ONE simple question that can change your sales performance.
Cathy was presented with a great lead from a networking partner. She called the decision-maker and got through without hitting his voice mail! She was excited to find he was anxious to see her, and arranged for an introductory meeting the very next day.
That meeting was, in her opinion, flawless. The decision maker was sincere, open and thorough. Every need he described was tailor-made for her company’s product and services. His displeasure with the current provider was quite evident. He felt he was misled when he bought, and service levels had been unacceptable from the beginning. Slow response times, billing that was impossible to decipher, and long hold times for customer and technical support were just a few of his many complaints.
While price was an issue, it clearly wasn’t the only thing that mattered. Moreover, he was ready to move quickly. When Cathy asked when he wanted a proposal, he said as soon as possible – he said he HAD to buy quickly.
Her company represented manufacturers well known for reliability and upgradability. Her service organization had a stellar reputation for responsiveness. She was working with a decision maker who was unhappy with his current provider. He had an adequate budget, price wasn’t his most important factor, and he had to make a decision soon.
She was thrilled, and not surprisingly, the presentation went extremely well.When she asked what he thought at the end of the presentation, the response was “Everything looks great. Good job. You met all my needs. I have everything I need to make the decision!” It would be made by next Tuesday, and he would call her then. The sales team left feeling confident the call on Tuesday would deliver an order.
Tuesday came and went, as did Wednesday and Thursday. The call never came. Multiple calls to the decision maker went unanswered; voice mails left with no response. They finally got news of the prospect’s decision to buy from a competitor in an email from his administrative assistant. The deal was lost. Cathy was devastated. Had this gracious and cooperative prospect lied? Not at all. It was Cathy’s fault. SHE had wasted her valuable time, as well as the time of her prospect, by not asking one simple question.
It’s funny. If you ask Cathy, she would say she lost on price .
And it happens over and over again. Countless man-hours are wasted on sales opportunities that look so promising, yet yield such disappointment. The cost to salespeople, their companies and their prospects, in terms of financial and human resource, is staggering. And it is, to a large extent, completely avoidable.
Too Much Focus on Meeting Needs
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