Top 10 bad questions to ask your prospect!

Throughout this blog we have discussed the value of asking insightful, value-added questions to your prospects to establish both your credibility and the credibility of your proposed solution.  Steve Giglio has brilliantly captured the worst questions a sales professional could ask in this economy (or anytime!).

Analyze and Review the FRONT of the Pipeline…Why?

The vast majority of pipeline reviews or discussions focus on what’s closing this week, this month or this quarter.  Sales manager’s typically dig in to the details of the latest proposal and associated meetings, calls, and e-mails regarding the transition from proposed business, to a verbal agreement, to contract negotiation and signatures.  Sales executives maintain a similar focus on the “end game” as that is the pre-cursor to “pay day”.  I would not quibble with the notion that such analysis on this portion of the pipeline is important, but I believe it is also a two-edged sword.  Sales organizations that overweight analysis and focus on the bottom of the sales funnel risk erratic monthly or quarterly attainment.  If the sales team develops a group of prospects, moves them through the cycle, and then closes a percentage of  them, the result is that your have superior attainment in the months at the end of the sales cycle duration, and reduced attainment in the interim while the focus returns to the front of the pipeline. 

The best way to smooth out monthly attainment, either as an individual or a team, is to place a significant emphasis on how many new, qualified opportunities are entering the FRONT of the pipe ( top of the funnel) during the review interval.  If your typical sales cycle is 75-90 days, a percentage of the new, qualified opportunities entering the cycle in March are the business that’s closing in June.  If you or your team spends most of March closing January’s new opportunities, and the top of the funnel languishes, then you will have a good March, but a less than stellar May and June.

My contention is that a balanced review of the top, middle, and bottom of the pipeline funnel is the best practice to drive consistent overall performance.  This approach has other benefits including identifying and addressing opportunties that are “stuck” in the middle of the pipeline, as well as providing the sales leadership team immediate notice of a lack of qualified, new opportunities which will negatively impact future attainment.  In this manner, there will be some time to take action.

As my colleague, Dave Kurlan says “the sales pipeline is the single, most accurate predictor of future revenue”.  Let’s give equal time to the FRONT of the pipe!

Competitive Selling Fundamentals

I think we can agree that nearly all sales opportunities involve some level of threat from a competitor.  Many times that competitor is “no decision” which is extremely challenging, but a topic for another post.  When your competitor is a known alternative software solution, winning the deal demands flawless execution and attention to detail (which is what we strive for in every sales process).   Here are some rules, strategies and tactics to incorporate into your process.

1. Never disparage the competition directly.  On numerous occaisions, I have told a prospect that I am very comfortable discussing the benefits of my solution, and uncomfortable discussing my competitor’s solution, because I am far more knowledgable about my solution.  It’s important to take the high ground early.  That said, I have shared experiences from my customers who evaluated both my solution and a competitive one.  I believe it is important to keep such stories positive ie: “My customer really liked the way we handle _____ versus some of the other methods he/she reviewed”.  This is double-dipping by providing a customer reference and creating some FUD (fear, uncertainty, & doubt) about a competitor.  Enough on that.

2. Given that our mission is to successfully differentiate our solution, the process begins at the beginning.  Your initial and early interactions with the prospect have to feature intelligent questions, active listening, and on-going confirmations of the discussions.  This process builds not only credibility, but is the foundation for the business relationship.  Intuitive and insightful questions exploring the business problem, followed by confirmations of the discussions, create a vision for the solution, as well as trust, clarity and alignment.

If it isn’t already apparent or discussed, one of your questions should be about competitors.  This could take the form of a question about the evaluation process.  My strategy is to be nonchalant and simply ask directly what other solutions are being evaluated.  Often times I know my counterpart(s) on the competing team and weave that into the conversation as a means of displaying confidence and reducing any tension, perceived or otherwise.

3.  It’s not all high level vision and alignment though to gain a competitive advantage.  As sales professionals we still have to ensure there is pain, and equally importantly there is a compelling event or reason to buy, and budget.  We need to identify the buyer and confirm they care and the project or initiative is on the near term radar screen.  Once the buyer is identified, it is important to do some research (LinkedIn or other social networking sites)  for two reasons.  First,  you want to know who they know or who you know who may be an asset, and secondly, to identify potential relationships your competitor(s) have which could impact the decision adversely.

4.  Much of what we learned and confirmed earlier will find it’s way into your proposal.  View your proposal as the “silent salesperson” who provides written testimony of the key discussions you have had.  This includes a crisp, accurate description of the current situation (pain/compelling event), description of the agreed upon solution, your qualifications to deliver the solution (relevant customer success stories), pricing proposal, and business terms.  It is important that the proposal include everything that’s been discussed and agreed to.  Someone who is not familiar with your process should be able to read your proposal and understand exactly what is proposed, why, and how.  It is very likely that some unidentified executive may read your proposal (the “silent sales person”) and have influence over the decision. The proposal is the last line of defense against negative competitive or unforeseen influence within your prospect.

5. In a perfect world, you would have won the deal prior to presenting your proposal.  In the event that’s not the case, it is important to strive for a meeting to present your proposal.   I know some who refuse to submit a proposal unless they have an opportunity to present it.  Your meeting allows you to give a final review and confirmation of the business case for your solution, to ASK FOR THE ORDER,  and to confirm the decision process and time-lines.  If there is an unresolved competitive issue, it will appear at this session.  It may be wise to have resources available to help you overcome a last minute challenge.

In closing, I will relate a story whereby my sales team had gone through this process from A-Z and we were in a dead-heat tie with our most feared competitor.  We ended up winning because we had a better relationship, and had built trust.  The buyer approached me in the 11th hour and explained how their budget cycle released monies at different times throughout the year.  She told me she had the money for the total amount (low 6 figures) and could get a waiver to release it all at once, but that if we could modify our billing terms to align with her budget, she would sign the deal immediately.  I sold the deal to our CFO and we won.  Our competitor was never given the opportunity. 

Good luck!