The prospect asks you for a proposal. You spend lots of time and energy on it. It looks great, with the right pricing point and will solve their problems.

Here’s the bit of the sale I don’t like. You wait. And wait. Finally, after a few weeks you pick up the phone, expecting them to say that they have chosen another supplier.

Instead they say they have all the proposals sitting here and haven’t had a chance to look at them. From this point on, for the next few months, your phone calls turn into a game of “have you read our proposal yet?” “No?” “I’ll call back in a few weeks then.”

This is a dangerous situation to be in. It turns your sales call into a bland, procedural one.

A better way is to continue regarding the prospect as someone who you are still romancing rather than a parent from whom you are trying to win approval. Before you pick up the phone to ask about your proposal, think of a great excuse to contact your client. A snippet of news, a sudden thought, an idea or two. If the proposal comes up in conversation, then great. But if it doesn’t you are top of mind for the right reasons and you are continuing to develop the all-important rapport you need for a win.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 25th, 2007 at 2:02 pm and is filed under Natural news, Sales advice, Sales proposals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.