According to the internet, 57% of salespeople are expected to miss their quota this year. 

Ouch. 

But we’re not going to focus on the pain. It’s all about gain today. 

The good news is this is figure-out-able. You can make your sales number next year. All you have to do is learn and apply this fundamental sales principle. The principle of free. 

Wait…what? I can make my number by learning about free?

That’s right. 

Before things get out of hand…

Right about now I suspect my sales readers are dancing in the streets while my finance compadres are reaching for an oxygen mask. Before someone gets hurt…allow me to explain. 

There are two types of “free” for salespeople to master to make their number next year. None of them have to do with discounting your product or bankrupting your company. Quite the opposite really.

The first type of free to master is working for free. The next is serving for free.

Allow me to explain… 

Working for free

It’s an easy mistake to make, but a lot of salespeople work for free. They spend time with people that will never buy from them. 

A friend of mine often tells his sales team “You’re on commission. Your customer isn’t. They are getting paid while you are not. Don’t work for free.” 

The elite salespeople that I’ve worked with are trying equally to disqualify the deal as they are to qualify it. It takes confidence to tell a potential customer that your services and solutions aren’t a fit for them…and help to point them in a different direction. 

Perhaps one day they will be a fit, but if not now…don’t waste your time or theirs. Meaning, don’t work for free. 

This leads us to the next type of free worth mastering…

 Serving for free

I like taking sales calls. It’s fun sitting in the visitor’s section and seeing the game from a different perspective. 

One day I met with a lady that runs her own sales consultancy. After our initial meeting, I said, “man I feel like I got so much value out of this call that I’m already a customer.” 

“Then I’ve done my job,” she said. “My goal is to make the other person feel like they would have paid for the meeting.”

 “A buyer wants a consultant masquerading as a salesperson.”

 – Ed Wallace 

This is where the concept of a trusted advisor comes from. If you want to hit your number next year, serve the right customer for free first with your knowledge, credibility, and expert advice. Start by helping them solve their problem and the business will follow.

My new friend Mark Roberts said recently on the Level Up podcast, “sales is the ultimate act of service.”

Who can you serve next? 

This is how you can use free to hit your number next year.