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| A Note from the Editor |
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When last week's newsletter came out I
got quite a few requests for recommendations to resources
to solve some specific sales problems. Here are some of
my most useful recommendations.
Presentation need work? Carting out the same canned
presentation won't cut it in today's business climate.
If you want help crafting a dynamic and customer-focused
sales presentation, I suggest you contact Patricia
Fripp. She's renowned for turning speakers into superstars
and she can turn any salesperson into a master presenter.
Survey says... A friend was telling me how he dreads
the times his boss wants to accompany him on sales calls.
He's not nervous about his performance - he's worried
about what his boss will say and do in front of clients.
Needless to say, this predicament weighs heavily on his
feelings of job satisfaction. His story got me thinking
about the interesting results we uncovered in our Sales
Career Satisfaction Survey. Read
all about it here.
The secret of the Appointment-Setting Mantra. The
Queen of Cold Calling, Wendy Weiss, reveals these secret
words you can use to get prospects to commit to meet with
you. It's all in her report entitled "Getting in
the Door: How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script."
Get
your free copy here.
Are you talking to VITO? If not, your deal is probably
destined for failure. Tony Parinello coined the term VITO
to describe the Very Important Top Officer in your prospect
company. Tony's a pro at reaching these types and he'll
show you how. Check
out his site. |
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| To your success, |
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Tina LoSasso
Managing Editor, SalesDog.com |
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| This Week's Newsletter |
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Escaping the Land of No-Decision
The Land of No-Decision, you know the place: it's where some of
your most promising deals grind to a halt. Craig James shares some
tactics and strategies you can use to extricate yourself from this
sales wasteland.
There are three points in the sales process where a deal is likely
to slow down: after you've made your formal presentation, after you've
presented your proposal, and when your contract has gone to Legal.
Because the last of these is less a matter of "selling"
your decision-maker and more a matter of getting the prospect's attorneys
to get on with it, we're going to focus here on the first two situations,
since they require us to use our skills to close our buyer.
Let's start with what strategies we can employ to try to prevent a
deal from slowing to a crawl.
Establish dates for next steps - yours
and theirs
You should, of course, be doing this at every point in a sales engagement,
but it becomes even more critical after you've reached the presentation/proposal
evaluation stage. Why? Because it's at this point that the dynamic
changes for the prospect. Up until now, you've both been in "discovery
mode" where you're learning about the prospect's business, and
he's learning about you, your company, and your solution. It's a safe,
non-threatening place. With your presentation and proposal, you've
moved into "selling" mode. The prospect is aware of this,
and any concerns, worries, or fears he's kept to himself will begin
manifesting themselves, often times as unresponsiveness. That's why
it's particularly important at this stage to agree to speak or meet
by a specific date. Failure to do so gives the prospect an out.
Insist on delivering and presenting your proposal in person with
the decision-maker present
A proposal is a selling tool, but just like a tool you might use around
the house to fix something, it won't get the job done unless its owner
is there to use it. With your proposal, you are proposing the terms
of your business relationship. Your prospect will most certainly not
agree with or accept everything you've proposed. Wouldn't you rather
have him "object" with you there, so you can help him resolve
his concerns, rather than while he's reading it alone, when you can't?
Now let's explore some tactics we can use in conjunction with these
strategies. Each of these, with the exception of the last, presupposes
you've been able to have reciprocal communication in some form or
another with your prospect.
Uncover the real reason for the indecision
or delay
We've all at one time or another been on the buying side of a transaction
- as consumers. Think back to when you were faced with making a decision
on a major purchase - a car, a house, a piece of furniture, an investment.
How did it feel? Despite knowing the purchase you were about to make
made sense, you likely weren't quite ready to commit. You needed -
wanted, in fact - to share your concerns with the salesperson and
have them resolved. Well, what's good for the goose is good for the
gander. When your prospect demurs, find out what's holding him back
and help him resolve the issue. It's a win for both of you.
Convey the consequences of doing nothing or of delaying
Revisit the goals and objectives he revealed in your earlier discussions,
and why he told you the purchase had to be made now - and why it couldn't
wait. (Prospects often lose sight of these things when faced with
the daunting decision of making a commitment). Have him think about
what it will cost him: lost opportunity, lost time, lost ground to
competitors, special terms, discounts, etc. Communicate subtly that
the world doesn't stand still just because he does. Remind him of
what he said he wanted, why it was critical that he have it, and what
he won't get if he continues to delay. Also, since no one likes the
feeling of being in an indecisive state, you might try something like,
"Wouldn't it feel better to make a decision, one way or the other,
rather than having it continue to hang over your head? Let's work
through this together."
Find out where you stand, and why
If the prospect is reluctant to open up, well, you may have a deeper
problem: you may not have developed a "trusted advisor"
relationship. Granted, this is not always possible, especially with
prospects who value being neutral with vendors rather than developing
an advisory relationship with one trusted vendor. In this case, approach
the situation by first asking a closed-ended question, such as, "Are
we closer to working together, or not working together?" If the
answer is, "closer to not working together," you'll need
to probe for why. If the answer is, "closer to working together,"
you'll want to uncover what it will take to get to "working together."
Send a "surrender" letter
When all else fails, and it looks as if your prospect has simply gone
underground, try sending what I call a "surrender" letter.
It says, in so many words, that "I give up, since it seems that
you're no longer interested in engaging us." In the letter, you
express your disappointment that after both parties had invested so
much time and effort, neither one will reap the benefits of a working
relationship. You then ask for feedback on where you failed them in
conveying the value you could provide. (To request a sample of such
a letter I recently composed for a client, click
here). If you're lucky, the prospect will feel guilty enough to
respond (probably by email), and you'll learn why. With this knowledge,
you may then try a last-ditch effort to save the deal.
Put these strategies to work
Review your list of stalled deals and determine which of these tactics
would be appropriate to try. For deals in which you're about to make
your presentation, be sure to agree at the end of the presentation
on next steps with precise dates. For deals for which you've already
presented and are preparing a proposal, insist on delivering it in
person. If you get push back, explain the value to the prospect of
discussing it together - that you'll be able to immediately clarify
anything that requires clarification. Employ these strategies and
tactics, and you'll see your sales cycles shorten, and your sales
figures go up.
Sales Solutions Founder and President Craig James has over 12
years experience in sales and sales management, primarily in technology
and software. He may be reached at 877-862-8631, by email at Craig@Sales-Solutions.biz
or on the web at www.Sales-Solutions.biz.
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| Praise for Top Dog Sales
Secrets |
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"One of these top dog secrets can earn you a fortune."
– Jeffrey Gitomer
"It's like reading the best ideas from 50 sales books
all in one book."
– Michelle Nichols, Savvy Selling International
"I HIGHLY recommend it for the inspiration AND the skills
that one will learn or ‘re-learn.’ It is easy to read,
entertaining, and very broad in topic selection."
– Lori Richardson, Score More Sales
Order
your copy of the book today to learn an effective
strategy that will help you take back control of the sale. |
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