Written by Jeff Hoffman @mjhoffman
When
a deal stalls, it's tempting for the salesperson to unknowingly put themselves
first. We've all been guilty of it at one time or another. You might repeat the
close, not-so-subtly threaten the prospect with an expiring discount, or roll
several asks into one conversation.
These
tactics are a surefire way to turn stalled deals into cold ones. Before we dive
into how to revive a dead sales deal, let's get clear on what dead deals are,
and why they happen.
Dead
Deals
A dead deal occurs when a prospect seemingly becomes disinterested
without giving a definitive ‘no’ to a sale. In this situation, the prospect may
disengage and refrain from communication.
Here
are a few reasons your sales team’s deals may not be moving forward:
·
The prospect’s problem isn’t urgent —
You may be working with a prospect to solve a problem that isn’t a priority for
them at the moment. The solution you provide could have been out prioritized by
other issues.
·
You haven’t been working with the right
decision maker — Have you verified the contact you have been talking to is
the right person to make a purchasing decision? If not, they may be avoiding
communication. Learn how to identify the right decision
maker to move your deal forward.
·
They are waiting for funding or other
information from within their business — Similarly, B2B deals
may stall because your contact is waiting for additional budget, approval, or a
new product of their own to launch before they can commit to a sales decision.
·
You haven’t built enough trust with your
contact yet — Building trust and rapport with your contact is crucial. If you
haven’t built rapport with your prospect, they may feel less inclined to
communicate where they’re at in the decision making process.
·
They don’t want to say "no" —
Sometimes, your offering just isn’t the right fit and the prospect doesn’t want
to break the news to you.
Do
any of these scenarios sound familiar?
Below,
I've outlined strategies for moving stalled deals forward. They keep your
prospect the focus, give them options and escape routes, and help you avoid
becoming your own worst enemy — the stereotypical pushy salesperson.
How to Bring a Stalled Sales Deal Back to Life
1. Don't repeat your close.
If
the prospect gave you a soft yes — and then nothing — or a firm no, never
follow up with the same close. Your next request should be a different, lighter
ask.
For
example, if your champion was supposed to introduce you to someone in
Procurement, but they never followed through, your follow-up question might be,
"When do you want to start implementation?" This is an easier
ask that doesn't require action.
Even
though your original question didn't receive a no, it might have if you
continued to push. Your goal for every email or phone conversation is not to
get a yes or no — the goal is engagement. When a deal is stalling, your focus
is singular: Get your prospect on the phone talking.
2. Don't corner your prospects.
Nobody
likes to feel trapped. When you're working toward a goal in sales, give your
prospect ample exit opportunities. If you're coordinating a demo and your
prospect is unwilling to confirm a date, let them know they can reach you by
phone or email if they need to change the demo date or time once it's
scheduled.
Exit
opportunities make listening to your pitch seem like an option for them, help
you get a firm date on the calendar, and decrease the likelihood of your
prospect flaking at the last minute or ghosting entirely.
3. Don't compound your close.
Only
use one close at a time, and always be direct. As a rule of thumb, don't
include "not" or "and" in your closing language. For
example, let's say your goal or close involves getting the right people in your
demo, including decision maker Jerry. Many of us are tempted by the compound
close — asking multiple questions at once. Compound closes sound like, "Could
you invite Jerry to our demo? And is there anyone else who needs to be there?"
If
you ask a compound question, you'll receive a compound answer. And your
prospect will likely only process and answer the easier question.
Instead,
ask two questions. Start with, "Should Jerry be invited to this demo?"
After your prospect has responded, "Yes, he should. I'll reach out to
him today." follow up with, "And is there anyone else who
should be there?" You've broken a compound question into two
manageable questions, making it easier for your prospect to answer both.
4. Close something light, first.
Flex
your selling muscles. Start every deal by closing for a phone number, an intro,
or a meeting. This introduces the idea of the customer saying yes to you. Once
you've made a small "sale," move on to bigger asks like asking to
speak with a decision maker.
Remember,
never close the same thing twice. If you ask, "Could you connect me
with your boss?" and don't receive an answer, ask, "Who's
going to be the primary contact after the sale?"
You've
followed an unsuccessful close with a lighter ask, and you've avoided asking
the same question twice. Once you receive a successful answer to this light
request, you can continue asking questions to lead the prospect back to your
initial question.
5. Keep the close prospect centered.
Make
sure every close includes "you" and clearly identifies a finish line.
Instead of saying, "What's a good time for us to meet?" ask,
"When are you free to meet for 30 minutes this week?"
In
the first example, you say "us." This is problematic for two reasons:
1.
If they're not your client, there is no "us" yet.
2.
You haven't provided a timeline. If your prospect doesn't really want to talk
to you, you've made it easy for them to push the meeting back for several
weeks.
In
the second example, you keep the question prospect-centered by asking when
they're free. Then you define how long your next meeting will take (30 minutes)
and when it should happen (this week). It's a clearly defined request that
keeps your prospect feeling valued and in control.
6. Send a new quote.
If
the end of the month or quarter is near and your prospect still hasn't closed,
wait until there are about three days left and send a new contract.
By
this time, you've likely offered them a discount, so sending them a new contract
with non-discounted pricing can be the wake-up call they need to move forward.
Instead of a warning, "You're going to miss out on this great discount,"
which they likely won't believe, a new contract makes the new price real and
looming.
Don't
be pushy or aggressive — simply send an email saying, "At the end of
the month, please replace our old contract with this new pricing structure."
This allows them to call and discuss the price.
Even
if they still can't close before the end of the month or quarter, this keeps
the conversation going and allows you to extend the discount when appropriate.
If
they do want to close by the end of the month, be careful in
framing the question. Ask, "Would you like to close now? The deal
expires by the end of the month." This is a less pushy way of saying,
"The discount is only good through the end of the month. Can you close
now?"
Stalled
deals can be scary for salespeople. They threaten your number and eat up
valuable time and resources.
7. Expand the audience.
If
the salesperson is in one-to-one communication with the prospective buyer, it
gives the buyer too much power when a deal is stalled.
Start
new lines of conversation with other buyers, influencers, or business units at
your prospect's company.
Expanding
the audience makes the conversations between you and the prospect more public.
More people will be looped into the sales process and this makes it harder for
the prospect to disappear on you.
8. Demonstrate urgency.
If
you have a sense of urgency, demonstrate that urgency to the prospect. And if
you're frustrated at their lack of response but wait two weeks to reach out,
you're not demonstrating urgency.
Increase
the frequency of your attempts to reach the contact. You can make multiple
calls in one day, but you must leave a voicemail. If you don't leave a
voicemail, your calls could be interpreted as passive-aggressive.
Here
are some outreach ideas for your calls:
·
I just wanted to follow up on the status of [X].
·
Do you have any feedback from the demo?
·
Do I have the correct address for [X paperwork]?
Make
it clear to them that the lack of response isn't changing the status of the
deal. The key point to remember with a frequent touch approach is that you have
to leave a voicemail every time. This gives them an opportunity to reach back
out to you and follow up.
9. Ask for help.
Don't
be afraid to ask for help. Ask a colleague or teammate if they can give you a
hand with the deal. Let them know that the prospect is out of the loop and hasn't
responded to your emails or calls.
Then,
ask them if they can call the prospect and say they're a colleague of yours,
and they're checking in on your behalf. This gives the prospect another
opportunity to respond and get the deal moving again.
These
strategies turn stalled deals from frustrating to promising — and finally get
you over the finish line.
Want
to close even more sales? Check out these sales closing techniques next.
Originally
published Jan 9, 2020 4:30:00 PM, updated January 10 2020
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