Monday Morning Manager
Symptoms:
Pete was facing the usual challenge that most salespeople face every day and every week. How does he know when to try to "close" the sale? He heard that a salesperson's job is not to close, but to help buyers get off the "think it over" fence. Had he done the work he needed to make this happen? Would anyone disagree that the better the prospect is qualified, the easier it will be to get a decision?
Diagnosis:
Closing starts by working with qualified opportunities that are willing and able to make a decision. Most salespeople still can't wait to make a presentation in front of anyone that will listen because they don't have much traction to begin with anyways. When a poor job has been done qualifying, we find that presentations are not very effective and are ended with a high "think it over" rate. When salespeople do not set up decision expectations at the onset, buyers feel no accountability to the process and a decision.
When this happens, any efforts at business development are really just professional conversation.
Now fast forward to your presentation. Let's pretend you had to give a presentation right now to a buyer who you had not talked with about the expectations of getting to either a Yes or a No in some agreed upon time frame. You don't know their process, who has authority, or if there's anything in their world you can help them solve. So, you press on. You'd have to tell them about every problem, need and want that your product or service addresses, wouldn't you? You couldn't leave anything out. You'd lead with your most important features and continue right down to your least important. You'd discuss each feature, its benefits, and how it solves the problem.
Since the buyer has not been given a chance to tell you what he is looking for, or even if he is willing to move the process forward, he is under no obligation to respond to your presentation or proposal with a decision. Buyer's rarely feel any guilt when you give them all your information and they give nothing in return.
Prescription:
Put buyers on notice early in the process that you will give them a presentation or a proposal only after you understand their problems and priorities, and you expect a decision in exchange.
Never leave a meeting without an agreement to do something that moves the deal toward a decision for Yes or No.
At the least, never leave a meeting without scheduling the next. Little commitments throughout the sales process leads to big results on the sales board. With every "Sale of the Moment" you will move that much closer to a decision.
Critical Thinking:
How many conversations are you having right now that have no next steps or maybe the next steps are being held for 2021? Is there a way you can circle back and set the next steps?
Final Thought for the Morning:
Never agree to anything unless you know what is supposed to happen next.
"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."
Your Top 3 Goals & Tactics for the Week
LAST WEEK: Update us on how things went last week with your stated Goals and GD Tactics.
THIS WEEK: Please share your Top 3 Goals for this week and the GD tactics you plan to deploy.
