It’s not unusual for people to want to see your proposal written down before they’ll make a decision to procure your services but once you are out of that meeting your ability to win that piece of business decreases significantly.
So what can you do to maintain the momentum and secure the business? Here are my 3 top tips to help you do just that.
1) It’s an interview
Many many years ago I was looking for a new corporate position and I had an interview with a recruiter to prepare me for an interview with Eon the energy company. That recruiter gave me a golden piece of advice that has stayed with me ever since.
She told me to ask this killer question at the end of the interview “Based on what you’ve heard, do you have any concern in my ability to do the role?” By asking this you instantly open up the discussion so you can address any concerns they have.
During that particular interview I used the killer question and the main interviewer did mention one concern which I promptly & effectively addressed. I went on to be offered the job (Programme Manager for their Sustainable Energy Sales, good job, great salary!). I doubt I would have got it if I hadn’t asked that killer question.
Ok so what does that have to do with securing business? Well, I use the same tactic now, and advise my clients to do the same. How?
Towards the end of a meeting with a prospective client I ask them if they have any concerns about working together. This naturally, and very easily, brings out any objections they may have while you are still in front of them. Thus your ability to successfully resolve those objections rises significantly.
2) Ask the question
Imagine this scene…you’ve had a great meeting with a prospect, you’ve used the technique I mentioned above and have covered off any objections but you still manage to leave the room without confirmation that you have the deal. Usually this is simply because you haven’t asked for it. Doh!
Your best chance of securing that business is while you are in that room so you need to ask whether they intend to proceed with you.
I know this isn’t the easiest thing to do as it can feel awkward but think of it this way…by asking the question and getting an answer you will save both yourself and the prospect a load of time because you might not have to follow them up. So it’s a no brainer!
It may be that the prospect needs to chat it through with someone else. A great question to ask in this situation is “if the decision was yours alone would you proceed? This will again open up a great dialogue enabling you to either remove some more objections or to gain more confidence in a positive outcome. No-one can sell your services better than you so ideally you need to be in that subsequent meeting. If that’s not possible then ask what the likely outcome of that meeting will be and if there’s anything you can do to support the discussion.
By asking those questions you will be in a much stronger position to close the business.
3) Bookending
I’m a natural reflector so I totally understand when people want to see things written down in a proposal before they make a decision. I see some people shoot themselves straight in the foot at this point by letting too much time pass before they submit their proposal.
Your best opportunity to win the business is when you are in front of them. If you have to rely on your proposal to do the job then it needs to land in their inbox ASAP, ideally the same day. The longer the gap between the meeting and the proposal the less likely you are to win the business!
The next step is to decide how quickly you should start to follow-up. Let’s face it you don’t want to turn into a stalker but you also want to get to a decision point.
To manage this always agree a date/time to have that follow-up discussion. This way it doesn’t feel icky and you’ll have more confidence in the timeframe to get to that decision.
This is what I suggest you do…at the end of the meeting agree the time when they will receive the proposal, and also agree a day & time to have a catch up call or meeting to discuss the proposal and next steps. Get that cemented in their diaries.
Getting that follow-up date agreed is called “bookending” and is very effective.
Conclusion
These 3 tips will increase your conversions so they are definitely worth implementing. All you need to do is maximise the opportunity you have when you are stood in front of your prospects.
Good luck!
[hcshort id=”14″]