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- When do you celebrate in sales? When you close the deal? I don't think so. When the contract is signed? Uh-uh. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There's only one time to celebrate in sales. Want to know what it is? Join me on this episode of The Dave Lorenzo Daily. (electronic music) Welcome to another edition of The Dave Lorenzo Daily. Today we're talking about the only time, the only time you can celebrate in sales. I'm going to share with you when that is. But first, if you're brand new here, if this is the first time you and I have ever gotten together, welcome. I'm really glad that you're here. For those of you who are joining me again for the 15th, 16th, 20th time, or the 40th time, thank you for joining me. It's so great to have you back here again. It is fantastic to see your smiling face. Well, I'm actually not, I can't see there. You know what I mean. Anyway, I'm really glad you're here. Thanks for being here. Those of you who are brand new, there's a Subscribe button, it looks like this. I want you to subscribe, click that button. There's a little bell, ring the little bell, and the reason you should ring the little bell is because it provides you with push notifications. We go live every once in a while, about once a week, and we do interviews with people who give you great sales tips, people who give you great ideas you can use immediately. I want you to join me when I go live. You need to have the push notifications on in order to get notified. Push notifications on? You get notified. Ring the bell. Just push the button and ring the bell. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. The only time, the only time you can celebrate in sales is when you get paid. That's it. The only time you can celebrate in sales is when you get paid, and I'm going to show you today how to take away all your issues about getting paid. I have people who I work with who tell me all the time, "I close the deal. "I send the contract, they sign the contract, "I send the invoice, and then I wait, "and I wait, and I wait, and sometimes "I get paid in 60 days, sometimes in 90 days, "sometimes 180 days, a few times, "I didn't get paid at all." You can't celebrate until you get the money in the bank. So my rule of thumb is a deal isn't a deal until I get paid and I get paid up-front. That's right. I've made my entire living, made my entire career, millions of dollars in sales, getting 90% of my clients to pay up-front. I've gotten really tough clients, like IBM, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, people who said, that people said they would never pay. These companies, these big companies pay net 60, or net 120, or net 180 even, you wait half a year for your payment. No way, not Dave Lorenzo. I'm going to share with you some ideas to present your value in a way that will get you paid up-front. First, start your conversation with these folks by saying that you deliver value and present the value you deliver. We talk about that here all the time on The Dave Lorenzo Daily. You can find a dozen videos on discussions of value versus discussions of fees, that sort of thing. So focus on the value and help your client understand that part of being compensated for that value is being compensated up-front. Help them realize that all of your pricing, everything that you've presented to them, is based upon the fact that you get paid in one lump sum up-front. And then, if they decide they want the payments broken up, you can charge a fee premium or figure out some other way to enhance the value to you for making that accommodation. You see, it's all how you frame this in the mind of your client. When you explain to your client that you get paid up-front and that's part of the terms of the deal, the client will adjust to that fact in their mind, and if there's any negotiation process, the negotiation will include you getting paid up-front or you receiving some other value in return. Now, I've gotten objections, I've gotten feedback, from people that say, "Dave, my client tells "me they don't have the authority "to issue a payment up-front," or, "to issue payments on a more rapid basis." I guarantee you there is someone in the company, someone in the organization, who has the authority to get you paid when you want to be paid. Your challenge is to find that person and demonstrate your value to them. You can make your client the hero and say to your client, "Listen, I get it. "I understand." Remember, always agree. Don't fight with them. "Listen, Mr. Client, I understand. "You don't have the final say on the payment terms. "I get it. "Why don't you and I go and present "my solution to the person who does have the final say "on payment terms?" Let me tell you a little story. When I worked with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, we had a huge challenge. We had a big, big deal with them in north of $10 million in business on an annual basis, and our challenge was that they never paid up-front. They wanted payment terms, and they wanted payment terms where we started work without getting any money, and then, in 60 days, we'd get the first installment, so they would always be ahead of us, and I said it's a deal-breaker. We can't do it. We always get our money up-front. Let's say the deal's $10 million. You're going to pay me $10 million up-front and we're going to do the work. They said, "It's a year-long study, Dave. "How about we pay a million dollars a month "and we start in month two, and then "we end on the last month when you do the deliverables?" And I said, "No way." They said, "Fine, Dave. "Here's what we'll do. "We'll pay you a million dollars a month "for the first 10 months," and I said, "No. "I can't do that. "You can either pay me the $10 million up-front "or you can pay me a million dollars a month "for 12 months, so you pay a $2 million premium "for breaking it up." And they looked at me and they said, "No, "we're not going to do that," and I said, "Okay, then, well, we probably don't have a deal." But I said, "Let me ask you this question. "If there was one person in this entire organization "who could authorize a one-time $10 million payment, "who would it be?" And they said, "It's our CFO." And I said, "Why don't you and I," I'm talking to my client now, who had economic authority. He had contract-signing authority. "Why don't you and I go see the CFO, "present the whole solution, and offer those two options. "Either you pay me the $10 million up-front "or a million dollars a month for 12 months. "Let's see what happens." And the client said (stammers). He hemmed and hawed, and I said, "I really want to do this deal. "I know you really want to do this deal. "Give it a shot." We went in and we presented the entire program. I let my client present the benefits to the organization. The CFO agreed that the benefits were valuable, and I said, "Now, Mr. CFO, we're hung up "because we have this payment term issue. "You see, I get paid up-front. "That's the way I have to work in my business, "but you can't pay me up-front. "Joe says you can't pay me up-front, "but he does say that you're the one person "that could authorize a one-time payment up-front "of any amount, hundreds of millions "of dollars, if you wanted. "Is that true?" The CFO said, "Yes, I'm the CFO. "Of course it's true." And I said, "Okay, so the payment terms are "either $10 million and we start the project, "and the project goes for 12 months, "and we deliver in December, or $1 million a month, "every month, for 12 months." And the CFO said, "Well, we'd be paying $2 million more "and not getting anything more in return." And I said, "Ah, but you are. "You're getting to spread those payments "out over 12 months," and he said, "It's not worth it. "We'll just pay the 10 million up-front." That's how I got Pfizer to pay me the $10 million up-front. People said it would never be done, it could never be done. I did it. Here's the thing. Any time someone says that we can't do it, no one will authorize it, there's always someone in the company who can authorize it. You present the value to that person. Don't wait for your client to present it, and you'll make the deal. So remember, you win when you get paid, and you should get paid up-front as often as possible. Almost 99% of the time, you can make it happen. I just showed you how to make it happen. When do you celebrate in sales? Not when you sign the contract, not when you close the deal, not when you shake hands. When you get paid. That's when you celebrate in sales. I'm Dave Lorenzo. We'll see you right back here tomorrow, but until then, I hope you do this and sell more. (electronic music)