You’ve Got Nothin’…
One of my favorite questions to ask my clients when doing one-on-one coaching is: “On a scale of 1-10, where 1 means, “you got nothing” and 10 means “no way you could screw this sale up,” where do you think you are right now?”
So, think about YOUR next deal.
The one you're working on now.
You know, the big one. The one that will help you make your 3rd quarter, and maybe your year.
The one you're counting on because this year has been… well, COVID.
Where are you right now, on that scale?
Think about it.
Write your number down.
You're probably debating with yourself right now about whether you’re a 6 or a 7.
Because of your “relationship.”
Or because your solution is so good. Amiright?
Well, guess what?
Unless you have the money from the sale in your hands, you're at a ZERO.
You got Zip, Bagel, Nuthin’.
Why would I say that?
If you think you’ve got something, you also think you’ve got something to lose. You don’t want to screw it up, so you won’t ask tough questions or look for and address problems that will kill your sale. ( I used to do some version of curl up in a ball under my desk and pray it would all work out. It rarely did…)
You know your prospect has 2 decisions to make, right?
#1: Are they committed to fix the problem somewhere?
If you think this is a “yes,” how do you know?
If you’re certain they’re committed to fix it, what words came out of their mouth to let you know?
How much did they tell you it would cost them in time, emotion and money to do nothing?
What was the number they told you?
Don’t assume you know how your prospect will respond to different situations. Remember, “Assume” means make an Ass out of U and Me?
Your house catches on fire. What would you do first? Get out, then call 911, right?
I have a friend whose house caught fire 10 years ago. He got his family out, called 911, fire trucks came, and the house burned half way down.
He spent the next 3 years fighting with his insurance company about what was water damage (from the fire trucks - not covered) and what was fire damage (covered).
He said if his house ever catches fire again, he will get his family out, walk 3 miles to my house, have 2 drinks, and then call 911. He wants it to burn to the ground. (that’s covered).
#2: Are they committed to fix the problem WITH YOU?
How many other people are they talking to?
How are they going to pick?
How much money are they ready, willing, and able to spend?
(That a company is large or a person seems wealthy has little correlation with how much money they might be willing to spend to address an issue.)
Have you already told them how much it’s gonna cost and how you would fix it?
Is that in writing?
Any chance they shared that info with your competitors, or the incumbent in order to get a better price from someone else?
Could they take your info and fix it themselves?
When you asked them, “where could this deal get screwed up,” what did they say?
When your prospect signs your contract and gives you money, you are 99% there.
When they told you how they would respond when the incumbent calls back begging and offering to lower his price when he finds out he got fired, what did they say?
What about when they wake up in the middle of the night and panic because they spent so much money or are taking such an unknown path?
Once you've gone through all of those things with your prospect, and you have the money and the signed contract, you can rest assured you probably have a deal.
And by the way, if you don’t have a deal and you aren’t gonna get a deal, when do you want to know?
Right now.
You’re at Zero. Go play to win.
Bringing Honesty, Transparency, and Selflessness to Business & Sales.
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