Equal Chance of Winning The Sale? Bah!

Are you going to win this deal?

With just less than 3 weeks left in December, I am sure that you are really busy closing out your year-end sales. This has been a tough year for many people. With the economy proving to us that business cycles still exist, spending has been cutback, many people have lost their jobs, and a lot of companies have simply gone out of business.

In a year like this, every sales opportunity you get is a precious one.

Tough times like these make for fierce competition. You and all of your competitors have been scrapping over a shrunken pie. This puts our buyers in a stronger position than before.

Even though this may be true, don't let this turn a difficult year into a horrible one. You always have to use clear and sound judgement on every sales opportunity that you work.

It is the second week of December as of this writing. Your December sales prospects should be telling you one thing right now - "You are going to win this deal". If they are telling you anything else, then you are in all likelihood going to lose. And if they aren't telling you this, you can bet they are saying this to one of your competitors.

People are political animals. And business to business selling is a political game. When 3 or 4 companies go after a sales opportunity, the business people involved in the buying decision line up a couple of ways. Sometimes, all of the business people favor one of the vendors early on. They then keep one or more of the other vendors in the game so that they have negotiating leverage against their preferred vendor.

The sales rep for the favored vendor will likely be told early on that he is winning. Why would the prospect do this? Because they like his offering and want his company to win. They believe it will best help their business, and more importantly that it will help their careers politically.

In more competitive situations, 2 or more of the vendors will have really close offerings. The business people evaluating the vendors will often split into 2 or 3 camps favoring opposing vendors. These are the most difficult sales to forecast. The prediction comes down to the art of determining which camp has the more political power.

In this situation you are likely being told where you are strong and where you are weak. If you have made good political contacts into the account, then you will also be told where your competition is strong and weak, and what the top decision-maker's preferences and tendencies are.

By the time we get to the second week of December, your buyers are making up their minds. The tough decisions are being made, and the vendor likely to win is being told so.

The rest of the vendors are being told things like the following...

• "All of the companies have an even chance at this point."
• "Things are looking good, we should have a decision by next week."
• "Its up to the committee now to make the final decision."

Vague statements like the above are a huge red-flag. Don't tolerate vagueness from your prospects. Question such statements and get your prospects to be specific. Act incredulous "Wow that seems odd, you have been evaluating my company and ABC company for 4 months and you find us to be 'even' one week before making a decision? What is it that is really important to you in this decision?"

If you aren't being told that you are winning by now, then you are losing. The only thing left to do, is to find out why, and see if you can turn the deal around with this knowledge.

If you are polite and accepting of vague statements like the above you may find yourself looking for a new job in a few weeks.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

---

Eliminating Objections to Increase Sales

You want to increase the flow of sales revenue, but... Read More

The Top 7 Sales Blunders

We all make mistakes when selling our product or service.... Read More

Training for Trade Shows - 5 FAQs

Trade shows are so obvious. You go. You hand out... Read More

Sell Without Feeling Like A Used Car Salesman

Many business owners and professionals are appalled at the thought... Read More

Unleash Your Inner Sales Superstar & Win More Business Right Now!

It's a rainy afternoon on a typical mid week afternoon... Read More

Are You Deaf? Dumb? Blind at Trade Shows?

I'm constantly amazed how otherwise smart marketeers become deaf, dumb... Read More

How To Get Clients To Take Immediate Action

Are you tired of excuses? Looking for a persuasion technique... Read More

How to Build a Repeat Client Base in Automobile Sales

Here is a question I recently received from a young... Read More

Closing The Sale

Several weeks ago I asked my Newsletter subscribers to send... Read More

Emotions That Sell, Part 2

In the last article, we looked at three emotions (besides... Read More

How A Dancing Horse Can Increase Your Sales

"Yeah right!" I thought to myself as I started to... Read More

Boost Your Selling Power With Your Call-To-Action Phrases

Look at your marketing material. Now, is there something missing?... Read More

Method to the Madness of Training Seminars

I arrive with about 350 other guys. We smile at... Read More

Do You Know the Emotion Behind the Objection?

Prospects have many reasons (you might think excuses) for not... Read More

Follow-Up Marketing: How to Win More Sales with Less Effort

A study done by the Association of Sales Executives revealed... Read More

Its All in the Questions

Contrary to many of the books on how to be... Read More

Sales Lessons from Bob Vila

There's more to what he does than meets the eyeWith... Read More

Whats Your Sales Training Goal - Exposure or Behavioral Change?

When your company invests in sales training, what is the... Read More

7 Steps to Selling Artwork

Selling arwork is easy when you follow a road map.... Read More

Reaching Goals in Direct Sales

From surveys and experience, we've noticed many setting excellent goals... Read More

How To Write A Solution - Savvy Sales Letter to To Get Clients

Too many sales letters are shaped into paper airplanes and... Read More

Customers Do Not Know How To Ask Good Questions ? That Is Your Job

Customers will ask you a question and you'll proceed to... Read More

Are You Risking The Relationship for the Sale -- And Then Losing the Sale Anyway?

Losing a sale can be disheartening, especially if you lose... Read More

How to Make Training and Development a Power Agent for Change

Does this sound familiar? With high expectations, you sent your... Read More

5 Steps to Selling Anything Technical

One of the most difficult things we deal with as... Read More

Selling - Always Go for Top Money

If you've ever flown economy class on an international flight... Read More

7 Ways to Cut Loose from Old Sales Thinking

Sooner or later, we all backslide into old ways of... Read More

Have You Prepared for Success in Sales?

My wife and I watched the movie Ray a couple... Read More

7 Sales Techniques To Differentiate You From The Competition

You have a choice. You can stand out or blend... Read More

TheTop 10 Reasons Why Salespeople Get Outsold

In my business, it has been an interesting and very... Read More

Sales and the Law of Attraction

I'm about to challenge your belief system, or at least... Read More

The Clock is Ticking on Your Leads

Every day is critical when you are in the business... Read More

Do You Fold Like A Taco?

Have you ever eaten a soft taco? The shell isn't... Read More