Stalled proposals—two words every sales person hates to hear. Reengaging and unsticking what’s stuck is a challenge nearly all sales teams have had to handle. So, when you’re faced with a stalled proposal, you may ask yourself what your options are. We have some answers for you.
Having the right strategy in place is key to keeping prospects on your side. However, make the wrong move and you’ll lose their trust and kill any potential of a deal.
Four Solutions for Stalled Sales Proposals
First thing’s first: You have to know when a stalled deal is just dead and when it’s actually qualified. We’ll have another post that goes more into detail on this later, but take some time to recognize when it’s best to cut your losses and move on to the next one.
Is your deal qualified? Here’s what you need to do to move it along through the pipeline.
1. Extend Your Network
Get closer to your prospect by connecting with the right people.
Are you talking to the right person who will ultimately be a part of the decision making?
Build a buyer’s map and have an idea of where each person falls in the hierarchy. You should always consider the possibility that even though the business you’re dealing with could really benefit from your service, the rep you’re dealing with may have dropped the ball.
2. Give Them Something Worthwhile
Follow up emails and “just checking in” messages can get old real fast. So if you do need to follow up with an unresponsive rep, do so by offering them something.
Have you seen an interesting blog post or article that’s relevant to the rep’s business? Send it their way with an enticing message.
3. Lay Your Cards on the Table
You made a solution presentation, presented the pricing, and it’s been radio silent for some time.
If you haven’t been able to get a commitment, then try sending a straightforward message along the lines of asking for an honest assessment and feedback on where you may have gone wrong with your proposal.
In the end, you’ll either gain helpful feedback or the prospect may realize they had dropped the ball on moving forward with your proposal.
4. Give Them Proof
Sometimes prospects get cold feet in the closing stages. So give them the extra confidence they need to close the deal by sharing compelling social proof.
Consider passing along favorable social media attention, product reviews, case studies, a press mention, or even stats on number of customers and usage data. All of these could be just what your prospect needs to put their mind at ease.
Stalled proposals are inevitable. And it doesn’t matter how great your sales team is, sometimes the blame falls on the prospect. Even if you haven’t had to deal with stalls before, it can’t hurt to have a few strategies in your back pocket.
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