I feel like a new mum. It's been a long and somewhat painful labour, but my new website under the brand salesSHIFTTM is born www.salesSHIFT.ca. She's still an infant and so we are continuing her development - adding information and resources to support your sales success - to bring her to full maturity over the weeks ahead. I invite you to come visit and get to know us better.
Take a peek at our philosophy on selling successfully in today's complex B2B environment. Learn how we shift the thinking of sales pros like you to enable you to differentiate your offerings to achieve extraordinary results. Participate in our on-line poll so we may learn more about what's important to you and provide you with valuable information and resources on an ongoing basis. Take advantage of our free resources. And, most importantly, enjoy some of the powerful success stories from our clients.
My feature article this month,The Black Hole of Selling, is particularly relevant in the current economy and a "must read" for those of you looking to improve the efficiency of your sales efforts.
And for anyone still not buying into the fact that there's big opportunity in the current market, take a minute to read Craig's Story to shift your thinking about these interesting times.
Enjoy the read and good selling!
Jill
P.S. I've simplified our e-mail addresses so we're easier to reach. Future issues of salesSHIFT will be sent under the new address so please be sure to add jill@salesshift.ca to your safe senders list.
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 Ever had what seemed like a really attractive sales opportunity go away? It simply disappeared into a black hole? According to research conducted by CSO Insights 22% of all sales opportunities result in "no decision." Trouble is you frequently do all of the work and create your awesome proposal long before you get to hear this. There's nothing more frustrating.
I anticipate that this statistic will be considerably higher in 2009 as companies are increasingly cautious about how they spend their budgets, and decisions are based on a more complex set of criteria. Couple this with the heightened pressure on you to find more business and you can be very busy with little new business to show for it. Not a great place to be.
So what's going on when sales opportunities just disappear?
There are a number of possibilities but here are a couple of the most common ones.
- This initiative is a "nice to do" but not critical to the buying organization's success.
- The customer is shopping around for ideas and information.
- Company policy dictates that multiple bids are required even when there is no intent to change.
- Internal resources are more than capable of doing the job.
When the customer decides to simply not move forward there's more at stake for you than the substantial cost of your time and resources. There's also the cost of missed opportunity from other more viable customers.
So make it a consistent practice in your sales process to get clear, up front, that you are working on "real opportunities."
How do you do this?
While there is no foolproof method, here are six questions that will help you minimize the risk of losing your next sale down the black hole.
- Why is the customer implementing this initiative or change, AND WHY NOW? You may perceive a valid reason for this client to move forward, but if there is no compelling reason from the customer's point of view then treat it as a warning light that flashes "proceed with caution." Take the time to explore further so that both you and your customer are clear on why, and if, this is a critical need now.
- How does this initiative stack up in the context of the bigger picture? Does this opportunity move the company closer to key strategic objectives? Money, time and resources flow to the biggest priorities and get pulled form the lesser ones. Broaden your focus to fully understand the implications of this particular project on the big goals.
- What circumstance could, or will, impact the decision to move forward? A decision to move forward later in the year may rest on this quarter's revenue results. Market conditions, competitive activity, budget consolidation and many other issues will influence future decision making. Know what you're dealing with and stay close to the customer so you can better predict the likely outcome.
- Are you playing on a level playing field? Let the customer know you want the straight answer. I asked this question recently and the response was a flat "no." The key decision influencer was required to obtain three bids but he had no intention of switching suppliers. Once this was out on the table I was able to shift the conversation to some powerful questions that I might not otherwise have asked. And I was able to make an educated decision on whether I wanted to take the next step. For longer term strategic reasons I chose to bid.
- What is your biggest competitive threat? Is it one of your direct competitors or is it the buyer's own internal resources? I've seen sales cycles drag on for months, with the seller jumping through hoops and providing extraordinary value, only to find out that the project will be managed in-house. Before you give away all of your intellectual property, explore the competitive options and the client's disposition to each of them.
- Are you talking to the decision influencers? To get straight answers you need to be talking to the people "in the know and in control," not just their representative. We've all been misled by a contact who, with the best intent, provides information that unwittingly takes us down a path to nowhere. Expand your connections and validate critical information from multiple sources.
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Opportunity Does Exist in a Weak Economy - Craig's Story
Craig is an experienced US based sales rep who, last year, took over a new sales territory selling integrated print services. A new territory meant starting from scratch in terms of gaining access to new clients and building fresh relationships. It had been an ongoing struggle because so many of his customers were satisfied with their current vendor relationships and saw no reason to change.
Craig participated in training with me last year and a couple of weeks ago I received an upbeat call from him. He wanted to share his good news. Despite the dramatic shift in the economic environment, he had just completed one of the best quarters of his career. The economic situation had, in fact, opened the door to opportunity for him. Many of his prospects were now willing to give him time. Their priorities had shifted dramatically and they were actively seeking creative ideas and fresh thinking to accomplish more with less.
The training had reiterated the need to get out of a "seller mindset," to hear what is specifically important to each individual client now, and Craig used this to gain a deep understanding of each individual's situation. As a result, not only is he getting time with new buyers, he has also closed deals that were not on the table last summer.
In these economic conditions some sales pros will struggle. Others will come through this period with stronger business relationships and new deals. It all depends on how you think, how you focus, and how you align with your customer.
What's it going to be for you?
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I'm Asking For
Your Help
A key objective of the salesSHIFTTM brand is to provide cost effective sales development on "highly sought after" sales topics via the web.
This will be aimed predominantly at smaller / mid size companies that don't have a large enough sales team to warrant bringing sophisticated training in-house. It will also be attractive to corporate reps who are not receiving the type of training they need from their own organization or who are seeking to augment, or enhance, the training provided within their company.
To do this effectively I need to build critical mass and so I have set a "big hairy goal" to triple the size of my database in the next three months. And I need your help!
Would you please forward this e-zine to ALL of your fabulous "B2B sales" colleagues, clients and suppliers who are looking to gain a competitive edge in a ferociously competitive market. Plan to do it TODAY before you forget and let them know that if they join our mailing list they'll receive our
free report
10 Tips To Improve Your Prospecting Results.
Thank you for your support!
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We're All New
potential2performance is now operating its sales development practice under the brand name salesSHIFTTM with a new website, mailing address and contacts.
Please make a note of the new mailing address and
contacts below.
My direct phone number remains unchanged.
3601 Highway #7 East,
Suite 400
Markham, Ontario
L3R 0M3
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