Why Stalled Deals Happen -
How to Prevent & When to Move On
Tom Batchelder Author of Barking Up a Dead Horse | Founding Partner, Perficency
Monday, May 18, 2009 | 11 – 11:30 AM PDT | Webinar
Why Stalled Deals Happen – How to Prevent and When to Move On: 1. What you can do to avoid deals stalling 2. Key ques7ons to ask to ensure you get the truth 3. How to re‐engage & when to ‘move on’ from lingering deals
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Audience Entrepreneurs, Business Owners, VP of Sales, Sales Managers, Inside or Outside Sales Reps, Key Execu7ves, Subject MaQer Experts who are not salespeople but are responsible for developing new business from exis7ng clients and/or new prospects, Current & past Perficency clients Intended Outcomes ‐ Suggest a different approach to sales thinking & communica7on ‐ Give you one or two things you can use immediately ‐ Start a dialogue, share best prac7ces via our online community www.perficency.ning.com
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Assessment
(answer on a scale of 1‐5, 5 being very true, 1 being not true)
Use this assessment to s7mulate discussion around areas for improvement in your efforts to generate more of the right kinds of new business, quicker.
___I have no fear or discomfort around “selling” ac7vi7es with clients and prospects. ___I feel like I am ge[ng the truth and the whole story from new prospects about their business. ___I know all that I need to know about my current client’s business. ___When I’m nego7a7ng with clients or prospects, there aren’t any ques7ons that I am uncomfortable asking. ___I have turned down business before. I am not afraid to walk away from bad business. ___I never get too aQached to deals and don’t take “no” personally. ___I have a selling method and philosophy that allows me to feel in control of the nego7a7ng process. ___I do not get commodi7zed and pressured to nego7ate on price. ___I do not currently have any deals in the pipeline that have stalled. ___Business revenue and my personal income are at the level that I want.
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Why Stalled Deals Happen
1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) Move too fast, get swept up in the excitement Too quick to quote, propose, talk about money Prospect can’t ar7culate a truly compelling reason to change You make a number of assump7ons – there are key ques7ons you don’t ask / get answered You are not talking to the true decision‐maker(s) Something has changed in their situa7on (and they are not telling you) They just got busy
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Poll Ques@on #1: When your deals stall, the thing in your control that you are most oEen guilty of is… 1. Moving too fast, quick to quote and follow ‘their’ process 2. Not uncovering a compelling reason to change 3. Not talking to the true decision maker(s)
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What you can control
• When everything is moving fast, slow it down • Be willing to respecgully push back on early requests for pricing, quotes, bids, proposals (“As a part of our process” / “What I find works best”) • Create a list of key ques7ons you need to get answered before proposing • Ensure you are talking to all of the key people that care • Try to maintain a healthy skep7cism (remember: you’ve been here before) • Having a clear next step (and op7ons) at the end of each conversa7on • The less 7me & energy you invest, the easier it is to be detached • Don’t be annoying. Remember: your prospect / client has other things to do
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Key Ques@ons to ask / get answered every @me…
“I’m curious…”
Why now? Why change? Urgency, timing? What’s the cost of that? What matters most to you? Who else cares?
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more oEen & earlier in my process is… Why now / Urgency, 7ming? Why change? What’s the cost of that? What maQers most to you? Who else cares?
Poll Ques@on #2: Of these key ques@ons, the one I would like to ask
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Stalled or “Lingering” Situa@ons
Have you ever experienced…
‐ Following up with a referral at a colleague / client’s sugges7on and you don’t hear back ‐ Checking in with a client about a new project opportunity at their original request and then you don’t hear back ‐ Following up a couple of 7mes with a new lead that has requested some informa7on or a mee7ng and then you didn’t hear back ‐ Reaching out to schedule a ‘next step’ mee7ng with a hot prospect; a couple weeks have passed and you haven’t heard back
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Lingering Situa@ons
Formula for “I’m (respecTully) going away email / voicemail” 1. S7ck to the data ‐ don't show emo7on or annoyance 2. Nega7ve assump7on + Opportunity to reconnect if you are mistaken 3. Let them know you are FINE either way
Goal: Get a response & Get the TRUTH
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Lingering Situa@ons – real‐@me example #1 that worked Hi John, I tried reaching out to you a couple of 7mes and haven’t heard back. Unless you tell me otherwise, I will assume that you are all set for the September study. If at any 7me you want to resume conversa7ons about us helping you with one or all of your projects, certainly feel free to call me. Warm regards, Ben
(Result: “He apologized profusely for not calling me back. He said that the X is not in his 2007 budget, but will be for 2010. We scheduled a conference call in the 3rd quarter, and moved on with our day. Now we at least know where he stands, and I sense that my final email to him reinforced his desire to work with us.”)
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Lingering Situa@ons – real‐@me example #2 that worked Hi Janice, I have no idea what is on your plate these days and whether the documenta7on project is s7ll of interest. If you are open, we could schedule a 10 minute call to check‐in. We’re absolutely fine if this isn’t something you need at this 7me. Either way, it would be helpful to know what the status is. Best regards, Wendy
(Result: Janice’s response ‐ “Wendy, Thanks for following up. I apologize for my delinquency these past weeks. I’ve had your email tagged for follow up since you sent it to me, but have not had a chance. I would appreciate the chance to speak with you regarding this. Does 4 PST (2 CST) on Thursday work for you?”)
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Lingering Situa@ons – real‐@me example #3 that worked Andy, When we last met you said you were interested in our prac7ce following our own pa7ents at St. Regis. I have not heard back from you for a follow‐up mee7ng with Linda and Sandy. I know you have lots going on. Since I have not heard back from you I am going to assume that now is not a good 7me to work out the details of our return to St Regis. If I’m mistaken, let me know and I will arrange for a mee7ng with Linda and Sandy. Otherwise I won't bug you about this anymore. Tim
(Result: “I received a phone call within three minutes of it being sent. We have our mee\ng coming up next Thursday. We are also in a posi\on of strength because it is now clear that they need us and they have shown their hand on that.”)
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Ques@ons People Have • When to use this approach • Is it possible to use this too early (or too late) • What if I offend someone • Can I follow up with them ever again • What if I don’t hear back • What makes this so effec7ve vs. what I’m doing now
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1.
A link to the slides will be emailed to you at the end of the webinar. They’re located on our community site in the Webinar Archives Group: hQp://perficency.ning.com/group/perficencywebinararchives Assignment reminders: – Choose a couple of key ques7ons that you and your team start asking earlier and more consistently in your process. Email me any “going away” email templates for your lingering deals if you want some feedback. Email me success stories or ques7ons, any 7me at: tom@perficency.com Join our online community: perficency.ning.com
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– – –
3. Buy the book at www.barkingupadeadhorse.com
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