In a post a few weeks ago, I talked about the problems caused often by sellers selling hard when the client is not ready to buy….I also mentioned that in my last assignment we had devised a 7 step sales process that would have to be matched against a 10 step buying process.  If you are trying to close the deal but the client still doesn’t know where they will spend their money, there is misalignment.  More often then not, you will end up with a severely discounted sale……if you sell at all.

The flip side of that is when you have a client, that has money to spend, you need to be able to direct him/her in a direction that will only lead to one decision – buying your product.

I was put in that situation a few weeks ago, and sitting deep in a chair, I saw a call unfold that was going nowhere but 90 miles an hour to a brick wall with no brakes on.

The client sat down with us and was asked by my partner if they had money….to which the client said no….than, you fast forward on….to us giving a lot, an awful lot of information….and asking…”Do you think you would need something like this”…and obviously, the client said no….

IF YOU ARE SELLING, THE CLIENT SHOULD NEVER HAVE ANY MONEY!!!

Let me clarify this….When a client has identified a need, and decided that the need is causing problems that need to be fixed, they allocate dollars to fix the problem.  You are also not selling, the client is buying! Selling is a long process in which you understand your client’s situation, you identify opportunities that can be improved, you maximize the pain felt by the client and have the client assign value to that problem.  Then, they allocated money to it, and if you did a great job, they might not have money but will have to get it from other services, and then they end up buying your solution.

When you answer an RFP, some sales skills are in play.  When you start the sales process(not buying process as you noticed) that leads to a sales, you have earned your full commission.

In the case of the prospect that came to visit us, I will not follow up with that client.  He is at the top of the foodchain, and we have helped him believe that he doesn’t need us.  Worst, after the call, I was told  -  ” See, they are too small and have no money…”

Although it was bad, it was not as bad as this…but if you want to see what happens(with humor) when a call is one-sided, have a look at this….