Problem:
Meagan came back from a sales call and told me a story that I have heard many times before. She said that the sales interview went well. She had good rapport and the prospect liked her. The prospect said he would call her next week to give her a decision on whether he wanted a proposal as soon as he gets back from a company meeting. Meagan really wanted to believe that her prospect would call her back but her “gut” told her that a return call was unlikely.
Diagnosis:
Two major faults could be the source of this problem: first is not knowing what a
genuine
commitment from a prospect sounds like; and, second is being afraid to ask for it. Salespeople are often overly cautious after a first interview and hesitate to press for a commitment of some kind from a prospect. This is especially true when they have good rapport and they do not want to risk destroying it by being “pushy.” It is far more comfortable to be optimistic and believe that a prospect is more interested than they really are.
Solution:
First, early in the meeting obtain agreement that there will be a clear outcome by the end of the meeting. The prospect must realize that it is acceptable to tell you that they do not see a fit between what you are selling and their situation. When a prospect feels that “no” is an acceptable response, they will be less likely to feel pressure to feign some sort of commitment to get rid of you at the end of the meeting. This may not completely eliminate the problem because prospects are not used to dealing with salespeople who will accept “no” as a response. You will know a genuine commitment when you hear it because it includes a specific action to be completed by a certain date leading toward the decision to be made. When faced with a prospect who does not indicate commitment near the end of an interaction, an effective step toward determining their intent is to take a fall back position and ask a negative question. You will not be perceived as “pushy” if you say something like, “My sense is that you have doubts about whether we should move forward. Would you agree?” or “I get the feeling that this is really a low priority for you and you don’t know how to tell me that. If you don’t see a fit, I’ll understand, okay?” When using this approach the prospect will either agree with you (it may be over) or move in a positive direction (they will convince you of their commitment) and you will avoid getting stuck in the middle.