One of the top challenges in b2b sales is stalled opportunities.
Even with a qualified sales opportunity, where the problem is clear and there's significant evidence that it exists and negatively impacts your client's business, you cannot help your client if they're unwilling to commit the right resources.
The three crucial resources are time, people and money.
You want to know very early on if there is an overlap between what your clients feel is necessary and what you think is required to get a solution that exactly meets their needs.
Here’s what to say to help you have an open and realistic conversation with your client without being pushy.
You have just discussed the opportunity with your client, who agreed it is worth pursuing.
Here’s what to say and why it works.
Time
When were you hoping to get started?
What kind of time frame are we working with?
What is the date you hope to have these results in place?
Why it works:
You’re not pushing for a commitment or trying to close the deal. You’re simply finding out what works for your client and ensuring that you are both on the same page.
It’s a red flag if:
It’s too soon. Not realistic.
Too far into the future. You know that it won’t be in next quarter’s forecast!
Timing is undefined. Then, you need to qualify more if this is not a priority.
People
How are you allocating your team members for this project?
Do you have preliminary thoughts about how we should divide the effort between our team?
How do you envision our teams collaborating on this project? Have you considered the roles or responsibilities?
Why it works:
First, you would want to know who the other stakeholders and members are.
Second, how will your client divide the effort and responsibilities between them and your company? You are not trying to get into specific details or daily activities.
You want a rough sense of the involved stakeholders and your client’s criteria for success.
Money:
Have you run your numbers for this project?
Have you established a budget for this project?
Have you thought about what level of investment is appropriate for the results we’ve discussed?
Why it works:
If you walk out of qualifying meetings with clients and don’t know how much they’re thinking of spending—and they don’t know how much you’re charging—you’ll both be guessing. No guessing!
The first time you discuss pricing with your client should not be when you present a proposal. Guessing is unnecessary and costly.
At this point in the conversation, you are not negotiating. You are qualifying if it’s a value issue or a logistic issue. I wrote about how to talk about pricing here.
Which questions do you see yourself using most? Reply back to my email because I’d love to hear from you.
Thank you for being here, and I’ll see you next week,
Ren
🎁3 Resources for you this October.
I am hosting 3 FREE⚡ Lighting Lessons this month. Click on the title link below for more information and registration.
Identify high potential enterprise accounts - 25th Oct
Break into sales leadership - 29th Oct
Key skills for early stage founders (pre-seed and seed) - 1st Nov
It would be awesome to see you at the lightning lesson. If you can’t make it or the timezone doesn’t work, I’ll send you the recording and slides if you register.
If I get 50 sign-ups, Maven will promote my lightning lesson to their 200K subscribers. 💜It would mean a lot to me, thanks in advance!
Kicking of Nov 13 Elite Sales Athletes - How to Win High-Value Enterprise Deals Cohort-Based Course. Early Bird discount of $300 ends on Oct 13. Sign-up here. If you have any questions or simply want to know more on how the cohort works, send me an email by replying back here.
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