There is a lot to keep track of, plan around, organize, decide on, and execute in sales. When you work in a reactionary way, without a plan, things get forgotten.
Think for a minute about this past week. What did you miss this week? What were you supposed to do that didn’t get done? You have your CRM system to track data, but there is more than data to identify real opportunities. Our jobs are so much more than recording the data – it needs to be thought about and interpreted.
What you miss in your sales role often means a smaller sales opportunity – or lost deal altogether. Leaving money on the table is an old expression relating to playing poker. If you are not a smart poker player you’ll certainly leave money on the table. We all can and will do this in our selling career too.
"A buyer says they need to make a change immediately and then says they don’t have the funds to change."
This is your cue to determine what that means, and you do that by asking more questions to learn whether:
• the buyer knows what they need or not
• the buyer knows how bad their existing situation really is
• the buyer underestimates if and how the solution will help them
• the buyer is willing to change
I call not going through the process of understanding your buyer’s scenario being a “lazy seller” but you can find your own adjective that fits best. Without knowing what is motivating them or not motivating them, and not knowing the background and their other options, you won’t close business.
Here are 5 more ways lazy sellers stop short and how you can do better than that – if you follow a system. How many are you guilty of? We’ll break each apart in future posts.
- Lose track of someone interested but not yet ready to buy.
- Be slow to follow up when someone hands you a referral.
- Keep no connection with an annual subscriber until it is renewal time.
- Make assumptions and create a story in your mind.
- Continue to work with people who are not the most influential in making the buying decision.
If you consider the first example, I’ve actually shared six ways. The goal here is not to make you feel bad or acknowledge that you’re lazy or sloppy or too rushed – it is to make a one percent improvement tomorrow. Then improve one more percent, and keep going.
For now – pay more attention – be present in your conversations and follow up note taking. If you just do this one thing better, it will have a big impact on your results.
Lori Richardson helps mid-sized companies grow revenues by solving key issues in their sales department - like recruiting, retention, diversity hiring, process, pipeline and leadership. She speaks at CEO groups on topics of sales growth. Clients include companies in the technology, telecom, manufacturing, distribution, and professional services industries. Subscribe to the award-winning blog, follow her on Twitter
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