don’t know.. What are the odds of the prospect (company) spending $100k+ for your product after you’ve just given it away for free?
🤡: But we gave them limited features!
Meh.
In my experience, the odds are low.
Think about it, going from getting something for free to then dropping $100k+ for it is a large gap.
Does it still happen? Of course it does.
Every strategy can “work”
But the smart approach is to focus on improving the odds / predictability of closing
Which company is more likely to expand their account?
Company A - has 25 users on a free trial
Company B - pays $10k to get 25 users on a 90 day (paid) trial
I hope the answer is obvious.
Sell the appetizer first
Many salespeople get anxiety at the thought of charging for a trial, proposal, etc.
🤡: I can’t charge them to use the trial. They need to see value first
Ok.. one question though:
How do you expect to close a $100k+ deal if you can’t close them for a fraction of the cost?
People only value things they pay for.
This “payment” is made in money and time / energy / resources.
And when someone pays monetarily, they are more likely to pay in both time / energy as well.
When do free trials make sense?
Most SaaS companies that meet this criteria do well with a free trial offering:
self service checkout / onboarding (e-commerce)
large volume of traffic / users
cheap price points
Consumer segment + selling directly to end users
But if you’re responsible for selling to organizations, then offering free trials are leaving a lot of money on the table.
What’s the solution?
We need to take the essence of why free trials work (Trialability, Low risk) and then Reframe it in a way that helps us move deals forward.
So the solution is quite simple.
Charge for them
Don’t call it a “paid trial” call it something like a “90 day pilot”
This strategy will not only help you “Land & Expand” in Enterprise sales, but also if you are selling for a startup.
Often times startups are stuck between 2 extremes:
Give the product away for free
Charge full price with zero social proof / testimonials
Neither approach is optimal.
This is where the “90 day pilot” comes in.
It’s the best of both worlds:
Reduce the prospects uncertainty / risk
Contrast (90 days feels more comfortable to start with when framed against a year / multi year contract)
You make money
The 2nd dollar is significantly easier to make than the 1st one
As a final note, this paid trial strategy played a huge role in us gaining traction back in my startup days.
Here is an example of a talk track:
🐲: Most people we speak with find that it makes more sense to do a 90 day proof of concept / pilot and then reevaluating before deciding on doing a larger implementation. Now obviously if you prefer, we can start with a larger roll out but in my experience it’s just not likely to happen. Anyway how does that sound as a next step?
Chad note: The more options you have for your prospects to spend money with you, the more likely you are to get them to spend money with you.
Equal Status is a Myth
You have probably heard you need to have “have equal status as the prospect” or “equal business stature”
*yawn*
Key takeaway before we continue:
Frames don’t co-exist with each other.
Frames are constantly engulfing each other.
Anyone who has gone through my course already understands this and knows how to play the Frame Game.
Now there are 3 types of Status Gaps:
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
Important Note
Putting the nail in the coffin
Always Be Closing? No thanks..
People chase what moves away from them. People also push back against “No”
What happens when you combine both into your sales process?
Questions 4 Plato.
“How you been?” Who cares!
Less is more!
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Good stuff as always ser.