Premature Sales Pitch?

A look behind the scenes of major buying decisions to identify what differentiates the more successful sales approach from the less effective. Do sales of business critical solutions require smarter methods?

There is a science to effective sales and it has very little to do with “the numbers game”. If you bid on large or complex opportunities you will certainly have experienced the frustration of some or all of the following symptoms:

Common Symptoms
• Considerable time and effort courting prospects that fail to convert.
• Proposals, trials, demonstrations, free consultancy give poor returns.
• Becoming “preferred supplier” for projects that fail to gain funding.
• Forecast opportunities slip from month to month and finally vaporise.

Common Causes
• More focus on “selling to” than “listening to” the prospect.
• Qualification not deep enough to uncover the full picture.
• Insufficient understanding of a prospects’ true “buying status”.
• A tendency to give commitment without gaining commitment.

The true buying status of any organisation can only be determined by identifying and engaging effectively with all key players. It involves asking enough of the right questions of the right people at the right time.

Despite the preaching’s of traditional sales training techniques, selling and closing should only ever be attempted when the prospect is truly primed and only then in appropriate response to their genuine buying signals.

Attempts at premature selling (prior to gaining a true understanding of prospect needs and constraints) and closing (prior to earning enough credibility) have a very high failure rate and damage any overall chances.

See Perform for more information and articles on sales and sales leadership.

Date: 21/08/2008
Category: BUSINESS EDITORIAL