Thoughtful Thursdays – Working with the prospect who appears not ready to buy
What do you do when a prospect is not ready to buy? One thought is that they might be more ready than you think. Do you know for sure they are not ready?
Let’s assume the qualification process has been positive and you keep getting the “we’re not ready yet” response to your attempts to close the sale. Rather than trying more closing techniques, take a step back and retrace your sales activities with the prospect.
- Review your customer needs assessment and confirm what you believe is still in fact true.
- Is there a reason for the lack of urgency you may have overlooked?
- Is it possible there are external factors in play not in your control ?
- Are the prospects financial resources sufficient to purchase your goods and/or services?
- Is there an incumbent supplier you are trying to replace?
The answers to these questions may not answer the question of why your prospect appears not ready to buy, but I expect that the insights gained will.
Use the information you gather and ask yourself what it is telling you rather than taking it at face value. It may very well be that your prospect is ready to buy, but not yet from you.
- Perhaps the level of trust is not yet at the level it needs to be
- The incumbent may have counter offered
- The prospects budgets may have been cut
- The timing of the need may have changed
Circumstances change all the time and can become obstacles to sales. You can let them be an obstacle or work to shorten your sales cycle through insightful interpretation of the facts and development of more effective sales strategies.
Good selling,
Richard
Have a question about sales? Contact me and I will respond.
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