In a recent Quid Pro Quo Sales training recent class, I informed the group that their new compensation plan for the year included them paying for any marketing literature they use.  I told them pocket brochures were $5, inserts were $1.50 each, and when they mailed out the
materials, they had to pay for their own postage.  Of course, right before they strung me up, I told them I was only kidding.  But, the point was made. 

I followed up with the question, “If that was the new plan would they conduct themselves differently?”  The wrong, but honest answer was yes.  From a sales person’s perspective, it’s not the cost of literature that will hurt you, it’s the lack of control. 

The foundation of Quid Pro Quo Selling is that anytime a prospect asks for anything, the sales person must get something reasonable back in return.  That might be access to a higher level, a meeting, getting competitive information, or it could mean a thousand other things.  There is always information and access sales people want/need throughout the sales cycle .  Using the Quid Pro Quo approach to help themselves gain this information and stay in control of the sales cycle makes all the difference.

Another common mistake and example of using Quid Pro Quo is in the reference checking area.  Without exception, regardless of what you sell, all prospective buyers want to check references at some point in the sales cycle.  Again, what most sales people will do is offer their references, giving total control to the prospect and sit back and wait.  They usually wait, and wait, and wait.  Prospects never call the references as quickly as we’d like. There are always excellent excuses why they haven’t completed this step in their evaluation:

- Haven’t had time
- Made a call but they haven’t called me back yet
- I misplaced the list
- Waiting to get references from your competitor

The fact is, your sales cycle is stalled again and is going nowhere until the prospect calls your references and is satisfied that your solution/offering will fill their needs.  An alternative would be to tell your prospect you would be glad to offer them as many references as they care to call. Your company policy is to have the sales person set prospects up with your customers.  Then, set up a 3-way call with a set schedule for your prospect and customer.  The reason for this policy is that you do not want your customers bothered with a lot of tire kicking calls and disrupting their day.  After your prospect becomes a client you will offer them the same courtesy.   What this does for you is keep you in control. 

You control the time frame, the references checking step gets completed, and sometimes you can even control the conversation.  Some prospects will prefer you not be on the line when the reference checks are being done.  That’s fine, set the call up, do the introductions and drop off the line.  You still remain in control! There are too many examples and stories to tell in this article how employing the Quid Pro Quo Sales approach has made a significant impact on company’s revenues and the sales person’s bank account.