Sell the Process

One of the reasons you might lose a deal is because your dream client doesn’t agree to the process. They decide they want to do things that don’t serve them or not to do what they need to do to make a good decision. One of the ways you avoid losing is by selling your prospect the process.

Once you are sitting in front of a contact (or contacts), you need them to commit to exploring change. There really is no other reason for you to be sitting across from them or them you. When they ask you to share information about your company and your solutions, your compliance means you are allowing them to do their discovery instead of your helping them to discover something about themselves and their business. Neither of you are near the point where you should by sharing why you are the right partner, and allowing them to drive you pitching proves you may not be.

It’s not uncommon for some people to decide they want to see a presentation or a proposal without doing some of the things they need to do before you reach that point. They skip discovery and the collaboration that helps you to provide a solution you are confident will work for them. If that’s not bad enough, they often try to move forward without inviting the people who are going to be working with to participate in the process. Your contacts believe they are acting in their own best interest, speeding up the process and eliminating the resistance they are certain to encounter from some of their peers.

For as long as most people can remember, the idea of closing has pertained only to the final ask, the commitment to decide and sign your contract. Of all the many commitments you need to gain, the final ask is one of the easiest to obtain. It’s all the commitments that come before that ask that makes it easy to gain—or the most difficult, spending on how well you have sold the process.

The ten commitments that help you create value for your client while creating a preference to work with you are what helps you ensure that you provide your client with your best help in making the right decision. Before you sell anything else, sell the process.