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This week I need to share thoughts on an issue that comes up each year. It entails the role senior management should play at the end of the year when it comes to closing deals.
Your Role in Closing Year-End Deals
The pressure to make the year-end number is intense, and it’s easy to make quick decisions to close deals that will only come back later to haunt you and your company. This is especially critical if your customers buy from you on a regular basis.
Major mistake too many senior leaders make is they descend on a customer the last couple weeks of the year and make a deal with the customer that goes far beyond what the account manager would be allowed to do.
The deal may consist of a lower price, rebate options, extended terms or any number of other things, but the result is the same — the customer got a great deal.
Even more than the customer getting a good deal is the fact the account manager was completely undermined. The customer now knows if they want a really sweet deal, they need to talk with you, the senior leader. You’ll be very amenable to make deals at the end of your fiscal year.
Not only has profit been compromised (maybe permanently!), the credibility and self-esteem of the account manager has been totally wiped out. Is this what you want going into the new year? No!
The worst time for you to be going into a customer is at the end of the year, because the customer knows the main reason you’re there.
If deals have to be made to make the number, empower the account manager and let them do it. It’s not your job unless you want to become the highest paid account manager in your company.
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Copyright 2015, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
