Get to YES and not lost in Sales Maybeland

Often, I get contacted by salespeople and they tell me they are really busy, but sales revenue is down.  They point at how many quotes they have done how much $ is in the pipe waiting for decisions and how much work they are doing that on opportunities that will result in a sale ….at some time in the future.

They are busy being busy, following up the decisionmakers, calling, leaving messages, sending emails, and not getting replies. A week goes by then 2 weeks then 3, and still, they keep holding out hope and counting the possible opportunities.  

When I start analysing the data, and their behaviours I of course find a bloated pipeline which is the outcome of not dealing with the real malaise, I have in effect a ’Salesperson lost in maybeland’. 

How do you avoid getting yourself in this position

1.  Salesperson Time Management

It might seem unusual in to reference time management in a commentary about sales, however one of the first steps to increase your sales results is becoming a better manager of your own time.   

For only when you are motivated to better control your own time will you start to better appreciate that better qualified potential opportunities mean less time spent chasing inappropriate proposals that are not going to be successful. 

A salesperson must develop an appreciation that any quote has a related cost, of their time, company resources to create it, it is not something that is free and to handed out like confetti.  If you do not value your time you will give it away too easily 

If you do not value your time how can you expect your prospects to value it and give you time appropriate answers.

2. Understanding Reciprocation 

To explain Step 2, let me tell a story

If we should meet and go for a coffee and I buy the coffee for us both, next time without discussing the gesture you would offer to return the gesture and buy coffee for me.  This is the principle of reciprocation in action.

As humans we are wired do not like to be indebted to another and so we seek to find neutral balance. The tension from the imbalance creates an unconscious obligation and an expectation between the two parties.

By creating conversations and interactions that tap into this unconscious response we use reciprocation to trigger reciprocal obligation within the sales process. In specific regard to avoiding sales maybeland, this could be as simple as getting an agreement upfront that if you do a quote the prospect agrees to make the decision on a specific convenient date, (and of course you can build in much more to make the obligation/expectation stronger).  

This principle first outlined by Dr Robert Cialdini in his book stands true in all manner of engagements, I invite you to repeat the exercise at a person level and then ask the other person why they brought the return coffee. Then start to experiment in sales interactions.

The main point here is to understand how powerful, automatic, and unconscious this is, and how commonplace in any interaction.

(Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion   https://www.robertcialdinibf.com/ )

3. Understanding Negative Time Management 

If you do not value your own time, then others, colleagues, prospects will not value it either, you will give it away easily, doing others work, helping others out when not needed, this does not mean being rude or uncooperative, it means have clarity around the targets you have and the time it takes to achieve them.

Why would the prospect place value on responding promptly to any query or proposal if you have not shown any concern around getting timely answers.

4. Commitment and Consistency

Another principle of persuasion that also comes into play here is the connection between what you say you will do and what you do. 

If you are placing expectations on someone else, they need to have a high degree of trust that you will also do as you say in return, a sign of commitment and consistency, the 2^nd principle of persuasion. 

In short if you mutually agree a date and time to follow up a quotation or any other matter you MUST call at that time, this consistency in your actions supports the prospect doing the same in return.

5. Authority

Having establish clarity and expectations around the actions that you and the prospect will take, it is important you also create clarity around the actual outcome, the final decision.

Use authority to affirm and confirm that a decision is expected, the date agreed. The prospect should know exactly what will happen if they say yes; (order, deposit etc); and if they say no; (questioning to reveal undisclosed objections, and that one or the other is expected.  

Conclusion

Before you hand over any document, quote, or proposal, where there is an answer expected stop and ask yourself do you really know what will happen with it, who will see it, who needs to see it, how will the decision be made, by whom and when. 

1.Place a higher value on your time so you become more selfish with it and use that to strengthen your resolve to not waste time on inappropriate proposals and quotes.

2. Understand the principles of persuasion, reciprocation, commitment and consistency, authority and use them to seek answers, agree actions and confirm timeframes before you present information that requires a decision.

3. Do not forget to ask for the business, for a decision.

If you follow these points

·         You will get to yes quicker, and likely more often.

·         You will get to no, quicker.

You will leave being ‘Lost in Maybeland’ to a story you once read in a children’s book.

So,

How explicitly are you setting and agreeing mutual expectations with your prospects?