Why do deals “get stuck or stalled” and what should you do to get them moving?

The real question is: Where in the process do they get “stuck” and “why” do the get stuck or stalled?

• Do we understand their business-have we developed rapport?
• Do we understand their issues, who’s involved, their “conditions and compelling reasons” for changing?
• Do we know their buying and decision-making processes?
• Do we understand where they are in their process?
• Is there mis-alignment between the prospects’ behavior and what we expect?
• Did we “rush” through the sales process, missing critical steps or milestones?

It seems customers procrastinate for a few predictable reasons:

• They may be unfamiliar with you or your company, PLUS they may have no urgency to change because we didn’t ask good questions, or enough questions to determine their compelling reason(s) to change.
• They are unfamiliar with your solution OR they are not an expert, like you. They feel like they could “make a mistake” or lose if they buy the wrong thing.
• Money: Without having done a good qualifying process to determine their compelling reasons to change, almost everything looks expensive, since there is no “value” established. This leads to indecision, procrastination and stalls.
• The sales person didn’t understand the prospect, their business, their issues or situation. The sales person assumed that the prospect was ‘comfortable” and quickly started “pitching” and quickly gave a quote; without determining or discussing key issues, understanding their buying process or gaining any commitment

Here are a few critical considerations and tactics to help avoid this and actions to take to keep them moving.

1. At the end of each call you must “Recap & Review” what happened, what was discussed and what was agreed to-using your Active Listening skills.

• You mentioned that you need to…
• Your current supplier is not doing …
• You have a deadline of…
• You need ____ to make the final decision

2. After doing a “Recap & Review” of the meeting…ask one more simple question: Did I miss anything? This helps gain further input and gives the prospect the opportunity to enhance your statements and add any final understandings.
3. Next summarize the next step to MOVE FORWARD: (date/time/invite others/commitments/etc.)
4. If prospect is “non-committal” about a next step: You need to acknowledge this and nurture them and slowly and softly ask:

“(name) What is your biggest FEAR or CONCERN about moving forward with us?”  OR: “What hurdles or risks do you see in moving forward? (pause…don’t react…just listen.) Let them speak. Acknowledge their concern(s.)

Ask them what they’d like you to do to address them. Have a conversation with the goal of creating a better & clear understanding to relieve their concerns.

5. If No Next Step: Ask why not?
6. If you are told directly “NO” …ask: Where did I lose you? (pause) What were you uncomfortable with? Let them tell you…don’t interrupt; don’t make excuses; don’t start “re-selling.” Just listen. You may find out that it is something you can address…to keep the process moving; or else it is over, and you can save time and move on to another account.
7. Never leave a meeting/sales call without an “agreed to next step.” If we leave a meeting without an agreed to “next step” with the prospect, we have just lost control of the process…and the “chase” (unfortunately) will begin.

Conclusion: Identifying where & why deals get “stuck” is a critical exercise to categorize what you must do to move forward. Improving this one area can have a huge impact on your sales success and results.

Want a no risk, objective perspective on your company’s sales and business development processes? Call us @ 630-560-3614 or complete our contact form –  Kash Development Corporation.