Speed sells. It’s simple. Let’s not complicate things. If the customer wants to buy, close the sale and close it NOW.
Let me explain what I mean.
While working with a VP of Sales, he shared with me how he and his firm had been in the market for some very sophisticated systems that would allow their company to grow much faster.
The system would require having a long-term relationship with the vendor due to the size of the project.
It came down to only two vendors who were capable of delivering as needed and both of the vendors knew where they stood from the start of the sales process. It’s at this point where the wheels came off.
One company was insistent on dragging out the buying process over numerous calls, meetings and ultimately months. During the first meeting, the salesperson showed a flowchart as to how the buying process would go. The flowchart consisted of an endless number of meetings and activities over a period of months.
The objective of the process was to allow the vendor to have enough time to show every feature in detail.
The other vendor being considered came in, and on the initial meeting, demonstrated simplicity. They emphasized how they could get things moving forward quickly.
Need I say who the VP of Sales selected? He went with the vendor that demonstrated speed. To him the choice was simple. If a company couldn’t sell fast, then why would anyone expect them to do anything else fast?
What I find amazing is to step back and look at the difference in the amount of selling resources the two vendors required. One can only imagine what the cost of sales would be to the first company if their selling process was truly that long and drawn out.
Ask yourself what you can do to streamline your selling process.
Are you spending time doing nothing more than the outdated capabilities presentation that no buyer in their right mind wants to sit through?
Speed sells. Get the initial order and build up from there.
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.
In one of the telemarketing offices I run, there is a rule: if you spoke with a client but did not close you do not get to keep the lead. Even if you agreed with the client that they will buy the next day, you do not keep the lead. The next day someone else will get it and you probably lost a sale.
This keeps everyone pushing for a close instead of getting comfortable talking endlessly and as a result they close a lot more!