WHEN IS AN ORDER REALLY AN ORDER?
Dan:
I'd like to get your thoughts on when we can celebrate a huge order we just landed. It was highly competitive and my entire field team along with tremendous help from headquarters helped me land the deal. I want to congratulate my team as soon as possible.
Thanks!
Peter Brookfield, WI
Peter:
First, CONGRATULATIONS on your huge victory! Here comes the caveat.
For those who have attended my TTS workshops you are well aware of my position on celebrating a victory too early. Remember the videos depicting sports heros who declare victory before crossing the finish line? Those who celebrate too early may find that tears of joy anticipating a win can quickly turn to tears of disappointment.
In short, an order is not an order until ALL of the following occur:
- You Have The Verbal Commitment
- You Have All The Necessary Paperwork Signed
- You Have Received Credit Authorization/Approval
- You Have Delivered Your Solution
- You Have Installed/Implemented Your Solution
- You Have Received Full Payment
- You Have A Happy Customer
- Your Customer Buys From You Over And Over Again
- Your Customer Enthusiastically Refers Others To You
- You Leave The Company or Retire!
Obviously, the message here is that you really never can take your customer for granted. You must always be vigilant and mindful that your competition can woo your customer while you are in celebration mode.
One thing you can do to secure your customer's choice is to send a "Win Letter".
The timing of this letter is very important. You should send it as soon as you receive word from the decision maker that she has formally decided on your solution. Do not wait for the final purchase order. If you do, you may never get the opportunity to send it. A win letter has three purposes:
First, it serves to battle cognitive dissonance, or buyer's remorse. After making a major decision it is human nature to doubt the decision. The superstar delivers this letter to stifle any second thoughts that might arise in the mind of the decision maker by reminding him of all the good reasons he made the choice he made.
Second, a win letter helps to defend against the all-out assault sure to come from your competitors once they hear that they will lose this opportunity. During this time the competition will try almost anything to convince the customer to change his mind. Dramatic price drops; flying in the CEO from Europe; free accessories; use it for one year free, and then pay; free installation; a five-year warranty - you name it, I've seen it! Since a final purchase order could take days or months to process, in the mind of your customer the letter provides closure to the process and may help terminate the competitor relationships. Sending the letter solidifies the finality of the customer's choice to buy from you. It is worded in such a way that your customer believes that vendor selection is complete, and there is no reason to continue discussion with other vendors.
Third, the win letter makes it clear you are a superstar. It includes a strong commitment from you not to dine and dash or disengage from the customer now that the sale is made.
Having said all this, I hope you can celebrate. You and your team worked hard for this order and you and your team need to be rewarded. At the same time, you need to be very aware that your job is not over when you receive the order. A Sales Superstar realizes that the toughest part of the job is yet to come. That is, insuring that you exceed all of the expectations that you have set with your client.
Good Luck, and Close 'Em!
p.s. For a preview of the other strategies, be sure to visit www.salesstrategizer.com for the new Selling Power Sales Strategizer iPhone app. The Sales Strategizer "Pro":
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Analyzes data input to provide intelligence in the form of recommendations for the proper major account sales strategy (strategies) to employ
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Consolidates user inputs to illustrate the chances of winning with an indicator gauge and digital readout
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Submits "red flag" coaching feedback with action items to improve chances of winning
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Coaches and explains why inputs are critical by providing hyperlinks in each question
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Presents a simple and concise summary report to facilitate coaching & major account review
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Provides summary report e-mail capability for sharing and printing
- Creates a database to store account Strategizer results for subsequent updates and modifications
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