Massive Mistake: Rushing the Sale
In New Economy Selling I mention that one of the worst things you can do is rush the sale. No matter what you sell, there are generally four major elements to every sales cycle: Qualification, Developing a Solution, Negotiation, Closing.
Usually, the part that takes the longest is the second part - developing a solution. This is where most sales people feel the need to rush. One of the best things that you can do to create patience for yourself and help the buyer along as well, is to document all the steps and checkpoints the buyer wants to see completed before they commit to buying your solution.
I suggest that these things be documented, with milestones dates attached to each event and co-managed with the prospect. This does a number of things. First, it shows that the prospect has some ’skin in the game’ because they’re willing to invest in and participate actively in the evaluation process. Second, it creates a time based road-map of how long the sales cycle should take (which of course is always longer than we’d like). Lastly, it helps you to manage your manager (and helps managers manage their bosses) because you can show this table of events to them as they are being checked off week after week.
This is a great way to manage down the usual pressure that comes from above when your pipeline is being scrutinized. If your manager says we need to close this business NOW, you will have a credible tool to show them why it’s not ready yet and why rushing would be a bad idea. It also helps to “see” what is happening at each of those steps so that you can proactively manage success with each step.
I just love this approach. It has always worked well for me and is a great method to help you resist to succumb to the pressure of rushing the sale. It also helps the prospect feel like they are working with a credible, professional organization who has their processes together.
Sales cycles have only one agenda when it comes to timing and that’s the buyer’s. If you’re feeling pressure to rush a sales cycle - don’t. Instead, I suggest that you spend your time and energy finding more prospective business so that you don’t have apply pressure where it isn’t prudent.
~Brooks.
Tags: Sales Mistakes, Sales Skills