Bill was contacted by the CFO of a company whose employee benefits insurance business he had pursued for three years. The CFO said he was eager to see what Bill’s company could provide and requested a quote ASAP. Bill believed his persistence had finally paid off. He contacted the company’s HR department to obtain the employee data so he could begin working on the proposal.
Has Bill’s persistence finally paid off? Or, is the CFO only in search of a competitive quote to use as a bargaining chip with his current broker?
Suzanne asked her prospect if there was funding in place for the consulting project they were discussing. The prospect replied, “Money is no object.” Suzanne was smart enough to know that the prospect’s comment didn’t give her carte blanche, but she felt comfortable that she wasn’t going to be constrained by financial pressures as she began to develop the proposal for the project.
Should Suzanne feel comfortable? Did the prospect mean that funds are unlimited? Or, did he mean that money is “no object” because there isn’t any available?
Salespeople have “happy ears.” They tend to hear what they want to hear. Often however, what they believe they heard through those happy ears doesn’t reflect the real intent of what the prospect said.
It is the salesperson’s responsibility to:
· Determine the prospect’s intentions and expectations.
· Help the prospect be more specific and define any ambiguous terms or phrases that may be misinterpreted.
· Tie up any loose ends.
· Make sure all parties to a conversation or meeting are in sync with what transpired and what is supposed to happen next.
Make it a practice to recap the conversation after interactions with prospects or clients—”Let me quickly recap what we discussed to make sure we’re all on the same page and we didn’t leave anything out.” Then, review the conversation and ask, “Does anyone have anything to add… did I miss anything?”
Eliminating potential misunderstandings today reduces the opportunity for unfulfilled expectations tomorrow.
