Are you often excited to make a sales call because you know you have a product or service that your prospective customer desperately needs? You’ve researched how the company is currently performing with their process or service, and you are confident that your idea is going to save them money — big time. You can’t wait to get that new account. Your competitor is dead meat and you know it!
One Caution- Slow Down
Experience has taught me to provide this caution — slow down. I repeat, slow the sales cycle down. Have you ever rushed in and showed a prospect how to improve the process or service only to return to find that the company has embraced your idea but your competitor has delivered the goods? It is all too easy to lose an order if you don’t have a clear, concise, and understandable agreement in place.
I was asked recently to make a call with a rep. Our sales analysis was complete and our offer represented a savings to the customer of 30 percent. We were confident of our position. My skilled rep had established a good relationship with the general manager of the company. He knew the GM’s background, the company’s product line, and the customer’s pain points, and he had developed a first-class resolution to a major problem.
To our surprise, our meeting included more than the general manager. The plant superintendent and the controller joined our group and the buying decision was to be a joint one. As we walked into the conference room, I was desperately asking myself, “Now how in the world are we going to get a commitment from three people, without giving away our competitive advantage?”
So I asked, “If we can prove that our system will save you 30 percent, will you buy it from us?” As expected, I got three different responses: yes, maybe, and not necessarily. So, I backed away from my opened laptop, slowed my pace way down, and after a long pause, reversed the situation with, “Then I guess you don’t know and trust us well enough to hear my presentation.”
1 step back, find agreement, then 2 forward
I spent the next half-hour directing my attention to the two non-affirmative respondents and asking them probing questions. To my delight, they shared their reservations with me. Not surprisingly, their concerns had nothing to do with agreeing to move forward, but everything to do with the problems with their existing system and our competitor’s failure to resolve them.
Be ready to change your pace and slow the sales cycle down if necessary to meet shifting circumstances. Remember, without a firm, up-front agreement, you may be giving away your solution!
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