"Thanks so much for your proposal. This is exactly what we were hoping to see from you. We really need this solution. I'll contact you as soon as we are able to free up some resources. You know, this economy really has been tough on us."
How many times have you or your salespeople heard that kind of thing from your prospects in the last year or so? Typically, the salesperson would make a note of what the prospect said, and make sure – since they were taught to be persistent, of course – that they called or emailed the prospect every few weeks. The prospect would then go into "hide mode" and return neither the emails nor the voicemails. And so the chase begins. You know the drill. We do need to be persistent, don't we?
What does "persistence" really mean? If we mean making a pest of ourselves trying to put pressure on prospects to give up and buy from us, then I do not want any part of that. If we mean that we need to make sure we have a healthy pipeline of prospects, and stay on top of those prospects, then we need to take a look at what a working definition of a "pipeline" would need to be.
There are as many definitions of a company's sales pipeline as there are companies. Many companies count a prospect as being in the pipeline if they've ever expressed an interest in their products or services. Obviously, this makes forecasting difficult, especially when the "pipeline" is filled with people like the one quoted at the beginning of this article. Real sales professionals know that there are specific criteria that any prospect must possess in order to truly be considered pipeline-worthy: 1) They must have personal, compelling, and emotional reasons to buy from your company in the near term, 2) they must have a decision-making process through which you are willing to navigate, and 3) they must be both willing and able to invest money, time, and other resources with you, now.
The first two are obviously things we need to attend to right away whenever we get a lead. So we are likely to uncover that information before the prospect goes into "hide mode". Typically the third item is reserved for later. That's the problem. Lately, with this economy, that third one has been a real show-stopper, hasn't it? Many people today are willing to invest, but not able. Others are able, but not willing. If we wait to have that conversation until after the prospect has our proposal, often our goose is cooked. They are in "hide mode", and our voicemails and emails go unreturned while we continue to try to be persistent with our follow up activities.
There is a glimmer of hope this time of year, however. Many companies begin their process of determining their budgeted spending for next year right about now. This would be a great time for you and your sales team to get in touch with all of those prospects and make sure they set aside some budget resources for your product or service. If you can get them to return your calls and emails. Which means a better strategy is to have that "willing and able to invest?" conversation long before the proposal is presented.
It's October – do you know what your prospects are up to?
Al Simon is president of Simon, Inc., an authorized licensee of the Sandler Sales Institute. He can be reached at www.SimonSaysSell.net.
