Selling to the Difficult Prospect

The Difficult Prospect – we’ve all got them. We can’t deal with them, and can’t make a living without them. Are there strategies we can use to control the conversation with the deals we can win? Are there tactics we can use to close or kill the ones we can’t?

What’s a poor sales guy to do with the difficult customer who just won’t go along. How do you handle them? How do you avoid wasting cost of sale on buyers who won’t be reasonable, doing things your way?

This question has always been a dilemma for me. The sale would be nice. Finding another opportunity to replace this one would be hard. Maybe if I go along the deal will come through?

But probably it won’t!

(I can categorically affirm that going along with a difficult buyer has never won me business. In thirty years that sort of go along to get along has never gotten me anywhere.)

In which case I lose three ways. Cost of sale is spent. Opportunity cost is lost forever. Worse, my confidence has taken a hammering.

I’d have been better off walking away from this difficult prospect with my integrity intact.

Counter intuitively, the more likely we are to drop the deal the more likely the prospect is to go along with our process. After all s/he wouldn’t be talking to us if there wasn’t something in it.

What happens if we refuse to play the game?

How do you manage the difficult prospect who refuses to work with you, without throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

I’ve written a number of articles explaining my approach. You might be interested in adding your own thoughts to:

Beware the Serial Prospect

Always Be Prepared to Walk Away

Find Out What the Customer Really Wants

Negotiation Needn’t Mean Concession

please share your ideas.

If you find any of this interesting you might also be interested in other articles about sales coaching.