There are various tactics to employ if you find your proposals stalled. But we can’t highlight enough the importance of being able to tell the difference between a stalled deal and a dead deal. In other words, “No sale.” Knowing this means you don’t waste any more time on unqualified prospects. After all, it’s generally accepted that only 10-15% of most leads will turn into a closed deal.
Maybe you’ve found yourself at some point putting time and energy into a proposal that fell through shortly after?
Sure, sometimes it’s just part of the job, but great sales leaders can tell when it’s best to cut their losses. If you’re still trying to hone that skill, here are a few pointers to recognizing the “No Sale” scenario.
Deal or No Deal: Five Signs It’s Time to Move On to the Next Sale
There’s no shame in leaving an unqualified prospect to go after a better lead. And one of your jobs as a sales leader is to make sure your team knows exactly when they should cut their losses. Here are some telltale signs a deal isn’t headed where you want it to go.
1. They Don’t Need What You’re Selling
Sales is about solving things, not selling them.
You’re offering your prospect a solution to their problem. You have to recognize when your solution just doesn’t fit their needs.
If a deal has been stalled, then reevaluate the relationship: is this prospect truly your target audience? If not, cut ties and go forward!
2. Contact Begins to Refer to Themselves in the Plural Form
This is a sensitive area, so tread lightly. But if your contact moves from saying “I” to “We” when discussing making a decision, it’s possible they’re trying to shift the responsibility and focus of ending the deal to others. No one likes to be the one to close off a conversation for good!
This attitude may seem silly – we understand that. But chances are your contact doesn’t want to be seen as the party at fault, but rather wants you to perceive the company as having said no to the deal rather than just them. So – ask a few follow-up questions. And if you get the sense there really is no “We”, then go ahead and move on.
3. The Budget Isn’t There
You can save yourself a lot of trouble by asking these questions upfront. But when you’ve even started to wonder if this is a “No Sale” scenario, make sure your prospect has the budget to afford your services before engaging further.
Don’t low-ball yourself for the sake of a deal, you know the value of your offering. At the very least be sure you know and can name the value you offer that your competitors don’t. And try to stick with prospects who can match it.
4. Vague Timelines
Sure, some people are just a little unorganized, but if you find yourself trying to set a deadline and are just getting vague (or even zero) response from your prospect about a potential start and finish date, they’re likely dragging their feet.
No timeline means no sales pipeline, so save your sales rep the trouble and cut the cord. These are harder concepts for your less experienced reps to grasp, so be sure to explain. And also include sample scenarios such as all these here in your sales playbook for reference.
5. They Say No
To be in sales is to be competitive, a “go-getter” – even relentless – but you must recognize that when a prospect says “no,” it’s not an invitation to change their mind. If a prospect says no, accept it as truth and move on.
However, “no” is always a learning opportunity. Now that your original solution isn’t a fit, take the time to understand where you missed the mark. If you’re getting no often, it’s time to adjust your process. Learn and grow from your misses so you can land on the right solutions in the future.
Keeping these five signs in mind can help save your sales team a lot of time, energy, and resources and effectively keep the sales pipeline flowing. Sometimes “No Sale” is a valuable event!
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The team at 360 Consulting is passionate about helping you rev up your sales engine. Your top line is our bottom line. Powered by Sales Xceleration and decades of being VPs of Sales in large companies, our passion is to enable you to compete with them on a level playing field!
Schedule a free consultation today and let’s smash your sales records together!