To pay or not to pay

[reachmypotential]

Hi guys

I have a question that I would like as many differing views on what the answers are as possible.
I have identified a sales company that I would like to use to sell memberships to my website.
They want to run a workshop with 3 members of their staff and myself as they get to know more about my business model, expectations etc. But they want to charge me £750 for the pleasure of the workshop and suggest I sign up to £180 per day to cover the costs of the man hours. once we pass the 'proof of concept' they then expect to take 10% of any monies they make for me as well as me paying for the man hours

It seems a bit much to expect me to pay for them to learn more about the proposition they are going to sell.

Is this standard? can anyone suggest an alternative deal for me to put forward? all help and advise is eagerly recieved.

 

[telemax]

Hi guys

I have a question that I would like as many differing views on what the answers are as possible.
I have identified a sales company that I would like to use to sell memberships to my website.
They want to run a workshop with 3 members of their staff and myself as they get to know more about my business model, expectations etc. But they want to charge me £750 for the pleasure of the workshop and suggest I sign up to £180 per day to cover the costs of the man hours. once we pass the 'proof of concept' they then expect to take 10% of any monies they make for me as well as me paying for the man hours

It seems a bit much to expect me to pay for them to learn more about the proposition they are going to sell.

Is this standard? can anyone suggest an alternative deal for me to put forward? all help and advise is eagerly recieved.

Hi there

Why does this sound really familiar. Weren't you the guy who dfound a telesales company. To damn right they would want to see proof of concept, for example how many memberships have you sold already?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

It seems a bit much to expect me to pay for them to learn more about the proposition they are going to sell.

Why?

If you were to hire a salesperson to work for your company, I presume you'd teach them about your product, your proposition, your upsells, who your ideal prospects are, the selling approaches that have worked best for you in the past.

Would you expect the salesperson to go through all that training for nothing?

If so, do you think you'd have hired the right calibre of salesperson?

Much of the work I do when I'm writing copy for clients is spent learning about their products, services, their business, their market.

And you better bet your life that that time is factored into my fee.

There's no reason why a telemarketer shouldn't do the same.

Steve

 

[reachmypotential]

It seems to me they are talking about them taking on all the risk if it doesn't work. but then there is my outlay and financial exposure that may lead to nothing.

I am happy to pay them for the man hours but I don't think it is right to pay them to learn more about the website, that should be mutual, and as for the 10% commission for doing not a lot .....

 

[ethical PR]

I agree with Steve and Telemax.

You have spoken to a telesales company that you would like to work with. They have explained how they can work with you and have been open about the cost structure involved.

They have allowed in their costs, time for you to bring their team up to date, so they can get an proper understanding of your company and your products/services. This will help them to be able to promote and sell your products/services effectively.

They can't be expected to sell your product/services without this information/training.

As Steve mentioned he factors this 'getting to know you time' into his costs, as do many consultancies in the sales/marketing/pr/design sectors.

You don't feel this is reasonable.

Your solution is simple. Find an alternative telesales company to work with who have a pricing structure/offer that you feel more comfortable with.

 

[reachmypotential]

Okay I pay for the to learn more about my business and then hey decide not to take it forward. I ma out of pocket... I pay for someone to make the sales...I am out of pocket if they don't make any. if they do make sales then I pay for the person making the calls (to the tune of nearly £300) and they then want a commission on top I have worked it out that I would need them to make at least £4,000 before they paid for themselves. and I just can't expose myself to such a high amount with out some guarantees, I am the client but I am taking all the risk that is what I cant get my head around.

 

[telemax]

Okay I pay for the to learn more about my business and then hey decide not to take it forward. I ma out of pocket... I pay for someone to make the sales...I am out of pocket if they don't make any. if they do make sales then I pay for the person making the calls (to the tune of nearly £300) and they then want a commission on top I have worked it out that I would need them to make at least £4,000 before they paid for themselves. and I just can't expose myself to such a high amount with out some guarantees, I am the client but I am taking all the risk that is what I cant get my head around.

It just seems that 99.9% of companies who approach us asking us to take all the risk on a commision only basis have a totally unsaleable product. Why should I expect my company to waste their time with it,

 

[Write My Site]

But would you need to run a 3 person workshop to the tune of £750 to figure out that the product is no good? Seems dodgy to me.

It just seems that 99.9% of companies who approach us asking us to take all the risk on a commision only basis have a totally unsaleable product. Why should I expect my company to waste their time with it,

 

[SusanBryant]

Could you suggest that only 1, or 2 maximum, people from their company come to learn about your product - then you could reduce that initial outlay?

All the best,

Susan

 

[PhilWarman]

Why not make the sales yourself then - no outlay!

 

[Ryan T-Mobile]

It's always a tricky one and many UK business owners are uncomfortable doing it but it may well be worth spending a bit of time negotiating on the price.

Make sure you do your homework first and are able to demonstrate that you're aware of what else is on offer in the market.

I picked this up in Bnet (here) let me know if it helps you out.