[CPLTD]

Ok we all know how irratating pushy salesmen can be and I try my best not to fall into this bracket but none of us are perfect and with the pressure of the job even I tend to fall weak,
I recently compiled some quite large quotations in the 20-30k band and was wondering on your thoughts of quote to close time periods,
I personally work by quotation followed by a call say 2 days later to confirm receipt and followup but always look to close the deal in a one week window,
It's knowing when to back off but also realising the potential of loosing a sales by being to distant
I would love to hear your feedback,

[CPLTD]

oh come on you sales guru's get in here and give me your valuable advice

[Indizine]

Mmmmm difficult one this, but as I see it there are 2 types of buyers and I would try to establish which one they were that would dictate my approach and follow through.

When I am browsing in advance of planning to buy, I just want to gauge prices, availability, timeframe for delivery, atc and perhaps to plan it into the budget or timeframe for when needed, whatever the service or product might be. I then don't want to be repeatedly contacted about the quote I got; even less so when my purchase date might be dictated by someone or something else.

When I have decided I want to buy, I will make the first move; but I expect my seller to have made an occasional non-intrusive contact, such as an email, just to remind me that when Im ready, so are they too - to fulfil my requirements. Repeated phone calls, leaving repeated messages is just a proper nuisance to me. I just wont return those calls and am unlikely to buy from them. And you know what else, if you dont buy within a matter of around 2 weeks or less of that first contact/quote, you dont ever hear from them again! They bombard you solid after the enquiry then just dont bother with courtesy contacts ever again! No relationship building.

[CPLTD]

Many thanks Indy you have raised some very valid points there,

[moonlighterUK]

Quality post.

In my humble opinion, I rarely take a templated standard approach. I find it vital to guage the urgency of compliance from the initial contact.

Other factors that come into play will be the client you are negotiating with, is it s one mane band? Great, he can make the decision, is it a large corporation? Not so great, they need to go back and have meetings....

But in summary, to keep a lead 'warm' you must act within a definitive window (less than 10 days IMHO), after all, the client will make up his mind pretty damn quick if your services will be required and you need to employ your skills to close "that sounds good" to a "when you can start."

One point I have learnt over the years, just because you are the best, does not mean you will get the sale...building a good relationship quickly will reap rewards and enhance repeat business.

[CPLTD]

great poin Moonlighter I agree with you and I usually work from within a one week window but I also deal with education in a big way and I think with those clients you have to take a different approach much like the larger corporations spreading the window to mabye 3 weeks,

[Andy Trish]

Simon as we are in the same field I'll let you know how I work.

I hate pushy salespeople, if I am pushed I will buy from someone else. If I go in a shop and get a salesman following me around I'll walk out.

I run my business the same way, I NEVER push my customers, when they are ready to buy they will buy from me. I regularly get customers coming back and saying, that quote you gave us 6 months ago, can we have it now.

dealing with schools is even harder to close quickly, the headteachers have a team of governors to answer to, they also need to get 3 quotes and ensure they are getting value for money.

I'm not saying chasing doesn't work, it just isn't how I would ever work.

[CPLTD]

Many thanks for your valuable advice Andy bud

[wecando.biz]

This is an interesting topic.

Timing and ensuring you have completed all logical steps are key here. Does the person have a need? How does the need dictate the timescale? What is going to be the biggest influence on their purchase? If you don't have answers to these basic questions up front, I am not sure why you would waste your time providing a quote, as it doesn't sound like they are going to buy.

If all is looking good though, always time limit your quotes (i.e. give them, say, 28 days validity on those prices) and before you submit it get an understanding from them as to what they are going to do with it and when. For providing them the information they need, you can then get agreement that you'll call them in an agreed timescale to follow through those actions.

This ensures the quote doesn't fall into a black hole, which is where otherwise promising opportunities often end up.

Also, and this is important, by showing assertion and a firmness to keep on top of things throughout the whole sales cycle, you aren't seeming to suddenly have come over all pushy at the end. The way in which you've managed the whole opportunity has been consistent. They then shouldn't get rubbed up the wrong way that you are chasing for an answer, as you have shown the same interest in dealing with them from Day 1.

By the way, if they don't let you speak to them and don't return your calls after the quote goes in, keep the mails and calls coming in a way that is consistent with what you have done thus far. If you are getting nowhere, try saying that you may have misunderstood there needs as you believed they were going to have made a decision by XX, so you wish to withdraw your quote and requalify with them their need. If they are interested it will spur a response; if nothing happens still then accept that they were probably never going to buy from you and you didn't qualify that fact well enough.

I hope this helps.

IH

[CPLTD]

Many thanks for your valuable post Ian,