Nikki Rausch, Founder and CEO of Sales Maven
CEO of Sales Maven, Nikki Rausch has the unique ability to transform the misunderstood process of “selling”. With 25+ years of selling experience, entrepreneurs and small business owners now hire Nikki to show them how to sell successfully and authentically. Nikki has written 3 books, all available on Amazon. And she has a podcast called Sales Maven which you can find on your favorite podcast platform.
Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn, Youtube, Instagram, or through her website.
Nikki’s Insights
Charging for results – not time. Delivering results for clients is something you should be getting paid for without feeling guilty about how much you charge.
Red Handled Wrench
Years ago one of my teachers shared a story that has stuck with me over the years. She referred to it as The Red Handled Wrench Story. The story starts out with a cruise ship about to leave port for a 7-day cruise. The ship is completely sold out, the passengers are aboard and the crew is ready to set sail. It’s in the final moments of preparing to leave the dock that the ship’s crew realizes there’s a problem. They can’t get the engine to start.
The Expert
After the crew has done everything they know how to do to get the engine started and failed, they admit to the captain they’re at a loss. The captain starts to worry that they’re going to have to refund all of the passengers their money. He orders the crew to call an old retired engineer. He’s desperate to get the old engineer to come and attempt to get the ship’s engine to start. When the old engineer arrives, the crew notices he’s not brought a toolbox. He has one tiny red-handed wrench sticking out of his shirt pocket.
Once in the engine room, the old engineer slowly walks around and presses his ear close to parts of the engine. After five minutes, the old engineer takes out the red-handled wrench and taps 3 times on a part of the engine. Tap, tap, tap. Then, he turns to the crew and informs them that the engine is ready to start. They are shocked but they attempt to start the engine. And to everyone’s surprise, the ship starts. The old engineer pulls out an invoice from his back pocket, hands it to a crew member, and leaves. The ship sets sail and all is well.
The Bill
Days later as the captain is reviewing the old engineer’s bill, he shocked to see it’s for $13,000. His crew said it only took the old engineer five minutes and one tiny red-handled wrench to fix the problem. How could it possibly cost so much? The captain feeling smug, emails the old engineer and asks for an itemized bill. He figures there was no way the old engineer can justify the price.
The captain receives a response that states:
* Red Handled Wrench $5.00
* Knowing Where To Tap $12,995
* Total $13,000
Knowing Where To Tap
Having the expertise to solve a problem isn’t about how much time you spend, it’s about knowing where to tap. Stop trying to justify your prices based on time spent or tools used. Take a few minutes to acknowledge what it is about your work that is the “knowing where to tap”. Being keenly aware of this will boost your confidence as well as give you language to talk about what you do and who your ideal client is.