Do we sometimes ask for the business before the buyer is ready to buy? When? End of year? End of quarter? End of month? Why? Because we have deadlines and are often pressured by management to "bring the deal in" earlier than expected. And what do we typically do to get the buyer to buy early? Offer incentives, often discounts. Discounting this late in the process not only devalues our offering, but could put the buyer into more risk, questioning whether they should buy at all.

When have we earned the right to ask for the business? In earlier issues of Sales Bytes, we talked about the importance for salespeople to understand all the activities involved in the prospect's buying process. If a prospect identifies and agrees to specific activities and a timeline for making a buying decision, there will be an inherent "close" built into the process. The "close" will come after all the agreed upon activities have been completed. That is when we have earned the right to ask for the business.   

Now, is it ok to ask for the business early? Of course. And if the buyer is ready to buy, we shouldn't even have to offer an incentive. However, if the buyer says they are not ready (ie., they need more time to further evaluate you offering...), we suggest you "back off". If we continue to pressure them to buy (even with incentives), we are telling them that we care more about us (and making our quota) than we do about them.