If your business is a kind which can make sales of varying magnitude, when entering the sales process of a potentially large sale, do you intelligently scale your sales strategy accordingly? Do you even have a sales strategy?
Most companies have a sales process but few have a strategy. A strategy involves smarts. You should invest some smarts in your sales plan.
Let’s say your company’s average sale is $15,000. Along comes an opportunity, a shot at a sale worth $500,000. All businesses get these now and then—a chance to make a really big sale. And, sometimes they come through. Hurray!
Making those big sales requires a strategy and a good strategy starts with gathering intelligence. Actually, most sales start by gathering some information from the prospect. Big sales require more information than you might typically gather if you want to greatly increase your chances of getting the big deal. The more you know about your buyers needs, wants and desires, the more likely you will address an objection before it arises. You may address an objection unknown to your competitors.
It would take an entire book—and they’ve already been written—to outline a winning sales technique. That’s not my purpose in writing this. I want you consider only one key idea. Do you approach the big sale with a strategy? Or, do you just try harder and hound the prospect more often?
If you don’t have a proven sales strategy, it’s worth your time to develop one. You CAN increase the number of really big deals you close if you work a strategy. Left to your typical sales approach, your close rate on big sales will be very low regardless of how good that approach is. The huge deal is a different beast.
A huge prospect could come your way at any time. Will you be ready with a strategy?
Chris Reich, Author of TeachU’s Business Talk Blog
Chris@TeachU.com