How often does this happen? You did your due diligence, you had a series of great meetings, your presentation went well, the prospect seemed enthusiastic and then—radio silence. You call, you write, you email, you text, you call again—and still nothing. You wish they would just tell you “No” rather than leave you hanging. What went wrong? Maybe it wasn’t what you presented, but what you didn’t know. Did you cover the following…
“Where” are they in the buying process?
Where are they in their decision-making? Are they doing initial research? Research done, now checking out field of vendors? Vendors identified, now deciding between
top two/three? Prospects in different stages of decision-making require different sales strategies.
“Who” is impacted by a purchase?
Have you spoken to everyone impacted by the purchase of your product/services. Many people can’t say “Yes,” but many influencers can say “No” and kill your sale.
Does the prospect agree on the value of a solution, the pain of no action and the importance of urgency
What is at stake and how important is that? Depending on the industry, what is the amount of revenue expected? Being lost? Advantages of early implementation? Consequences of being late to market? Advantages of retaining best talent? Cost of losing/missing top talent? Value of a lifetime customer? Cost of replacing top customers, Etc. Insufficient pain or gain–and lack of perceived importance of those–to a prospect means no sale.
Did you influence the buying criteria in your favor?
You likely know your products/services and the competitive landscape better than prospects do. Go beyond explaining your features and benefits and educate prospects what to look for. Raise issues that they may not have thought of. When they can see a clear advantage to working with you, they generally will.
No Perfect World
Will there still be tire-kickers and people too rude, or too uncomfortable, to tell you “No?” Of course, but you can reduce the number of times you have to deal with these people by following the suggestions above.
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
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