While these are admittedly challenging times for many, I still see a lot of sales being made, and an overall healthy economic environment among the industries and companies we frequently work with. 

The biggest difference today is probably the amount of time it takes for sales to close, especially compared to the last few years, when companies would choose to move forward with a solution within a few weeks, or months, at most. Yes, some sales processes could still take a year, but on average, it wasn’t as hard to close the sale if you did your due diligence and stayed focused on the opportunity.

Today, the sales process can take twice as long, or longer, but sales are still being made …. if you understand how to respond.

Financial justification is the biggest blocker in today’s economic environment, especially considering the fact that companies have become quite conservative with their spending.  It’s for this reason that most sellers shy away from asking tough financial questions, when in reality this could be a key to their success.  People are looking for answers, including the executives and principals of the companies you want to reach-out to.  If you can help to answer important financial questions – in a responsible and informed manner -- you’ll be a step ahead.

Now is the time to master financial conversations.  By doing so, you can gather information and provide well informed answers as to “why” a company should spend money with your company now.  You will help decision makers validate the expense, prove to them that you are cognizant of their fiduciary responsibility and help them make solid business decisions.  For sellers who feel they are not at their best during financial conversations, what follows is a quick example of how things might be handled more effectively.

Recently, a new prospect was making the decision to move forward with our firm, a competitor, or remain with the status quo.  They had a specific business objective in mind based on the company’s long term strategic direction: increase their new client base year over year. During a financial conversation, together the client and I determined their new client target to be 27%. We then estimated the revenue increase the company could expect from a 27% increase in new clients. The project was designed and financially justified with this business objective in mind and we won the opportunity.

By having a financial conversation early in the process, I was able to establish an important business results goal for the client, tailor our solution recommendation, and financially justify our proposal based on the client’s own challenges and needs.

To start the financial conversation, help customers identify the business results they need. Question for:

§  The cost of avoiding the business issue or initiative you are addressing.  Establish what the issue is currently costing the client’s business. Identify how much of the organization is impacted, how significant the issue is, and the cost to the client’s business in not resolving the challenge. This is what the client will save.

§  The financial benefit in addressing the business issue or initiative. Determine any new revenue the client will realize, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Look across the whole organization, and project it over the next 3 years.

§  The financial threshold of the issue. This is the amount they are willing to continue losing to live with the issue instead of resolving it. Demonstrate how your solution will yield positive business results more attractive and less risky than the financial threshold.

Use your financial conversations to show the client the value of moving forward with your solution. You will be selling in spite of the current economic environment, and your client’s business will reap the rewards.

Negotiate With Confidence | The Sales Store