3 questions to put you in charge when your proposal is stalled
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 @ 11:34 AM
I conducted a coaching session last week with an extremely experienced rep as part of an inside sales training course I delivered to his company. His dilemma? His proposal had repeatedly been stalled over and over by his director-level prospect, and he wanted to unstick it and move the sales process forward. The goal for the coaching session? Call in at a higher level and find out why the proposal wasn’t moving forward. Does this situation sound familiar?
He wanted to talk to an exec in a power position, and we worked with him to make it happen. He was able to reach a VP that the director reported to, and the VP confirmed that the director was indeed leading the way. The VP suggested that sales conversations continue with the Director. And so the call ended.
In our debriefing session which followed, I asked the rep if his solution was considered by the prospect to be a “have to have” or a “nice to have.” He wasn’t sure, and that’s where the problem lies.
Have to Have or Nice to Have?
Even experienced reps forget to nail down this important question, and it is important. If it’s a “nice to have,” there is no compelling reason to buy the solution. And the proposal can sit in an in-basket forever. If, on the other hand, it’s a “have to have,” we’ve got to discover why, in the prospect’s own words, why it’s important. This takes the guesswork out of really understanding the prospect’s business, and should lead the rep to a frank return-on-investment (ROI) discussion. When we have that discussion, we’ll understand how the prospect is going to “sell” the solution to his or her CFO, who will have important input as to whether the solution makes financial sense to adopt. And that will help to push the proposal forward, because we’ve discovered a compelling business reason, as stated by the prospect, for its adoption at his or her company. It's also a key to succeeding in any price negotiations that follow.
The “sell” to the CFO usually takes place behind the scenes, and a big part of your job is to work with the prospect to craft a proposal that will pass financial muster. So here are three questions that will put you in charge when your proposal is stalled:
1) “Is this a ‘nice to have’ or ‘have to have’? ”
2) (If “have to have”) “From a financial perspective, would you explain your thoughts on why this solution makes sense for your company?”
3) (If “nice to have”) “What would have to change in order for this to become a ‘have to have’? ”
The answer to number three could result in an answer from everything from being product-specific to an organizational change, to an “event” which, if it occurred, would place your solution on the front burner. In the case of our rep above, I suspect he’s in a ‘nice to have’ scenario. Since our coaching session had ended and I had to move on with another rep, I asked him to call the VP again and redirect the conversation by asking those questions. And I’ll bet he’ll find out a lot more on that second call as to what’s really happening with his proposal.
It’s quite common for us to get real excited when talking with a prospect that wants a proposal. So before you put your time into it, be sure to ask those questions. The answers will tell you if you need to do more to create a unique value proposition, and will help you to deliver a proposal that will make better financial sense to your prospect. Add “have to have” questions to your Best Practices Playbook.