by best selling author and speaker, Tim Connor, CSP
One of the common sales traps that many salespeople fall into is the loss of control of the sales process. Here are a few common examples.
1. The prospect asks you to send them some literature and you do without first asking why they want it, what are they going to do with it or do they really need it to make a decision and why.
2. You submit a proposal for your products or services and wait for a decision or response.
3. You leave a voice mail message for the prospect to call you back.
4. You send them to your website and tell them to call you if they have any questions.
5. During the presentation they ask all of the questions and you just answer them.
6. They have a price concern and you lower the price with no guarantee that this action will make a difference.
7. They say they need to discuss this with another decision maker and you let them without a strategy to stay involved.
8. They ask the price early in the sales process and you give it to them.
9. They tell you that the decision is going to be made by a committee and they will let you know their decision as soon as it is made and you don’t stay involved in the process.
10. They select another supplier and you never know why you didn’t get the business.
Guilty of any of these? There are dozens of additional ways that you can lose control of the sales process by turning the control consciously or unconsciously to the prospect.
What can you do to keep control of the sales process? I can’t give you a technique for every possible scenario, that would take a book. But, here are a few general rules to consider.
1. The person who asks the questions controls the conversation. The person who talks the most dominates it.
2. When you turn over control of the sales process to the prospect it will generally not turn out the way you want it to.
3. Maintaining control is a function of confidence, courage, skill and assertiveness.
4. Keep your eyes open for methods to keep control of the process. For example when the prospect says the decision is going to be made by a committee. You can ask to give a presentation to the committee. You can ask for a conference call with the committee. You can ask to be present while the committee is discussing your proposal. And don’t tell me they won’t let you do any of these. You never know until you ask.
5. Develop an advocate or champion for your product or service within your prospect’s organization. This person can help you when you can’t be present in every meeting or discussion about your offer or proposal.
Now see if you can think of five more ways to keep from losing control of the sales process.
