Situation:  Feedback from your customer of just over six months has been very positive.  When you initially closed the account, the customer held out a carrot --- additional business from two other company divisions --- as a negotiating ploy to obtain more favorable payment terms, which you provided.  You have yet to see any business from the other divisions despite your subtle hints.  What should you do? 

• Drop some additional hints - but don’t press the issue.  Allow the customer to act on his own time.

• Be assertive and remind the prospect of his promise and suggest scheduling a meeting to discuss the phase-in of the additional business from the other divisions.

• Be very direct and inform the customer that if he doesn’t come up with the additional business promised, you’ll have to rescind the favorable payment terms.

Action:  Dropping hints hasn’t worked up to this point.  Dropping more probably won’t make a difference.  Threatening the prospect is likely to damage the relationship, which is presumably good and profitable. So, taking a middle-ground approach is the most appropriate. 

Let the prospect know you are serious.  You can be assertive without being pushy or overbearing.  You need to obtain a commitment to move forward with the additional business.  Your request might sound like: “Hank, we’ve been doing business now for just over six months.  The feedback I’ve received from you and other members of your company has been very positive --- everyone seems to be pleased.  My sense is that it’s time to sit down and discuss phasing in the business you promised from the other division.  When can we schedule a time to do that?”

© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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