How to Make Selling Harder Than It Has To Be

You are making selling harder than it has to be.

When you leave a sales interaction with your dream client without a firm commitment that moves the opportunity forward, you are reducing your chances of gaining that commitment, and you are extending the time it will take you to gain that appointment.

Commitments that don’t move opportunities forward:

• Your commitment to send pricing.
• Your commitment to call your dream client.
• Your commitment to provide information.
• Your commitment to do anything else not listed here.

Your commitments are important. You need to keep them. But they aren’t the commitments that move your opportunity forward. For the opportunity to move forward, your dream client has to make a commitment.

These commitments generally move an opportunity forward:

• Your dream client’s commitment to meet with you again (sooner is better than later).
• A scheduled meeting with other stakeholder’s within your dream client’s account.
• A commitment to meet to review the information you promise to provide.
• A commitment to visit one of your existing clients with you.

Notice something about these commitments? It is your dream client who is making the commitment. Even when you commit to provide information, your dream client is agreeing to allow you to present it. When you don’t gain these commitments, you are hurting both you and your dream client.

How you are hurting you and your client by failing to get these commitments.

• You are allowing your dream client to go longer without the results they need.
• You are allowing your dream client to control the process without replacing it with a process that ensures they achieve their outcomes.
• You are allowing time for other forces to change or challenge the opportunity.
• You are showing a lack of professionalism by not having a concrete plan for helping your dream client with their buying journey.
• You aren’t helping your client generate revenue and profit, the keys to growth and creating new and greater value.

Look at your stalled deals. In every case, you are missing the next commitment you need to move that opportunity forward. Had you gained that commitment while you were sitting in front of your dream client, your deal would be moving forward. Now you are struggling to get a response to your emails and voicemail messages, and you worry that your deal is at risk. Don’t make selling more difficult than it has to be. Ask for the commitments you need.