Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How a Sales Rep Won by Asking for a Third-Party Audit
Transcript
- Lucas: I came across a story about a sales rep at a manufacturing software company that made me stop and think about how we handle buyer skepticism. Luna: I'm all ears. What'd they do? Lucas: The buyer was the VP of operations at a mid-size factory, and they'd been burned before by vendors overpromising. So they were dragging their feet on a sizable deal, maybe eight hundred thousand dollars. Luna: Classic 'prove it' posture. Lucas: Right. The rep could have offered a pilot, a free trial, a reference call. Instead, she said something like: 'If you're not comfortable taking my word for it, let's hire an independent consultant to audit our product against your requirements. I'll split the cost with you.' Luna: Wait, she asked the buyer to pay for an outside audit of her own product? That's bold. Lucas: Exactly. The buyer was surprised. But they agreed to a fifty-fifty split on a ten thousand dollar engagement with a firm that specialized in manufacturing tech evaluations. Luna: What if the audit came back negative? Lucas: She told me later she was confident in the product. But she also structured it so that if the audit found issues, they'd have a roadmap to fix them before going live. So it wasn't all-or-nothing. Luna: So she turned a potential objection into a collaboration. The buyer felt like they were in control. Lucas: That's the key. The audit validated the product across five dimensions. The buyer's team saw the raw data. The deal closed at full price three weeks later. Luna: That's a really creative way to handle the 'I don't trust you' dynamic without being defensive. Lucas: You know, it's those kinds of real-world stories that make this show useful, and a couple of dollars a month from listeners is what keeps it ad-free. Luna: Yeah, if these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: So back to the tactic. The rep also framed the cost as a shared investment. Ten thousand dollars split two ways is nothing on an eight-hundred-thousand-dollar deal, but it showed she was willing to put her money where her mouth was. Luna: It also forced the buyer to put some skin in the game. They couldn't just walk away after the audit without a good reason. Lucas: Right. And the audit did more than just confirm features. It uncovered a few integration quirks that the rep's team then fixed before implementation, which saved headaches down the line. Luna: So the process actually improved the outcome for both sides. Lucas: That's the beauty of it. She didn't just sell software; she sold a smooth transition. And she built a relationship that led to an expansion deal six months later. Luna: What advice would you give a rep thinking of trying this? Lucas: First, you have to be confident your product can withstand scrutiny. If you're not, fix that before you try this move. Second, be transparent about how the auditor will be selected — jointly, not unilaterally. Luna: And third? Lucas: Be ready for the buyer to propose a different scope. In this case, the VP wanted to include a benchmark against a competitor. The rep agreed, even though that added risk. But it also made the result more credible. Luna: So she leaned into the risk. That's a sign of real conviction. Lucas: Exactly. And the competitor came out slightly ahead on one metric — but the overall report was so favorable to her product that the buyer didn't care. Luna: I can see this working best in complex B2B deals where the consequences of a wrong decision are high. Not so much for low-ticket transactional sales. Lucas: Right. If you're selling a fifty-dollar SaaS subscription, asking for a five-thousand-dollar audit is absurd. But for enterprise deals with six- or seven-figure price tags, it signals serious commitment. Luna: It also differentiates you from every other vendor who's just offering a demo and a case study. Lucas: Yeah. Most salespeople try to make it easier for the buyer to say yes. This rep made it easier for the buyer to feel smart about saying yes. Luna: That's a great line. Lucas: I can't take credit. That's how she described it in the debrief. She said, 'I wanted them to have their own evidence, not just my evidence.' Luna: It's a different philosophy of persuasion. Instead of telling, you let them discover. Lucas: And it works because it respects the buyer's intelligence. You're not trying to trick them. You're saying, 'I believe in this so much that I'll let you investigate it on your own terms.' Luna: Have you seen other reps use similar tactics? Lucas: I've seen variations. One rep asked the buyer's engineering team to run a two-week stress test on the product. Another offered to reimburse the buyer if the product didn't meet a specific SLA after six months. But this audit play is unique because it brings in a third party. Luna: It takes the salesperson out of the picture, which can actually strengthen the relationship. Lucas: It also flips the script on the typical vendor-buyer power dynamic. The rep was saying, 'I'm not afraid of your scrutiny. In fact, I'll pay for it.' That's a power move. Luna: It's like when a job candidate says, 'Feel free to check my references deeply.' It signals confidence. Lucas: Exactly. And it's memorable. The buyer told me they still talk about that audit two years later. That rep is now their trusted partner for any new initiative. Luna: That's the goal, isn't it? Not just a transaction but a long-term relationship. Lucas: And it started with a simple ask: 'Let's bring in someone else to check my work.' I think there's a lesson there for all of us. Luna: Agreed. Thanks for sharing that story. Lucas: Sure. And if you have a story about a creative ask that worked, let us know. We'd love to feature it on the show.