Speaking about sales with lots of business owners, there’s a common theme emerging. The sales process has become more complicated. Things are
taking far longer. It’s harder to get people to make decisions to move the sale forward and close the deal.
And perhaps more disturbingly, deals go cold right at the last moment, even though it appears the prospect “sees” the value of what you’re proposing. Which sets you up for disappointment, not to mention the wasted time, effort and money involved in multiple conversations.
If you’re experiencing this, you’re not alone.
In over 3 decades working in sales and sales management with small to medium sized enterprises, one thing stands out. You’re very good at what you deliver. However sales is not necessarily your forte. And it’s not your fault! Sales isn’t something that’s taught in business courses!
Given this I’m creating a series on how to successfully navigate the complex issues involved in selling higher value deals.
While this is primarily aimed at B2B audiences, it’s equally applicable in B2C consumer markets such as real estate etc.
So let’s start with what constitutes a “complex sale”.
In essence, there are 3 overarching issues you need to navigate.
You’re not selling a commodity item, so there are high price points and possibly implementation costs (time & effort).
This leads to a greater level of risk on the part of your buyer. Think of it this way. Regardless of what you’re buying, be deciding what restaurant to go to, toys or electronic equipment, you look at reviews to figure out if the product and the supplier stack up.
That thinking takes on a whole new level when it comes to the risk of making a bad business purchase decision.
Given the value and complexity of the deal, there are usually multiple stakeholders involved in the decision.
This inevitably leads to longer sales cycles where all the stakeholders need to agree on the purchasing decision.
Which makes the sales process exponentially more complex as you have to ascertain and demonstrate value to EACH individual involved, negotiating buy in.
If you’re selling to a larger organisation, you also need to understand their purchasing process. What does it take to actually get the deal signed off.
And last, but definitely not least, you need to ensure the deal sticks and actually gets implemented and used!
Many a vendor falls down at this point which can mean contracts get cancelled, losing the opportunity for ongoing work.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be delving into specific areas so you can avoid the pitfalls experienced by many.
So look out for these articles.
In the meantime if you would like our help closing business faster with less effort, reach out to me on 0414 913 334.
