Isn’t it interesting how we sales types are always talking about our sales funnel–always predicting when something will ‘close.’ Yet, have you ever wondered why we have no discussion about whether they prospect is having meetings at their office talking about dates their problems will get solved? (Or when they plan on buying).
Why not?
Our sales philosophy is that the optimal sales process is when the prospect is selling you on why he/she needs to spend their money to solve their problem.
So, why is it only our funnel that gets attention?
Here’s an interesting thought: Next time you’ve forecasted a sale closing within 30 days, call the prospect and tell them that’s what you have in mind. See what they say. If they say, “Whoooooaaaa. Hold on. We’re not going to make the decision in that time frame, then take them off your 30-day report.”
Just a thought.
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I found this article a really interesting way of thinking about sales opportunities. Like every great commentary, it articulated an idea I had before but had never been able to express.
I work for a consulting firm in London called Rapid Innovation Group (RIG) that helps emerging technology companies win transformational revenue deals, typically through direct sales or partnerships.
One client I’m working with at the moment is able to solve a couple of different problems for a particular stakeholder. So ascertaining which is the ‘right’ problem to start with could be the difference in sales cycle between a month and a year.
Paul Higgins
RIG
Paul, Thanks for stopping by. Yes, most of our clients who are seeing it this way now, have radically changed their methods and results. Keep coming back!! BC