In the forum section of a web site
that provides information and resources for sales and marketing
professionals, a contributor presented a scenario and asked fellow
readers to submit their suggestions of what he could do to speed up
the selling process of an opportunity that seemed to have bogged
down.
Here is a summary of his scenario:
• The salesperson has developed a
relationship with the prospect based on trust and respect.
• The prospect has expressed the
desire and need for the salesperson's product, has a budget in
place to purchase it, and has the authority to make the buying
decision.
• The prospect feels that the
salesperson presented the most convincing value proposition and
understands how the product will help him reach his intended
outcome.
• The prospect has not voiced any
objections throughout his interactions with the salesperson.
• The prospect is holding off
making his buying decision.
The readers' responses were numerous
and quite diverse, and some, a bit cryptic. For example, one reader
suggested engaging the prospect in a "management of change"
conversation. Another reader suggested uncovering the prospect's
"motivation strategy" and then, using NLP techniques, discussing the
product in a manner consistent with that strategy. Discussing "the
cost of inaction" and contrasting it to "the ROI of taking action"
as a way to encourage the prospect to act more quickly was also
suggested. One reader suggested a more pragmatic approach: simply
ask the prospect to reveal his objection or the obstacle to moving
ahead with the sale.
As varied as they were, all the
suggestions submitted relied on the following assumptions:
• The prospect's timeframe for
discovering a best-fit solution and his timeframe for making a
decision coincide.
• There is an obstacle,
uncertainty, or objection responsible for the prospect's delay in
making a buying decision.
• The prospect can be persuaded to
modify his action to satisfy the salesperson's needs.
Viewing the prospect's delay in
moving ahead with the sale as a "problem" to be remedied most likely
is not an accurate assessment of the situation. Suppose the
prospect's timeframe for making a decision is weeks down the road.
If the prospect has no need to make the decision today or is unable
to immediately act on a positive decision, then not making a
decision now is not a delay tactic, but rather an appropriate action
consistent with his plan.
The real problem is that the
salesperson is not aware of his prospect's plan. A correlative
problem for which the salesperson must also take responsibility is
making a presentation without knowing what was going to happen at
its conclusion.
So, what can the salesperson do?
At this point, it's unlikely that he
can do much, if anything, to speed up the prospect's side of the
selling cycle. In the future, however, he can do a better job of
managing his time and expectations by determining the prospect's
view of the cycle in the early stages of the process and also
determining the prospect's timeframe for making a decision. He will
have a benchmark by which to determine if the cycle is actually
bogging down, or if it is moving ahead as planned. And, he will be
able to schedule his presentation close to the decision point on the
timeline.
Also, when scheduling the
presentation, the salesperson should develop an agreement with his
prospect to let him know where he stands at the conclusion of the
presentation. That may mean giving him a buying decision; or in more
complex selling situation, telling him if he's still in the running
for the next round of decisions.
If the salesperson invests more time
uncovering his prospect's process and timeframe for taking action in
the early stages of the selling cycle, he'll spend less time later
trying to solve "problems" that don't need solving.
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