4 Main Reasons Why Sellers Lose Deals Blog Feature
Molly D Protosow

By: Molly D Protosow on March 21st, 2013

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4 Main Reasons Why Sellers Lose Deals

Tender | Sales Tips | business | buying process | RFP | consultant

 

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There are 4 main reasons behind sellers losing the deals that they’ve invested their precious time in.  They are the following:

  1. ***No outreach was made prior to the issuance of the RFP/ Tender.***
  2. Lack of understanding in the role your contact plays within the buying process.
  3. Lack of initiative in gathering insight on the buyer’s history and thought process.
  4. Failure to provide a very concise picture of how the solution you provide will solve his or her problem.

In the next 4 installments, we will explore each insightfully so that we can save the deal before we lose it.

1.   No outreach was made prior to the issuance of the RFP / Tender – It’s hard to sell a deal without pre-selling it.  Consider what happens when an RFP is issued.  Someone had to write that RFP - a Consultant, a Committee or a Competitor.  Think about the implications of each role. If a consultant wrote the RFP, we really need to take the time to learn who that person is and investigate why the company chose to place that power in the hands of a consultant.  Who hired that consultant?  Why that consultant? Are they paid a flat fee, a percentage of the upside they produce, or a percentage of the budget they working with?  If it’s a committee that wrote the RFP, then it is really in your best interest to learn who the figure was that decided there ought to be a committee? Who selected those committee members? Has this committee ever worked together before? If they have not, they may not have an easy way of cooperating or method of voting on a single choice. Committees tend to come up with an amalgam of compromises rather than solid decisions, unless they have worked together previously. Sometimes, committee members have long standing disagreements or biases that can get in the way. The worst position to be in is that a competitor, who has a better relationship with the prospect, has already influenced the selection criteria.  Since this is our worst case scenario, we need to “shake up the process” and be that competitor who is able to influence the customer in advance, before that RFP is issued.  If you’re on the sidelines, patiently waiting to play until they invite you, you may really be too late – or worse: your proposal will be used to justify buying from someone else.

In the next installment, we will look at the importance of starting the sale with the right person and the reasons why we may inadvertently begin with the wrong people.  When you initially reach out, are you asking, “Who is in charge of buying ____?”  Maybe we should consider who we usually end up with when we begin that way. 

 

 

About Molly D Protosow

Molly Protosow is the COO and Training Strategist for DMTraining. She manages the day-to-day business and training operations while helping research and develop new training programs as well as refreshing signature programs to reflect the newest sales trends, technology, and best practices. Molly utilizes her wide-range of skills to create sales and marketing assets focused on delivering value to DMT’s clients. Molly has a passion for learning and leveraging new knowledge and experiences. Outside of DMTraining, Molly is a hard core Pittsburgh sports fan, enjoys staying active by running and golfing, and unwinds by reading and playing the piano.

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