Who is Wrecking Your Business Now?

Recently, you probably invested a lot of time and energy putting together a presentation of your product or service. You crafted your presentation, dotted all the "i"s, crossed all the "t"s, covered all the bases, and answered all of the prospect's questions. But, instead of a buying decision, you only received a stall, a put-off, or a request for some concession. At whom do you point the finger of blame? You could blame the prospect for being indecisive or dragging his or her feet. You could surmise that a competitor made an eleventh-hour concession that undercut your offering. You might even suspect that the prospect used you to gather current information to use as leverage with his or her existing supplier. Any one of those situations might have occurred. But, isn't that what buyers are supposed to do...negotiate or hold out for what they believe to be the best deal? Rather than assigning blame, take responsibility for determining exactly what the prospect needs to see or hear to be comfortable to give you the business before you even begin to work on your presentation. Get the prospect to paint a picture of the "best" deal. (Tweet this!) Then get a commitment as to exactly what will happen when you come back with a presentation that exactly matches the picture. If the prospect is unwilling to commit to a buying decision, then it's most likely not in your best interest to pursue the opportunity. (Tweet this!)