Something that happens quite often when selling: you're talking to one of the right people. You might be talking with some of the people that are in the process. You might be talking (and they might love you) to one of them: technical, manager, procurement, economic buyer. While doing it, others are left. And they become your blind spot. Involve everyone who is part of the decision in your process. That'll give you better chances at moving forward, or stopping the process when things don't...

Somewhere, I read that price (or even pricing) is strategy. It's not. It CAN give you a better position or approach in a strategy, yet it's A factor for strategy (in your business). Price is advantage. It's what makes your public claim of expertise make sense —or not. It's what makes your promise give a sense of your deliverability. It's what makes your offering be good, good enough or too good to be true. It's what can be your advantage.

You've seen this everywhere. Every vendor is a (or wants to, or feels like) a strategic partner to their customers. Allow me to push back a bit on it. If that's so, what's the shared risk between them and their customers? To be a partner means that you also have skin in the game. Is a vendor really a partner?