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| Andy Preston |
Sales expert, Andy Preston, explains what to do when someone asks you to send them a sales proposal.
I’m often astounded that when someone says ‘send me a proposal’ to a mobile phones salesperson, they often go away and work on a proposal or quotation, then blindly send it off to the prospect, just assuming it’s going to go ahead.
These same salespeople are the ones that wonder afterwards why they never hear from that prospect ever again, or that they won’t take their calls.
Let’s have a look at the first three things you must do, before sending that proposal.
Establish the full specification
This might sound simple, but you’d be astounded how many salespeople fail to do this properly. Most salespeople will get the majority of the specification down, but some have to call back a second time to get things they forgot. Some salespeople have to call back a third time to get information they failed to get on the second attempt.
You can imagine the impact this has on the prospect. Mobile phones is a competitive market usually with lots of other people pitching for the work, and you’ve put yourself on the back foot before you’ve even started. Not a clever move.
Establish why you
This area is essential to question in every sales opportunity. However, when someone says ‘send me a proposal’ and you don;t get this question answered, you’re setting yourself up for a fall.
The aim here is to uncover both the buying motivation, and also what chance you have of picking up this business. Remember, the fluffier the answers to the questions you ask here, the less likely you are to win the work.
Establish decision makers and DM process
This is again something that most salespeople fail to do properly. Failure to establish the decision maker’s involved will mean that you could go all the way through the process, and then fall at the final hurdle as someone else comes in to influence the buying decision that you weren’t aware of.
Once you’ve identified the decision maker’s, you can then decide your approach for engaging them. Plus uncover the process they’re going to use when deciding who to go with. If you don’t get engagement with the real decision maker (not necessarily the person collecting the quotes), you’re leaving yourself open to losing the deal at the last minute.
Part two of this article will be online next week, so stay tuned.
Andy Preston is a recognised sales expert who specialises in working with mobile phone companies in particular, helping them generate more appointments, stand out from the competition, and close more deals. You can see and hear more about Andy at http://www.andy-preston.com/.