Clientalignment Inc

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Some sales opportunities just get stuck. They don’t move forward and it is infuriating. You’ve done everything that you can. Why isn’t the prospect committing? How can you get the opportunity moving forward? Here are some “stuck strategies” that can help move opportunities that haven’t progressed. 1. Send Strategies - Send an informational article to provide the basis for a conversation. These could be sent via email or regular mail. Whitepapers, case studies, benchmark, best practices, current industry events, etc. are all potential topics. The actual information is of secondary value. Don’t spend alot of time or resource on this. The point is not to put together the best information source but to create an opportunity to talk with the client and ask “what did you think of the article and, oh by the way, what’s happening with your internal decision-making process on our business proposal?” 2. Senior Management Call - Your senior manager calls the prospect and says “I understand that we are going to do business together!” The prospect, of course, responds “no that is not the case.” Now your manager has the ability to ask “why not, what is holding you back?” Hopefully, the prospect provides the insight that you need to get the opportunity moving forward. This is a great strategy to both get the opportunity moving forward and also to involve your senior management in case there needs to be some quick negotiation response. Your senior manager can’t quickly respond since he/she will have the authority to do so. 3. Road Show - This is an offer to the prospect to bring in an expert to present on an interesting topic to multiple people at the prospect site. This could be changes in policies, laws, recent events, the state of the industry, etc. Wrap the presentation around a lunch ‘n learn and chances are that it will be well attended This is your chance to reach out to the attendees and find out what is needed to get your opportunity moving forward. 4. Referral - You may have used a referral from a current client earlier in an earlier stage of the opportunity. If that is the case then reach out to the same referral contact and see if they would contact the prospect again. They could make it a simple “I just wanted to see how things worked out for you since we last spoke?” Since the client is in the same situation as the prospect (needing the same type of solution to their need) the prospect may be more apt to open up to them and explain the reason for there hesitance in moving forward. If you didn’t offer a referral in an earlier stage of the opportunity process then do it now. The referral can create the vision of your solution for the prospect. 5. Boss Call - The boss call is different from the senior management call. Your boss calls the prospect and asks “I am calling about our my sales representative. We sent you a proposal for business a while ago so i was concerned. I wanted to make sure that he/she has provided everything that you need to make an informed decision.” Often the prospect will defend the sales representative by saying that he/she did everything needed and follow that up with the reasons for the delay. The boss then has the chance to answer these concerns and move the opportunity forward. 6. Market Research – Call the prospect and ask if you can come in to do some market research for product enhancements or future service offerings. It is a useful way to assess how they view your current offering and can give you a glimpse into what they would like to see to move the opportunity forward. As a bonus, you are giving them the (correct) impression that they their input is valued and appreciated. 7. Trial – If you haven’t already done so, and it makes sense, offer a free trial to prove the worth of your product or service. The only commitment that I would add is that they allow you to come in and work with them on the trial. By observing them you will gain valuable insights into how they would use your product while guaranteeing that they acutually take advantage of the free offer. 8. Golden Circle – Those opportunities that have strategic importance (large deals, important clients, key new products, etc) can be lumped together in an elite group of opportunties that have the “golden circle” designation. These opportunities are presented to senior managers of your company on a regular basis (weekly) so that they can receive the highest level of visibility. This visibility allows the senior managers to sweeten the deal so that the opportunities in the golden circle have a high chance of success.

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