Look, I run a pretty large roster of people in our sales training programs—public training, in-house programs, executive coaching, and offering support to those who have been through our programs before. While they’re not active clients, they still reach out asking, “Hey, can I get 10 minutes of your time?”
This idea keeps bubbling up over and over, so I wanted to challenge all of you to think about what you're doing out there. And that challenge is not leaving a sales conversation too soon.
One of the ways we reinforce this with our clients is by telling them: Never leave a meeting feeling good.
In other words, if you haven’t pushed yourself outside your comfort zone by asking a prospect, “Are you sure we’re done and don’t need to go over anything else?”—then you’re probably not being as bold as you need to be.
We’re all in business development at some point, and like 99% of people, it’s easy to develop a case of happy ears. You get great answers to your great questions. People tell you how much they like what you’re doing. They even say, “We can see this working for us.” And then your brain and ego start whispering, “Don’t mess it up. Don’t ask any more questions. Don’t get too pushy.”
So, before you do the right work, you find yourself out in your car or hanging up the phone, giving yourself a personal high five on a job well done.
All of that feels great—until you get that voicemail, text, or email saying:
"Hey, before you process this, give me a call."
We dread it. We hate it. And deep down, we already know what’s coming.
Why does this happen? Because you didn’t stay in the game long enough.
You didn’t ask the tough questions that make you uncomfortable. And those uncomfortable topics are often the very ones that could blow up a deal that looked absolutely perfect.
Take the time to ask a polite but firm:
- “Are you sure you’re comfortable?”
- “Are you sure we’ve covered everything?”
- “What else should we have talked about before we take this to the final step?”
- “Is there anything that still isn’t as clear or concise as you’d like it to be?”
Don’t be afraid to kick the sleeping dog—because those are the things that wake up and bite you before you get a chance to cash the check you thought you had already earned.
Wake up and stop leaving meetings too soon. You cannot scare away a true prospect. And you won’t truly believe that until you practice the discipline of sticking in the game, asking the tough questions, and daring yourself to go further than your competitors.
It will change the way you see business development. It will return more business, at better prices, with fewer backouts that drive you crazy.
Take care, have a great weekend, and sell strong next Monday!
