No. 20 - have you found the budget?

We all know about prospect qualification - Need, Timescales, BUDGET, Decision Maker - but we get fooled into thinking we have all four boxes ticked.  We think we are dealing with the "budget holder" when in reality we are dealing with the "budget caretaker".  Let's take the example of Purchasing Managers, unless they are buying something for the purchasing department, they are not the budget holder - they are spending someone else's money, they are the budget caretaker.  So ask ... Read more

No. 19 – Partnership pitch

YOUR PROSPECT SAYS THEY WANT A PARTNERSHIP DO THEY MEAN A DISCOUNT? How often do you hear "we want a partnership not just a supplier customer relationship".  This is frequently code for "we want a discount"?  When the customer says the magic word "partnership" ask them what they mean, then tell them what you mean!  In partnerships both parties share rewards, risks, accountability and philosophy.  Develop a short pitch about what you mean by a partners ... Read more

No. 18 – Year end closing plan

HOW SAFE IS YOUR YEAR END QUOTA? Many sales and business development people are looking at how they are going to finish the year and bring in their outstanding deals to hit quota  so here is a closing checklist to help you. 1) Are you really dealing with ALL the decision makers?  2) Is your proposition a "nice to have" or a "necessity"  what urgency to buy have you created? 3) Have you submitted a quote or proposal? 4) Does your proposal show hard cash savings or revenue ga ... Read more

No. 17 – Telephone Techniques – Reaching Decision Makers

If you have to telephone for appointments for business development or account management here are two simple techniques to save you time and effort getting through to decision makers. 1) With your words and tone sound and act as if the decision maker knows you and is even expecting your call, ask for them by their first and last name, use your first name, don't volunteer any other information, if you don't have the contact's full name make a separate call to get it. 2) Establish if the decisi ... Read more

No. 16 – Can’t get the deal closed, are you REALLY dealing with the decision maker?

As money gets tight, decision making authority gets moved higher. Past decision makers, the people who previously have given you orders, suddenly move from being decision makers to [albeit significant] decision influencers, the problem is they don't tell you something stops them. So here is the acid test are you dealing with the "budget holder" or the "budget caretaker", find out who REALLY owns the business problem, who REALLY holds the budget and THIS is your decision maker. ... Read more

No. 15 – THE PRICE IS NOT THE COST!

Lowering the price does not lower the cost! Cheap products don't usually last as long, lower price means poorer service, save money at the outset (cheap car) pay later (service bills). If your prospect or client wants to buy cheap then get them talking about life cycle costs, total cost of ownership and the cost in time to them of purchasing again because they made a wrong decision (this works for professional services or where no product is invloved). Get the topic on the table by asking qu ... Read more

No. 14 – PRESENTING TO YOUR CLIENT OR PROSPECT – START WITH THEM NOT YOU!

Who is the most important person on the sales call the client or prospect of course. So why do we so often see salespeople start a "capability" or "solution" presentation with information about their own company? If you want your audience sitting up and listening make the first slide (after the title slide) about them. Our favourite heading for this slide is "issues you probably face" or "challenges in your business". Watch the difference in how they respond and open up to you when they see ... Read more

No. 12 – WHY AM I MAKING THIS SALES CALL………………

Someone once told me "in the absence of clearly defined goals we resort to activity". Because in many markets and especially in a business development role, you can't always get the order "on this visit" its easy not to have a solid objective for every visit or telephone sales call you make. As a result neither the seller nor the prospect get real value from the interaction. So how do you avoid sales activity for the sake of it, how do you get something from every visit or telephone sales you ... Read more

No. 11 – WIN MORE ORDERS AND ASSIGNMENTS BY OFFERING YOUR PROSPECT A CHOICE

Too often we submit proposals that unintentionally offer the prospect, client or customer a simple choice go ahead or don't. Whenever you are uncovering your prospect's needs and presenting your solution always look for two options they could go for don't invent something and make sure you have raised the options in the discussions. For example you could offer pricing options, product configuration options, delivery and installation options. Then when you present the proposal you are asking ... Read more

No. 10 – IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PROSPECT TOO GOOD?

The danger in "relationship selling" is that sometimes YOU do too good a job. If you have some deals stalling at the moment look out for this you build such a good relationship with the prospect or client that they don't "have the heart" to tell you they are not going ahead. The sale just seems to drag on, with them putting up seemingly good reasons to stall, and you ending up in "continuation" mode. If you are feeling this is the case then politely tell them (don't ask them) that YOU are wi ... Read more