[wecando.biz]

Any business is interested in improving its sales close rates - the number of deals it wins out of those it pursues.

Here is some advice to help you to exponentially improve your ratio of hits:misses overnight.

Ready?

Don't chase deals you won't win!

Sounds too simple, doesn't it? But the reality is, many businesses waste time involved in opportunities that there is a very good chance they will never win. And that is wated time when you could be generating new leads or better serving existing customers.

Here are some examples:

1) Deals that are too big
It's always exciting to find a massive deal that could double or triple your turnover. But what are the chances you will actually win such a deal? I have always believed that at any given point in time, your business has a credible deal-size ceiling. Think of it in terms of the amount a new customer would spend with you, given they don't know, will run checks on your finances for their security, and your company's ability to deliver. What is the size of deal you could manage comfortably without needing to depend on external factors, like employing new staff to help? If YOU were looking to spend money with a company, what would you need to see was their consistent turnover to date compared against the deal size to feel comfortable choosing them as your supplier?

There are no hard and fast rules here, but I would say that if a specific deals is knocking on for more than 40% of your revenue to date, then your customer might start to ask questions you'd better have answers for!

Inevitably the largest deals require the most resource to close and working them could actually detriment your businesses if you then don't win it after all the hard work. Be realistic about your chances up front and don't be afraid to politely decline an enquiry, letting the customer know you have concerns about being able to maintain your reputation for first class customer services given your current workloads at this time, but you would welcome the opportunity to work with them in the future.

2) Tenders/RFIs/RFPs
That someone is giving you a chance to bid on an already prepared specification sounds like a great way to close a deal in a quick and well defined timescale. But these are not all they are cracked up to be.

Think about it. The prospective customer already has an idea what they want and the spec of the solution will be included in their documentation. But how didf they discover what they wanted and all about it? They must be in conversation with companies that already supply such goods/services to know what fits their need and to be sure of specifications, have an idea of prices etc. So they MUST already have a tame supplier providing this information. Chances are that company already has its feet under the table and you are just being invited along to make up the numbers and allow the purchaser to prove he is getting value for money from the company he is already dealing with.

I could be wrong. But here is how to test it. If you receive an invitation to tender, or a request for information or a request for proposal out of the blue, check to see who it advises you should speak to if you have questions. Give them a call and thank them for involving you, but that you need to meet with them first to discuss their need, determine they had to hand information on the latest industry developments before specifiying their desired solution, and so you can articulate they way in which you work with customers to deliver solutions. If they won't meet you, are they ever going to buy from you? If they refuse, advise them you are unable to put proposals together where you haven't been through their needs with them and chosen a solution based on your own experiences and walk away.

If they will meet, politely question every aspect of the solution that they have worked on with the other supplier to see if you can get them to realise that you may know more about this area than the guys already in there. The best possible outcome is that on the advice you provide they decide to redraw the tender documents to change their spec, suiting it to what you do! YOU are then in pole position and the other guys are playing catch up.

3) Does the customer actually have a reason to buy
It is not uncommon for people to want to suck information from you to pad out gaps in what they know about the market you operate in. It can be hard to determine who is really in buying mode and who isn't. But here is a fundamental rule of qualification: do they have a business need and are they prepared to share it with you?

If they can't tell you a credible business problem they have that is motivating them find a solution, and confirm that the amount of money it is costing them/they are losing far exceeds the deal value, then they probably aren't going to buy. If they won't share this information, be polite and help them where you can, because they may be buyers down the line, but consider that this time they are just tyre kicking!

AND FINALLY...

4) Make sure you are ALWAYS moving your opportunities closer to the close
It is SO IMPORTANT that with every item of customer contact you move the deals you have closer to the sale. What is the point in speaking/writing to them otherwise? It's simple to do. Regardless of whether they inititiate the contact or you do, make sure that it always ends with an explicit agreement that one of the two of you will do something that moves gets them closer to buying. If they want information from you, agree a time you will deliver it by. While you are giving, ask for something back - what are they going to do with and by when? This allows you to agree that in, say, 2 weeks you can contact them to confirm they did their thing (discussed it with a colleague, raised order paperwork etc.) If you contact them about something, always be sure that when you have put the phone down there has been agreement that some action will occur on either one of you that moves the deal forward and get agreement it will be followed up.

As well as helping you to get to a close, it shows a level of interest in working with them from your side, shows a level of assertion and a business-like dependability that will appeal to them, and also shows your strength of character well in advance of you needing it when negotiatons start!

I hope these tips help. Feel welcome to come and contact me if you have any questions. All my contact details can be found at http://www.wecando.biz/pilot/profile.php?bid=20.

IH

[Moneymaker]

Great advice! Started a company a year ago and currently am struggling a bit with the poor economic situation in the UK.