188: Don't Snatch Defeat from Victory in Sales

<p>Sales is easy if you know what you are doing.  It is a flow, where each step intersects with the previous one and is a build toward a “yes”.  Once we get to the final stages of the sales cycle, we have to really be on our game.  The wrong move, the wrong communication, the wrong timing and the deal is lost.</p> <p> </p> <p>Finding clients is an art and so is building trust and credibility that you can help them solve their business problems.  We might be very charming when we first meet the client, sending out a competency vibe that the client relates to.  They are open to our inquiries into the current state of their business, where the gaps are located and the urgency of filling those gaps.  So far so good. </p> <p> </p> <p>We are now working off a trust base sufficiently large enough to allow the client to pull back the velvet curtain and reveal all the difficulties and problem nuances they are actually facing, as opposed to that pristine image the marketing and PR departments have been publicly propagating.  Dragging out the dirty laundry for outsiders to see, is not something clients are going to do if the trust has not been established.  So good job and well done getting to that point in the sales cycle.</p> <p> </p> <p>Presumably you are skilled and have refrained from suggesting any possible solutions, until you have done a proper job of digging deeply into the real issues facing the client.  You have not leapt in with your off the shelf product or service, the one size fits all, cure all snake oil.  No, you are a pro. </p> <p> </p> <p>You have been asking well designed questions, which have been helping the client come to their own conclusion that what you have is the solution to their needs.  And the real beauty of this skill set is that the client, as yet, doesn’t even know what you have ready so you can help them.  Your questions have guided their thinking about the types of solutions they will need and hey presto, your solution is a perfect match.</p> <p> </p> <p>Now we come to the unveiling, the