High Margin Mindset

Lessons Learned on Chris Lytle’s Tour of the Waterford Crystal Plant

From The Accidental Salesperson

By Chris Lytle

Lesson 1

Qualify your prospects for interest and money early in the sales process. Don’t waste your time or theirs. Waterford: 42 miles trip to the plant, down

narrow Irish roads, and then pay ten bucks for tickets. Committed.

Know what product or product line the prospect is likely to buy. Income, monthly payments, family size, motivation, etc.

Lesson 2 Let your prospects know early that you

have worked with other prestigious clients. People feel more comfortable when they know other smart buyers have recognized quality. I bought my first project to build company resume. I bragged about my Fortune 100 and high profile

clients (with their permission). Waterford: NCAA Div 1 Football Trophy

Lesson 3

Tell stories about the founder and the vision. Don’t just sell your product; sell the people who are behind the product. This humanizes your company and adds value. Accessibility Consultants, Inc. Brochure. Waterford: George and William Penrose,

since 1783. Five years of apprenticeship before blowing a commercial piece.

Lesson 4

Build value into the product at every stage of your sales or manufacturing process. Show your work. People appreciate how

hard you work to meet their needs. Helps support price from cost basis. Waterford: Cutting Room. Extensive

pattern knowledge. Zero tolerance for error.

Lesson 5

Market the training your people go through and the standards to which they are held, not just your product. It’s your people. ACI Brochure. 4 Masters/3 Top People +

Extensive experience in facilities & HR Waterford: Graduation Bowl (after 8 years

of apprenticeship)

Lesson 6

Get people involved with your products. Let people in on some “insider information” that not every buyer would know to look for. I would share information from the Federal

Register, or that I heard from talking with government officials. “The Chairman of the EEOC said…”

Waterford: Find the seahorse logo.

Lesson 7 When you take people through every

step in your process and build value into your product, price is no longer the key issue. Educated customers buy more confidently and spend more freely. I emphasized my training, all the work that

I put into studying the law & the standards. Service (city, state, professional orgs, etc.)

Waterford: See the tour, understand how long, hard, and exacting the process is, and so appreciate the product and accept the price.

Lesson 8

Your own facility is a powerful visual aid. Selling prospects on taking a tour is easier than selling them product. Selling them product is easier after they’ve taken the tour. Chaparral Steel in Midlothian, TX Waterford: People pay full retail price at the

factory store and can’t get enough.

Accidental Salesperson Axiom Selling is teaching. Teaching is selling. Corollary:

An educated customer buys your value proposition whereas an uneducated customer buys on price.

Don’t skip steps in your sales process. Take the time to go through the process. It will lead to fewer objections, and result in less price resistance.

HAPPY NEW YEAR