Good morning and happy Monday.
Let’s start on a happy note, shall we? With a good ole’ Mexican shootout.
Ever heard the term?
Not talking about the ones you see on the news, or well maybe you might, but these don’t involve death. Not even guns actually.
In business, a Mexican (or Texas…) shootout, is the practice of settling a dispute or the purchase of a company.
Stakeholders make their bids on the share price in closed envelopes, and a supervisor opens them up.
The highest bidder buys the company at that price.
Simple, clean – and ruthless.
I’m a firm believer that sometimes you need a Mexican shootout to clear the air.
In fact, I consider all my client proposals like if they were Mexican shootouts.
I’m simply bidding what I’m willing and comfortable pricing my services at. And if they end up working for the client, great.
Otherwise, I’ll keep my time for more qualified clients.
In a way, I think it’s a good way to think about your prospects’ experience too.
Before buying from you, you want them to be at piece with their decision.
Subconsciously they should be comfortable making their bid. Especially if they have to go through a demo before knowing your price (common for enterprise B2B SaaS).
You want them to be able to take into account all the variables, all the pieces of information and all the probabilities that you’ll be on the right path toward a solution for them.
And then they should seal their envelope and let you do the rest.
The only difference obviously is that, a Mexican shootout is a zero-sum game. One wins, the others lose.
But with your prospects?
They can’t lose. And you should make it clear.
Even if you don’t end up working together, they should have gotten value out of the interaction.
You should have educated them throughout the process.
Ideally, they are now slightly more aware, slightly more sophisticated and more confident.
It’s what marketing guru Jay Abraham calls the strategy of preeminence:
“Preeminence means being seen in your market as the most trusted advisor for life. You are there to make a profound and sustaining difference in their lives and you’re there for them, forever, whether they monetarily reward you or not.”
A good Mexican shootout is sometimes what you need to create preeminence.
Because knowing your prospects will go through it, will force you to ask yourself how can you make sure they have everything they need to be at peace with dropping their closed envelope on the table.
It’s ruthless, yes, but the alternative might just mean a lack of clarity and decisiveness.
Your move.
Are your prospects confused, lazy, or procrastinating on making a decision? Get in touch and we’ll make sure they move forward. No guns involved, promise.
