“…ideas and productsand messagesand behaviors spread justlike virusesdo.They takeon a lifeoftheirown and are spread by talented salespeople withunique communication skills”.
Malcolm Gladwell intheTipping Point
Good sales people thatsell consultativelycreateand demonstratestrong value propositionsforwhy theirclients willwanttoengage theirsolutionsor services. Oftenthevalue propositionis so wellconstructed and communicated, thesales person (orcompany president,or VPofSales) thinks,”Thissale isin thebag…the valueissoclearthat itwouldbenonsensicaliftheclientdidnotmoveahead.”
Oftenafterthefinalsales call/meeting/proposal,thepotential client says he will followup withthesales reponWednesday with a decision todo the deal.Thursday comes and goes.Friday passes aswell.
Finally,on Monday the clienttellsthe sales rep how impressed theclientteamwas with the solution/proposal,butthey’ve decidedto delayanyactionforat leasta quarterandkeepin touch. There’s nocompetitorin the account,nomajor assumptions or situations havechanged,and they’renot goingtosolve their problem themselves.They’rejustgoing tositonita while.
Ask: Whathappened?
To understandwhathappens inthesescenarios,itis helpfultofirsttakealook at theclients’ trueoptions in buying your solution/services.Theclient can usually take oneofthree conduits:
- 1. Buyeitheryourservicesoracompetitor’sservi
- 2. Do it themselves.
- 3. Donothing atal
With skilled consultativesales reps,theydemonstratedstrongvalue, and clients mayverywellagreethatthevalue propositionis clear and beneficial(free “gifts of Knowledge”).Yet,for some reason, theclienthas nosenseofurgencyandchoosestodonothingatall.Itis here we don’tknow what could haveturnedthesituationaround.We do know for certainthat the clienthaschosento table theissue,andthatthecurrent windowofopportunity on this dealhaspassed fromaclosure state.
Ask: ‘WhatWon’tHappen?’Near theend ofthesales process you should havea good idea ofhowyoursolutions/serviceswillprovidevalue to yourpotentialclient.You need toknow themetrics associated withasuccessful buy.In other words,how willtheclient’s revenuesbe increased ortheir expenses are lowered?Yournext step isto gettheclienttounderstand whattheimplicationsofnotchoosingtoengage yourservice willbe, and in dollars. Therefore,buildacasefor the(usuallynegative)implicationsfor theclientif theychoose nottosolvetheirproblemor addresstheirissuewithyourservice.
There isalways an associated loss ofbenefitas sales,revenues,conversions, efficiencies…Armed withthisanalysis,you’re ready forthe nextaction. Bynot acting,whatwillthelossbetothe bottom line?
What do you do next? Send us an email and we’ll arrange for you to speak with Ed to chat about how these learnings can help build more sales just for your business.