The Holidays are upon us. Despite all the doom and gloom, there's still a bunch of business going on. Hopefully, you've got lots to be thankful for this year!!
While it's easy to get caught up in all the "other" stuff going on, like Christmas shopping, College Bowl selections (excluding my poor Aggies!) and family travel, there is a mounting pressure this time of year for all of us Sales folk.
If you don't have your deals well down the path, you're looking at a 2009 transaction. Depending upon your market, you might be lucky enough to catch a client trying to rid themselves of budget excess before year end. It sure doesn't hurt to ask, but don't count on it unless you serve government or healthcare!!
If you've been consistent in your efforts to help your customers FOCUS on solving business problems. If you've become a trusted adviser by partnering with your contacts in a way that they believe that you understand their challenges, their goals, their business...then you are in a great position to ask for the business - RIGHT NOW, TODAY!
I'm not talking about learning a bunch of closing techniques, like the sharp-angle, the alternate or even the doorknob close. Those methods are fun to talk about, but I believe they hurt you more than help you in today's world (even if you sell used cars!).
How do you ask for the business? It should be a natural extension of your conversation with your prospect, such as...
"Joe, how can WE work together to make sure this problem gets solved to XYZ company's requirements?" or "What happens if WE cannot address this issue by the end of the year?" or "Would it make sense for you and I to get our respective management involved to align around the execution of our agreement?", etc., etc.
Some of you have put together "special" pricing to motivate your customer to buy even though there is NO WAY the deal could happen. You know what you've done? You've screwed the rest of us!! Well really it wasn't you. The die has been cast for years that vendors will cave at the end of the quarter. This is why it can be extremely difficult to streamline revenues in a perpetual licensing model.
If you did not ask this question before you dropped your drawers, it's likely that your 2009 deal will be the 2008 "special". "Susan, the end of the year will be here before we know it...would it make sense for us to talk about what business terms look like before and after year end?"
Happy Closing and Season's Greetings!
Do You Grok it?
