Remove Timing From Your Sales Equation
It’s officially September, which means it’s unofficially the end of one of the strangest business summer seasons I can remember. While it certainly feels like a recession in many ways, several economic markers would allow one to disagree.
For all of the sentiment out there about companies being a lot more tight-fisted with their cash (I see a lot of it), most of the companies I’ve spoken with have been doing quite well.
One of the biggest challenges sellers face right now is how they feel about selling in the current environment. (Well, what do you know? Isn’t that always one of the biggest challenges?)
Something consistent among everyone I’ve talked to over the past few months is that sales cycles are a little longer, and deal sizes are down a little bit too. The common denominator is that there isn’t enough emotion and tension throughout the process to move things along more urgently and in larger amounts, but that’s a topic for another Sunday.
Let’s just suppose your deals are moving along as quickly as they possibly can, they just don’t happen when you want them to. I’ve got three things you can start doing right now that will free you from that burden by the end of the next quarter.
1. Stop reacting to the end of the quarter
I know your manager is breathing down your neck right now, wondering if you’re going to hit your forecast (and hoping he hits his). Everything must go! No reasonable deals will be turned away!
The price on your solutions might as well be “list or best offer.”
Nothing feels good about this; worse, you’ve trained your customers to expect it. Stop. The calendar should never erode the value that you and your solution provide. As soon as you stop buying into this myth, your customers will too.
2. Work more deals
You knew this was coming, right? The more opportunities you’re working on, the less important each of them is, and the more willing you’ll be to hold your ground on price (and its innate reflection of value).
Go back to my article from last week. Which prospects have you moved away from because they weren’t ready to buy right now? You’ve got a number to hit next quarter, too, right? There’s no reason not to think ahead and continue moving that process forward.
3. Start more conversations
Conversations lead to sales conversations, which lead to sales. This isn’t rocket surgery, but somewhere along the way, you decided you didn’t need to prospect.
It could be that you have a couple of good referral sources. Maybe your marketing department creates some inbound demand for you. Perhaps you get just enough growth out of existing customers that you just need a couple of things to fall your way…
But if any of that were really enough, you wouldn’t have this timing issue, would you? (And you probably wouldn’t have read this far…)
Last week, I wrote that the art of selling is taking someone from an interested party to a happy customer. Well, the real pros can take someone from being totally unaware of their problem to customers for life. Those reps are less likely to be worried about hitting their number and more concerned about where the Presidents Club trip is next spring.
Proactive prospectors get out in front of the conversations with their customers. They provide guidance and change their eye level. They help their prospects see around corners, give them the information they need to make great decisions and keep an edge on their competition.
That’s what makes a trusted advisor. That’s what builds loyalty.
Compare that to the rep who manages to throw his hat in the ring just in time to be asked to participate in the RFP and negotiate away all of the profit in the deal. It’s just not a good look.
If you’re worried about whether or not you’re going to close enough business by the end of the quarter, you’ve got some work to do. If you’re qualifying opportunities out because they’re not going to close “on time,” then you’re in an even worse spot.
When you’re proactively creating customers for life, it doesn’t matter when your deal closes. The end of the month or the quarter is all about you, not your customer. Everything changes if you can eliminate this factor from your sales psyche. You close more opportunities more often, you have more thrilled and loyal customers, and at higher margins.
Do you believe me enough to get started?
