So you need to make up for lost time. It's the fourth
quarter, and you're trying to boost revenues and contain
costs--at all costs! Guess what? VITO, the Very Important Top
Officer, wants to do the exact same thing at his company.
Here's the good news: Putting this all important commonality to
work is certain to catapult your sales figures into the
stratosphere and, in the process, help you win a customer for
life.
If you have some sales in your forecast that are ready to close
but seem to be taking too long, take this single, most important
thought, put it in your mind, and then perform the three tasks
I'll outline below for each of the pending sales.
Here's the thought:
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Right now, VITO wants to buy what you have to sell and the
results it can deliver just as fast as you want to sell it.
Here are the steps:
Step #1. Take a realistic look at your sales forecast.
Select the top 50 percent of deals you've been working on
during the past quarter that have the greatest revenue potential
and highlight them with a bright yellow marker. These are the sales
that are ready to happen but, for whatever reason, seem to be stuck
just waiting for the approver's approval.
Step #2. Find out VITO's name. Get the name of the
CEO, president or owner and give them a call. When you've got
them on the phone, find out the answers to the following questions.
(I'll get to the actual words you'll be using in a
paragraph or two.)
1. What's this approver's level of loyalty to their
organization's current source of supply that you're wanting
to replace? (Caution: Their current source of supply may be an
internal department or division!)
2. What's the approver's timeframe for each strategic
initiative you can help with?
3. Who in the approver's inner circle is held responsible
for implementing the tactical plans to accomplish #2 above?
Step #3. Talk the talk. Here are some examples of what
you can factor into your phone conversation with VITO. I strongly
suggest you use some variation of one or more of the following
statements or questions. (Note: All bracketed text must be tailored
to your specific sales situation.)
"Ms. Importanta, your [Regional Marketing Manager Jackie
Jackson] sees the tremendous value in our [cost containment] ideas
[for use before the end of November] in your [national new product
release]. Before we take another step forward, we'd like to
know how you personally decide on selecting a business partner and
if you're predisposed in any way toward any particular provider
of [internet-based marketing and consulting firms]."
Here's what you just did:
You dropped the name of the decision maker you've been
working with, and you asked the all-important qualifying question
of how VITO selects a business partner. By the way, this question
won't go unanswered, because you've used the key operative
word "personally." And you wrapped it up with asking if
VITO has an unspoken loyalty to anyone else.
"Mr. Benefito, you're hearing from me today to thank
you in advance for supporting our [rush to revenue] initiatives
that we've been presenting to [Ima Tightwad, your CFO]. Our
current readiness target is for the end of the [first quarter next
year]. Will this satisfy your current [revenue and profit margin
plans]?"
Here's what you just did:
You stated in a positive way that you totally expect to get the
"order." You took whatever it is you're selling to
VITO and stated the result/benefit. You set the timeframe (which,
as you and I both know, will never be soon enough for VITO), and
you asked if that current timeframe would satisfy VITO (which, as
you and I also know, won't).
"Ms.Importanta, [Buggs Mahoney], your [head scientist in
the infectious disease laboratory], and I have been working for the
past [six months] on an idea that will [increase revenues, contain
costs and improve the accuracy of each test in the lab]. Our
current path will take us about [four months] to realize these
results. Does our current schedule comply with your goals, or is
there someone else in your organization we should be also working
with?"
Here's what you just did:
You gave a soft accolade for Buggs--you never want to overstate
or inflate anything you say to VITO. You also stated that
you've done your due diligence and put the results in terms of
benefits that VITO can easily understand. Then you asked the
all-important question of compliance with VITO's needs and
timeframe.
Reality check: If you're saying to yourself, "This
sounds too risky! I might peeve my current contact and lose the
deal," you're right--it is a bit scary. However,
you'll never, ever lose any sale that you were going to win by
using any technique I'll ever suggest. You'll simply get
the result you want sooner. And that's just what you and VITO
want and deserve.