Selling is all about momentum. It’s about advancing the sale and building the relationship in a way that provides understanding and clarity to both the seller and the prospective customer.
Oftentimes in the sales process, we can get ahead of ourselves and jump to close the deal before nurturing our prospect through the proper sales cycle. This can result in confusion due to unorganized communication.
So, how can we eliminate uncertainty and enable sales success?
At the end of each and every meeting, ask for a specific next step!
Here are 3 next step strategies to help create sales momentum.
The Executive Summary Strategy
Decision making has changed. Instead of selling to just one person, we must also sell to a group or committee of people involved in the process. This can be challenging for many reasons. For instance, your contact might say they need to discuss with their team privately, which leaves you reliant on your contact to position the solution on your behalf.
Put your best foot forward in this type of situation by creating a simple one-page executive summary that is tailored to who it will be shared with, whether it’s an individual or a group. This summary should clearly outline what your company does and how it will uniquely help this prospective customer, as well as one or two relevant success stories to show how similar companies are succeeding. This is a great way to move the sale along and control the communication to the people you haven’t had the chance to meet yet.
The Question Strategy
You’ve been working on a potential sale for a few weeks and you feel like it might be stalling out. How do you get it back on track? Reach out to your direct contact with questions they will not know the answers to. Yes, you read that right. This works as a next step strategy because it will re-engage your contact as well as get someone else involved.
You might be thinking: why do I need to get someone else involved? If you have the feeling the sale might be stalling out, then you should consider whether or not you are talking to the right person. Depending on your offering or solution, the question strategy works in terms of who you want to get involved and what information you still need in order to fully understand their needs and eventually close the deal. For instance, you may want to ask your direct contact more technical oriented questions to determine how your solution would fit into their current environment. This way, you, your direct contact, and the technical person can learn from each other and because of what you’ve learned you will be able to create a more tailored and targeted proposal.
The Boss Strategy
Similar to the ‘Question Strategy’ you can use this as a tactic for getting the decision maker or higher level executive in the room during your next meeting. This can help when you’re put in a sales situation that requires going above your main contact’s head. Perhaps you think this will improve the chances of closing the deal or maybe you see a larger opportunity at hand that you realize your contact doesn’t have the authority to make.
Whatever the reason may be, the tricky part is making this request in a strategic way. One thing you can do is bring your boss to this meeting. The presence of your boss and your prospect’s boss adds an air of credibility and seriousness. With their support, the initiative will have a better chance of success.
Selling is all about getting a reaction and then suggesting a strategic next step in order to keep the sale moving forward. Did you ask for a scheduled next step in your last meeting? If not, try our suggestions next time around.
What are your favorite next step strategies to use?
