Sell to Decision

A one-off topic - Sell to Decision - is about getting a prospect or existing client to make a decision on whether or not to buy from you. Let's set this up, and because I like to work with what we can control, let's look at the facts:

1) You have products and services for sale.
2) You make your living (salary, commission, or biz revenue) from selling these products and services.
3) Nope, no 3 here, it's just as simple as above.

To be successful, you must present your wares to prospective clients. Depending on your industry this may happen at the prospect's location, at yours, or over the phone/internet, but it always must happen. And as every salesperson has experienced, as you present your products and services to your prospects you get three answers. You get yes, no, and maybe.

But wait a minute, remember that day when you were young? Perhaps you were laying on the living room floor counting holes in the popcorn ceiling of your parent's home while Saturday Morning Cartoons played in the background... maybe it was something else... but you shouted out to your passing mother, "Mom, can we go to the ______ today?" The answer was one you had heard before, "Maybe." This time however, it clicked, "Maybe" didn't really mean anything, while in fact it often resulted in "no," it wasn't unthinkable to earn a "yes" by trying another attempt. "Maybe" was some sort of meaningless limbo that meant your request had fallen on deaf ears which was about as effective as not asking at all.  You still had no idea what the result would be. Wanting to know if your day would be spent watching re-runs you follow your mother into the kitchen, repeat the question, and get an answer.

Presto, you just sold to decision. When salespeople take a "maybe" and head out the door the entire presentation was wasted. You're no further ahead than if you had skipped meeting the prospect. Sure there are times when a decision must practically be placed on hold while budgets are reviewed or board meetings are held. All-in-all however, a decision must be made for both the prospect and the salesperson to move forward. The prospect must know if their needs will be met by agreeing to purchase the product or if they will pursue other options. The salesperson must know if they need to deliver the goods or move on to the next prospect.

In this way, selling to decision, is a key component to any sales process. Without it you risk incredible inefficiency as you revisit indecisive prospects over and over. As you examine your sales process you should always check how your selling to decision is working. Are you clearly asking to do business today?

Next time, we'll talk about the counter-argument to Sell to Decision, which is the fear of forcing a no, when a yes seems possible through time.