How Do I Close More Sales? A Sales and Negotiation Coach Answers

If prospects keep pushing back on price or going quiet after the first conversation, it's natural to assume you need to get better at selling. Brian McDonald, a sales and negotiation coach, hears the question "How do I close more sales?" all the time. Here's his answer.

Short answer: The problem usually isn't your sales skills. It's that buyers can't see a real difference between you and your competitors, so they compare on price. The fix is real differentiation, starting with what you do structurally that competitors can't easily copy.

How do I close more sales?

According to Brian, start by looking at your position, not your pitch. If buyers can't tell you apart from everyone else, even great sales skills won't stop them from comparing on price. When your difference is clear, the right buyers choose you more easily.

Why do prospects keep asking for a lower price?

Brian says most entrepreneurs sound exactly like their competitors, with the same language, the same promises, and the same positioning. When buyers can't see a real difference, they do the only logical thing: they compare on price.

Will better messaging or branding fix it?

Not on its own. Brian says most people try to fix this with a sharper tagline, better messaging, or a nicer website. But branding sits on top of a position. If there's no real position underneath, you're just decorating.

What is real differentiation?

Brian says real differentiation starts with mechanism: what you actually do, structurally, that a competitor would have to rebuild their business to copy. When you can name it clearly, the right buyers self-select in, price resistance drops, and referrals get easier, because people can describe you in one sentence.

How do I find what makes my business different?

Brian suggests starting with one question: What problem do you solve that others in your space consistently miss? Your answer is the starting point for a position that buyers can see and remember.

Transcript

"A question I get asked all the time: how do I learn how to close more people and convert more sales? I'm Brian McDonald, and I'm a sales and negotiation coach, and you can find me on ProPass in the App Store. Look, if your prospects keep asking for a lower price or going quiet after the first conversation, the problem probably isn't your sales skills. Most entrepreneurs sound exactly like their competitors: same language, same promises, same positioning. And when buyers can't see a real difference between you and everyone else, they do the only logical thing. They compare on price. Here's what most people get wrong. They try to fix this with better messaging, a sharper tagline, a nicer website. But branding sits on top of a position. If there's no real position underneath, you're just decorating. Real differentiation starts with mechanism: what you actually do structurally that a competitor would have to rebuild their business to copy. When you can name that clearly, the right buyers self-select in, price resistance drops, and referrals get easier, because people can describe you in one sentence. If you want to find yours, start by answering this: what problem do you solve that others in your space consistently miss? And if you want to learn more and get insights like this, you can find me on ProPass in the App Store."

Watch Brian answer the question (tap the video to play):