Chapter 20
IN THIS CHAPTER
Letting your qualification criteria guide you
Tackling personality and group dynamics
Getting your time back
Handling indecisive prospects
Leaving when a prospect lies
As a new business salesperson, you need to recognize that some deals are just not going to happen, regardless of what you do to try to bring those deals in. And there comes a point in some sales cycles where you just have to move on and accept defeat. Recognizing when you’ve reached that stage isn’t always easy because you’re too close to the action, so in this chapter, I highlight the warning signs to look out for.
Some warning signs may be that too much of your time and resources are being consumed without moving the sales cycle forward, or the relationship you’re building with your prospect is just not hitting the right notes. Another clear warning sign is if you realize that your proposed solution isn’t actually going to fit the requirements. In this case, the decision to move on is fairly black and white. However, knowing when to cease your sales activity with a prospect isn’t always as clear as that.
It should be obvious that a prospect who fails to meet your qualification criteria (see Chapters 9 and 19) is one who’s unlikely to result in a sale being made, but there’s always the temptation to give it a bit longer to see what happens.
Are there circumstances when you should ignore the qualification criteria? The absolute answer is no; however, in some situations you may delay making a final decision pending more research and discovery because the need and solution may require some further investigation to determine the right fit. The following sections provide more guidance.
In new business sales, little is more important than your qualification criteria; it drives the sales process, is vital in forecasting (covered in Chapter 21), and is an invaluable tool in sales management. Trusting the results of your qualification is important because they provide an objective view of where the sales cycle is and where it’s likely to go.
For example, your CRM may have records of several previous attempts at selling your solution to a prospect, and each time he pulled out of the deal at the last minute. This information should sound loud warning bells about history repeating itself, and unless the prospect can persuade you that he is genuine — maybe by paying a deposit — I would consider this to be a case where you shouldn’t continue with the sales cycle and risk wasting time and resources again.
As well as the qualification issues I address earlier in this chapter, you also need to consider some human and relationship elements that may inhibit a sale from going ahead. Valid reasons for moving on apart from failing with qualification include the following:
Not “your type” of people: People buy people first, which I discuss in Chapter 14. Corporate culture breeds certain characteristics, and people of a certain character are drawn to each other. I completely support the “not our type of people” reason for moving on as you know that particular personality types won’t fit with your company’s style of operating and that a sale will unlikely result from them anyway. Many times I’ve returned to the office after a sales meeting and declared that it wasn’t going to happen because they weren’t “our type of people,” and I’ve never yet been wrong.
One particular case comes to mind; I met with a company that was interested in outsourced new business services but wanted to pay for the services only under a limited set of circumstances, and it appeared to expect us to work for nothing in all other cases. It quickly became clear in discussions with the company that it failed to understand the nature of the service it was considering using — I say using rather than buying because the company didn’t want to pay! Rather than trying to re-educate, it was quicker, easier, and ultimately less expensive to just walk away.
You should also be wary of decision by committee. I’m not talking about the decision-making unit here. I’m talking, literally, about a decision made by a committee. You’ll most likely come across this when selling into partnerships as a business type, where each partner has a personal investment and stake in the decision. It’s like they’re spending their own money, and not the business’s, which in effect is what they’re doing.
Walking away always needs to be done with a degree of sensitivity, regardless of how happy you are to do so. I always tell a prospect that regretfully we are unable to work with him due to a difference in culture, values, or valuation; there is no need to go into great detail. I always ensure that I follow up in writing and document the situation in the CRM for future reference.
Time is precious and one of your main assets. You have to use your time wisely, and having a prospect waste your time is frustrating.
The following sections provide additional pointers on how to overcome a prospect who’s wasting your time.
If you perceive that a prospect is wasting your time, you’re likely right. Time is your asset, and it’s your call on how to invest it to maximum effect in winning new business. Don’t be afraid to value your time, and let it be seen that you do. It’s professional and clearly defendable as a sales tool.
Some time-wasting actions that may lead you to determine that it’s time to move on are a series of cancellations or no-shows at meetings or planned touch points, or the denial of key pieces of information that you need to progress the sales cycle and get the solution right for your prospect. There can be little justification for a prospect taking these actions, and they’re real indicators that it’s time to move on.
Another time-wasting experience is circular discussions. You just don’t make any progress. The prospect raises objections, and you address them and of course log them into your contact reports, only to find that you cover the same ground at the next touch point. Your prospect seems not to “get it,” and the sales cycle is stagnating. This is another case where your time is better invested elsewhere.
If you use the “going to move on” test, then make sure that you really are prepared to give up on the sale because there is no way back for you if he tries to call your bluff.
If your prospect fails to see the value that you’re adding in your quest to find a solid solution to his need, then in reality the relationship isn’t very strong and the sale isn’t going to be of massive importance to him, so you may as well invest your time and effort elsewhere.
To try to overcome the perception of time wasting, you can give your prospect a deadline for action. Tell him that you need to get certain issues resolved by a given date if the sale is going to progress. This may seem like you’re taking the lead and forcing him into action, and in reality you’re doing exactly that. If he doesn’t like it, then that sends you a clear message of where the sale is going — nowhere.
I’m reminded of a case some years ago when I worked for a very large computer manufacturer with an international presence. I was based in the U.K. doing a U.K. marketing job and had been asked whether I’d consider relocating to France to do a pan-European role. This was a big move as it meant moving my young family, but it offered a significant opportunity that I was keen on progressing. Discussions followed, and I went to both Geneva, which was European headquarters, and Paris, where the role was to be based, for internal interviews and planning sessions. The role was to take effect from the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1 and so had to be agreed on and in place before then.
By the end of May, everything should have been ready and was from my point of view, but the ultimate decision maker, whom I knew and had discussed the role with, couldn’t or wouldn’t sign off on it. I gave him an ultimatum: “Sign it off within another seven days, or I’m withdrawing from the transfer and staying in my existing U.K. role.” Seven days passed, and nothing had happened, so I carried out my stated plan and withdrew from the new role. It caused some uproar, but I demonstrated that I wasn’t going to be messed about, and I continued in the U.K. until leaving the company about a year later as my confidence in it had been undermined.
Sometimes as a new business salesperson, you wonder how certain prospects ever got into senior roles within their company, and when you have to deal with an indecisive prospect, that’s a case in point.
Human nature dictates that some people are naturally cautious, and that’s fine, but being cautious and being indecisive are different things. If you encounter a prospect like this, you need to have endless patience and a fair degree of time to invest, and depending on the significance of the sale, you have some early decisions to make about moving on or guiding him through the processes.
If you encounter an indecisive prospect, then your qualification is going to be more important than ever in helping to determine whether you can reach a mutually beneficial deal. Dealing with an indecisive prospect takes time, and you need to consider whether the potential deal is worth you making that time investment.
If your prospect isn’t “getting it” or is simply out of his depth and not prepared to make any decisions, then you have two options to explore before deciding to move on:
Go over his head. You shouldn’t consider this option lightly. In old-school sales, IBM salespeople did this as a matter of routine as soon as they felt they weren’t getting their own way, and although it may have delivered short-term success, it was at the cost of wrecking the relationship with the key prospect.
A way you can do this a little more subtly, while keeping your prospect on board, is to copy his manager on your contact reports. Do this often enough and if the need is real and the immovable object is seen to be a stumbling block, then internal pressure will usually be brought to bear, clearing the path for your sale to progress.
Moving on due to an indecisive prospect can be a difficult decision as you’re likely to have already invested an amount of time on the sale. If it proves necessary to move on in these circumstances, do so while leaving the door open should your prospect finally make a decision. Let it be known that while you can’t invest any more time on him, should he decide that yours is the solution of choice, then you’ll be happy to conclude an order but not to revisit the essentials.
Why prospects choose to lie is beyond me. It may be a little thing like keeping some competitive information from you, or it could be a much bigger thing like overstating the budget or their own level of responsibility.
I haven’t had to do this very often, but when I have had to, my approach has been to tell the prospect that we are unable to work with him due to a culture clash, and leave it at that.
A prospect being untruthful during the sales process doesn’t lend itself to filling your company with confidence if you progress to the implementation phase. Can he be trusted to tell the truth then? Longer-term implications of being untruthful can have an impact on the success of a project, and you don’t want to be associated with it.
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