The prospect is interested: 4 steps to take next

In our last article, we focused on the 4 steps to presenting solutions during a sales presentation. Your sales team’s solution may not be exactly what the prospect is looking for. But what you’re really after is commitment that they are interested and that they would like to pursue things further.

1. Gain Further Commitment

Your sales team have presented your products and services using case studies and emphasised the benefits and value that your solutions provide for their prospect and their client. What we would suggest they do next is to summarise what has been discussed and ask for commitment.

2. Ask For The Business!

If the prospect is interested in your solutions and they feel that they’re going to solve their needs and issues, then your salespeople should ask for the business! They should seek final commitment using closing techniques and take control of the sale. It is the responsibility of your sales team to take the guessing out of how the prospect can move forward. They should be confident and assertive but definitely not arrogant. After all, what you’re really after is making it easy for your prospect.

3. Agree Next Steps

If the prospect is in agreement, for a truly collaborative approach, it’s essential that both parties jointly agree an action plan. Your sales team needs to ensure that the plan is clear, and it includes all the necessary steps to reach a successful conclusion. The plan should be the starting point for your prospect’s immediate needs but should be extended where possible with the ultimate goal of developing a long-term partnership. The plan may simply include the format of the prospects enquiry, how your proposal will be evaluated, and opportunities for further dialogue (including resolving clarifications and the follow-up procedure).

4. Ensure Ownership

For the plan to be executed well, there needs to be ownership of all the actions from both sides. Your sales team therefore needs to get “buy-in” from the prospect. Along with the necessary steps to be taken, they should discuss and agree the appropriate timescales and if possible, the names of individuals that will be completing the tasks.

When both sides own the plan

One of the hardest prospects I ever worked on was overseas. Our product had never been ordered before, the customer wanted it for projects tied to their own customer, and it had to pass far more stringent qualification standards than we were used to.

It took several meetings over a long period, and it was years before the first order. My Managing Director asked me whether qualifying the product was worth the time and resources. From all the conversations, meetings and my own research, I was confident it would become a huge opportunity, so we went ahead.

What made it work was that both sides owned the plan. The customer sent their own engineer to our facility to help set up and pass the qualification test before placing an order. Repeat orders for multiple projects followed.