AREAS OF WEAKNESS

Be aware of these problem areas which will usually arise during the sale, and address them immediately to avoid wasting time on a dying prospect.

MISSING INFORMATION

For example, have you identified the competitors, agreed the process & timeframes, understand the decision provess and who is making the decision, is their budget available to spend etc. If you don't know all of these types of things then the missing information creates a void in your probability of success.

DIFFERING INFORMATION

Have you heard different things from different sources, have you confirmed timeframes with different sources? Just because one contact tells you something doesn't mean its the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Check with others and don't assume you are getting the truth. Remember there are many people who have different objectives within the client organisation and you may be getting blocked, or fed misinformation to send you off the trail because a particular person doesn't want you product. Maybe their brother is selling the competitive product!

UNCONTACTED DECISION MAKER TYPE

Have you contacted and preferably met the decision maker types, identified their personal wins? Do you know who has the ability to make the purchasing decision, do you know who the users are and are they happy with your product, are the technical evaluators recommending your product over the competition, and do you have some inside help within the customer organisation to coach you as to what's happening and who to speak with?

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ANY DECISION MAKER TYPES NEW TO THE JOB

New people bring on new responsibilities and changing roles, resulting in changing opinions and re-thinking of requirements, projects, etc. Be sure to qualify out any new people on the job that might have differing opinions or previous suppliers they might bring in with them that could take the business.

RE-ORGANISATION

Possibly the worst situation. If you sense a re-organisation coming, close the deal immediately or it will almost certainly delay. Reorganisation can mean many new decision maker types will change roles and their influence on the purchasing decision.