Make Recommendations Prospects Choose to Buy

Ever send a quote and then watch the deal disappear into a black hole? We’ve been there. That’s why we’re flipping the script on proposals and walking through a practical system that replaces quotes with three clear, tailored recommendations built from discovery. When buyers feel forced, they stall. When buyers see options that match their goals, they choose.

We open by exposing the hidden problem with quotes: they trigger comparison shopping and give prospects permission to end the conversation. Then we move to a simple, repeatable framework—offer three options that solve the same problem in different ways, keep pricing in a similar range, and lead with the benefits the buyer said they want. This isn’t a good-better-best upsell ladder; it’s a choice architecture that restores control and reduces friction. You’ll hear how to design each option around the customer’s priorities so you can genuinely support any selection with confidence.

From there, we get tactical. Present live on Zoom or in person to keep momentum. Use visuals to anchor benefits, not dense text that reads like a manual. Keep things short, specific, and tied to outcomes: Did we include everything we discussed, and how does this help you get what you want? We also cover transparency on must-know constraints, avoiding rabbit holes that derail focus, and using Q&A to uncover which option resonates. By the end, you’ll know how to guide the decision without pressure and set up the “magic question” that helps buyers move forward with clarity.

If you’re ready to stop being shopped and start being chosen, this conversation gives you the language and steps to make it happen. Subscribe for more practical sales strategy, share this with a teammate who’s stuck in quote land, and leave a review to tell us which part you’ll try first.

Chapters

• 0:00 Why Quotes Kill Momentum
• 0:44 Show Welcome And Mission
• 2:17 The Power Of Recommendations
• 4:02 Three Options Beat One Or Two
• 6:23 How To Present Live And Clear
• 9:36 Stay Focused And Invite Questions
• 10:45 Teaser And Closing CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

What do you do when you get a quote? I mean, think about it. If I get a quote, what's the first thing that goes through my mind? Well, first thing I think about is I've got to go to somebody else that's going to give me a second quote so I can compare it. Now, I don't know about you, but I am not excited about giving my prospect a reason to go find and talk to my competition. The other reason to stay away from that word is this. Once I get a quote, I can say thank you and never entertain another conversation with you. I asked for a quote. You gave it to me, and now we're done. Welcome to the Commission Code Podcast. We're here to help you overcome the challenges that most of us face in our business from time to time. You know, it things like feeling like you're on a plateau and you just need to grow your business or maybe feeling overwhelmed and trying to begin to meet, and yet it seems like you're always working. Or maybe you've done quite well for a while, but you know, nothing seems to be working anymore. Well, we want to help you solve those problems and many more. Our objective is to provide you with practical solutions so you can grow your business and have more time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. My name is Morris Sims, and I'm going to be your host for this show. I've spent years, okay, decades really in the corporate world teaching business owners how to increase their revenue and use professional sales processes and run their business more effectively and efficiently. I started my own consulting and training business about seven years ago again, so I'm helping my clients do just exactly that. Get more revenue, increase their revenue, and have more time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. I gotta tell you, I'm having more fun than ever helping people build successful businesses. So, with all that said, let's get on with today's episode of the Commission Code for your success. It's Friday once again, and I'm happy about it. I don't know about you, but I'm happy. Today, let's talk about recommendations. This one may be a bit longer than most Friday shows because it is very important, but there's some really good stuff in here that, again, it's stuff that I really believe you can use today. Creating the recommendation for your prospect based on what you learned in discovery is where your knowledge and expertise is going to shine. This is where you use all that product knowledge that you've learned during your career. With all that discovery information, you build recommendations to present to the client. Now, two points to think about when you're building recommendations. Number one, a professional makes recommendations. Generally, it's an amateur salesperson that talks about providing a quote. Oh, I don't like that word. Or it might be somebody that sells a commodity, which is a product or service that's readily available from a whole bunch of different suppliers. So it really all comes down to price. Well, I believe that if you're listening to this podcast, probably you sell a product or service that is unique, and it's not something the prospect could readily get anywhere else. And that means you're not selling based on price. And if you are, I'd suggest you rethink that one. We can't get into that today, but the recommendation part is important. See, recommendations, you're a professional, you give the prospect a few choices. Now, I like to do three so that they have a choice and they can really feel good about what they choose. We all love to buy, but we hate to be sold, right? So we give them a chance to buy. Now, we do not provide quotes. What do you do when you get a quote? I mean, think about it. If I get a quote, what's the first thing that goes through my mind? Well, first thing I think about is I've got to go to somebody else that's gonna give me a second quote so I can compare it. Now, I don't know about you, but I am not excited about giving my prospect a reason to go find and talk to my competition. The other reason to stay away from that word is this. Once I get a quote, I can say thank you and never entertain another conversation with you. I asked for a quote. You gave it to me, and now we're done. I feel no responsibility to follow up with you going forward. I got my quote. That's what you said you were gonna do, that's what I asked for, we're done. So I would really suggest you try your best, if if it is, to get that word quote out of your vocabulary. Secondly, I do suggest three recommendations. Why? Well, let's talk about it. Again, we want to give the client or the prospect a choice, and a choice between three different things is better than a choice between one and two. You feel like you've got more more uh control, more options. Now, you don't want to go for five or six recommendations because then we're gonna definitely run into procrastination because there's too many, there are too many choices to make. And gee, I got to think about five different things. Now, three. Three is sort of an ideal number. So three. That's what I recommend. Now, we're not talking about uh, you know, good, better, best here. They're all about the same price when you do this right. It's three options for the client that they've got different benefits, but they all solve the prospect's problem. They all hit the key points that you learned during discovery. So in reality, you don't care which one they chose, you just want to help them choose one of the three. And once they do, you can honestly say, Man, that's great. When I built that one, I thought it would be good for you. Because that's the same thing you thought when you built all three. So once you have your three recommendations done, it's time to present them to the prospect. So here are a few more practical things that you can think about when you get ready to do your presentation, when you prepare for that presentation, because it does take some thought and prep and preparation to do this right. First of all, present your recommendations live. Maybe over the phone or on Zoom or in person. Zoom or in person would be my choice and my my desire if I can make it work. Just make sure it is a live conversation. Sending the prospect an email that has an attachment with uh three recommendations becomes a business proposal that well, at that point might as well have been a quote, which we do not like and we do not want to do, right? Yeah, it's a pet peeve. What can I say? Number two, use visuals and graphics or PowerPoint. And you can do that. They're good if you do it properly. And that means you use it as a graphic, not as a word processor. PowerPoint screens that are filled with words and sentences. Uh that's not a graphic anymore, it's a word processing document. Graphics are for are for presenting recommendations using like bullet points of specific benefits. So, you know, here are three things that are the top benefits for this recommendation. And each one has those top three benefits for that unique recommendation. So that gives the the client something to refer to, something to see visually, and and that tends to help. This presentation part though, look, this is not an hour worth of you talking. It should be concise and focused on the benefits of each recommendation. It's not a pro and con kind of thing. It's the benefits. Short, sweet, and to the point. You want to answer the question, gee, did you include all the stuff we talked about in this? And also, how is this recommendation going to help me get what I told you I wanted? Those are the questions you're trying to answer. And it's okay to refer back to those things as you present the benefits. You know, Sam, this one has a time flux converter, and you mentioned to me that time flux converters were important to you. So I wanted to make sure this is in here for you. Number three, stay on target. Try your best not to go down any rat holes. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, you need to share with your prospect the benefits of the options that they need to know to be able to make a good decision. They don't need to be the expert that you are about your product. So you're not trying to tell them everything you know. You're trying to give them what they need to make a decision. Now, complete comp complete transparency, yeah, absolutely. On the important facts, you know, this is a non-refundable option. You gotta put that up front somewhere, you know? They need to know that in order to make a good decision. And it's just the right thing to do, right? We're not trying to hide anything or or or cover up anything. We're just trying to get to the important stuff. Remember, when somebody asks you what time it is, they don't really want to know how your Rolex was built and how it works internally, and why uh Rolex is the best company for watches and the the best model of Rolex Rolex is the the uh Daytona. And uh gee, golly, gee, you're just gonna have to buy this because it's a Rolex. No, they don't want to know that. They want to know why it's the best option for them. And number four, don't shy away from questions. It is in the question and answer process that you're gonna begin to understand which recommendation makes the best connection with your prospect. At the same time, you know, don't forget number three, stay out of the rat holes. But once you present your recommendation, ah, now's when the fun part comes along. That's when you get to ask the magic question. And that's what we're going to talk about next time: helping the prospect decide to buy. I'll see you next Friday. Best wishes. Well, that does it for this episode of the Commission Code Podcast. This is the place where we want to help you find the Commission Code to success in your business. Remember, go to Morris Sims.com for more information. And in the meantime, hey, have a great week. Get out there and meet somebody new, and we'll see you again next time, right here on the Commission Code. Best wishes, I'm Morris Sims.