Front Office Box

Are you going to get that sale?

Maybe, and maybe not. The best way to evaluate your chances, and improve them, is checking for some critical elements. The more of these you can honestly say “yes” to, the more likely you are to win the deal.

If you can’t say “yes” to some, then get to work and turn the “don’t know”s into “yes”. If you can’t turn the “no”s and “don’t know”s into “yes”s maybe you’d be better off spending your sales hours on something else. Sales professionals call this technique “qualification”.

These elements are fundamental to every sale - doesn’t matter whether the deal is for job cutting grass or a multi million $ supply contract, they still apply. Of course in some cases the answers might be obvious, and the exercise irrelevant, in others they might really make a difference. Want to check the logic? Just go over a deal you lost recently and measure your sales campaign against the list.

1. What’s the business imperative - the reason the buyer will spend the money? What benefit is she going to get out of it? and does it justify the price?  Know the answer - give yourself 10%.
2. Who will make the final decision to buy, and who from?  Beware, almost every buyer claims to be the decision maker, but is this really true.  In our house typically I’ll decide whether we buy something, but my wife decides what we buy.  Know the answer - give yourself 10%.
3. How will the decision to buy be made - the decision process.  Buyers rarely have only one option.  How will they choose between the alternatives available?  If you know give yourself 10%.
4. Have you agreed with the customer the buy/sell process - the way you’ll work together to make sure you both get the best deal?   Yes - 10%.
5. Who’re you competing with, and how to win against them?  Can you do it again?  Yes - another 10%.
6. Do you have a “coach” - somebody on the inside who wants your offer, and will help persuade the other decision makers and tell you how to get the deal?  Yes - 10%.
7. Has the prospect confirmed you’re the preferred vendor, provided you can get the commercials right.  Yes - 10%.
8. Has the prospect agreed a delivery or start date and committed internal resources?   Yes - 10%.
9. Has the prospect agreed the contract terms and conditions?   Yes - 10%.
10. Has the prospect signed the contract?  Congratulations you’ve won the deal.

November 20th, 2007 - Posted in Serious about selling  |  Add a Comment