“Slow Things Down to Speed Things Up”
Two weeks ago, I had a client tell me: “Jack, I can’t tell you how many times I tell my team to slow things down to speed things up.” A few days later, another client told me the same thing, “I tell my team, you need to slow it down to speed it up!”
Even better, both of these teams are thriving. One set a record in September and expects another in October. The other client put it like this, “Every rep that has bought into the process is succeeding. Those that have not, are not.”
Slowing down your sales experience will speed it up.
Applying Gates
I’m talking about creating a sales experience with discernable steps and gates. Yes, gates. A prospective client does not move on in the sales experience until:
- All the activities for a step have been completed (external AND internal)
- All the required information has been collected
- Upon completing 1&2, you determine if they are allowed to move forward
Allowed?!? Yes, allowed. There needs to be clear, intentional decision making at each step of the experience. It does not kill the momentum of the opportunity, it will increase the likelihood of closing a sale.
Crickets…
How is this possible? Well, how many opportunities that your sales team rushed through the sales experience get stuck at the end? Crickets…no response…
More than half would be a generous estimate – on the low side. Talk about slowing down a deal! It is stuck, and you don’t know how to get it unstuck! Why? You do not know why they want to buy. You rushed to “beat” your competition and either ended up missing important information you needed to create a compelling solution, or they are not a fit and you don’t even know it. But wow – your pipeline is sure full of “opportunities”!
It Takes Guts
Be respectful of your potential customer’s time, but don’t waste it:
- Collaborate with the prospective customer and gain agreement at the beginning on how the sales experience will play out.
- Don’t give in to their request to skip a critical step.
- Let them know how the process benefits them and will enhance their decision-making process.
- Respectfully walk away if they are too anxious or if it is not a fit.
It takes guts to do this. However, once you learn to ride the bike, it gets easier and easier until it becomes second nature. Get out there and fill your pipeline with the right opportunities. The more you do this, the better you will get at recognizing right-fit customers and creating profitable, successful relationships.
