Don’t assume things in sales, doing so will often work against you!
Imagine discussing your product or services for weeks or months with someone and realizing that they’re not a decision-maker.
I’m willing to bet, for a lot of you, your imagination won’t need to stretch too far, because this is a common occurrence for salespeople across every industry.
Still, I want to highlight the importance of asking “Who else?” not just while prospecting and first connecting with a potential buyer, but even after you’ve made the sale with a contact within an organization.
One client of mine assumed that they were working with the only decision-maker in that particular organization. This assumption went unchallenged, not for a few weeks or months…but for 10 years! Their relationship with the contact was so strong that the organization became their biggest customer. All is well here, right? Not so fast.
After a reorganization, they discovered that there were two other people in exactly the same positions in the organization giving 2/3 of the business to their competition. That’s right. Not only was there “untapped” potential, but that potential was worth over $2 million (across that 10 year period) and it went directly in the hands of the competition.
This is just one example of what a simple assumption can cost you.
What else could you be assuming? What part of your sales process, perhaps, has gone unchallenged for far too long?
These are important questions to ask yourself to ensure you’re not letting simple assumptions damage your sales!
