134: Pushy Or Prescient

<p>Pushy salespeople are very, very annoying.  They try to bug you into buying and we really don’t like it.  We may actually buy, but we don’t like them anymore and probably won’t become a repeat buyer. Fair enough, but what about when you are the salesperson?  At what point should we give up on convincing the buyer that our solution is the best for them?</p> <p> </p> <p>It often happens that we meet a potential buyer, we do our follow up and get a meeting.  We listen carefully to what they want.  We even try to leverage our experience and deliver some insights about relevant issues they haven’t thought about yet.</p> <p> </p> <p>In all of this we are trying to tailor a solution to the needs of the buyer and to add value. We want to become a trusted partner for the client, however we are not looking to make a “sale”. We are looking to make a “re-sale”.  We want to have a long-term relationship with our client.  We want to help them trigger that “we haven’t prepared for that” realisation in their minds and that we are the solution.</p> <p> </p> <p>Having made the presentation, listened carefully to what they want, we go back to the office and put together our proposal. We survey the broad range of possible solutions available, select from that treasure trove and painstakingly assemble a logical, pertinent and convincing roadmap for moving forward.  This is when the problems start.</p> <p> </p> <p>If possible, we meet the client again to present the solution.  In some cases the client says, “email it to me”.  With every once of strength in every fiber in our body we should resists this default to the modern convenience of email as the messenger.  We must present it, in person and in a way that really clarifies what is written for the client.  Even when we can do that, the client invariably says, “okay, we will study it”.  This is when things can go silent.</p> <p> </p> <p>We hear nothing, so after a week or so, we email a gentle nudge to the client.  We could phone them except that today trying to get hold of busy