Details, details, and more details. Put together the whole puzzle, keep digging.
Let’s assume your new prospective customer has given you some idea of what is missing in their work or life, and you are starting to see how what you do could improve their situation and make their lives easier.
BTW, that is your job – to somehow make other people’s lives easier or better. Based on your unique set of capabilities and offerings, if implemented, you should improve your customers’ lives – if not, get out of their way, and let them find somebody else who can.
Back To Fact Finding
There are three basic facts that need to be established:
- Time: as in time to invest in fixing the problem
- Funding: where their money comes from and how much they are ready to invest
- Resources: meaning resources that you don’t provide and they don’t control
Let’s tackle time first. When anybody makes a change, explores working with somebody new, or investigates a new offering, system, or task, there must be a time commitment.
In most cases, it’s not a huge commitment, but it does need to be addressed. So, before you go into a capabilities presentation, create a scope of work, or put serious time into winning any new piece of business, get their commitment to put in the time with you – both during the sales process and after the purchase (if it goes that way).
It’s a small commitment on their part, and it starts the psychology of them believing in and getting behind working with you while eliminating any post-demo nonsense of, “Well, we really like what you have to offer, only problem is the timing is really bad. We are just sooooo busy, I am sure you understand.” As I said, nonsense.
No, we don’t understand. Why would you have me run all over town, bother several people in my company to get you what you needed, and then shamelessly backpedal out of doing something with us? I know you are thinking this, but I don’t suggest saying this.
However, you have to look in the mirror here. Ask yourself, What did I do – or not do – that could have made this better?
Keep asking that question. Stop blaming your prospects or customers; own your part of this equation, and you will get a lot better, a lot faster. Oh yeah, and when you think you have it all down. Think again.
One of my favorite coach’s sayings is, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” So, for any of us egocentric types – yes, I said us – stay open to learning the lesson in every interaction and enjoy a full lifetime of never-ending growth and development.
People who live that way tend to make much more money than people who don’t.
Fact Finding Part 2
It’s another F word – wait for it…Funding, oh yeah, Funding. Before we hear:
- “It’s not in our budget at this time.”
- “We get this done elsewhere for much less than what you charge.”
- “We are sending this out to bid.”
- “Your pricing is a little outside of what we are used to paying.”
Or any of the other nonsense that goes on here, we need to get ahead of these common problems – before they become real issues and everybody’s feelings get hurt, mostly yours. Salespeople are so sensitive, acting outwardly confident but inwardly second-guessing ourselves. More on that later.
You are likely boxing yourself into an unrealistic fantasy target price they have in their head, which could be completely made up. I recently asked somebody who was looking to rent out space in a property we owned, “How much do you normally pay to rent a conference room in a hotel for a day?” He answered, “$200 to $300 per day.” I basically laughed at him and said, “I don’t know what kind of place you have been going to, but I have never rented a hotel conference space for less than $1K to $2K per day, if not a lot more, plus food and drink.”
The concept of Setting the Anchor states that the first actual number brought up will likely be within 15 percent of where the final number lands.
So, if they set a budget of $5K, odds are the price ends up being somewhere between $4,250 and $5,750, and you work toward their number.
If you throw out an early $20K rough number, odds are the price ends up being closer to between $17K and $23K.
Oddly enough, it could be for the same type of product. Some people call this price conditioning. I call it being honest and being the adult in the room. If you sense, early on, that they can’t afford you, you need this information to get out of there sooner rather than later.
If they can afford you but you wait too long and they throw out a ridiculously low number (which happens often), then they are forced to defend that ridiculously low number, even if they are full-on lying to you.
Be the adult, get real right from the start, and throw the number out before you ask them to commit to anything. Get the two of you on the same page about real dollars, and handle all sales conversations in real dollars, not percentages.
For example:
“Hey, before you sink $20K into doing this differently, how much in real dollars do you think it’s costing you to do it the old way?” Get real dollars, not percentages. Them telling you, “It’s probably costing us about five percentage points,” is not the same as them saying, “It probably costs us at least $5 million per year in lost revenue.”
Fact Finding Part 3
This part is about other events, resources, or prerequisites that must happen in advance of you getting hired to do whatever you do.
We are trying to avoid the following:
- “We really want to hire you and implement this, but…
- “First, we need to install our new accounting system…
- “We are selling the company and will want to ask the new owners…
- “Would love to sign, but first, we need to get permits from the city…
- “We have to wait for offers to buy a new property to get that accepted and built out…
…and then we can get started.” – ughhhh!
So simply get ahead of this in your fact finding with any of the following appropriate statements or questions:
- “Did you guys already get permits?”
- “Do you think your current accounting system can handle the changes?”
- “Any projected changes in ownership status that would deprioritize this?”
- “Do you even have enough space and capacity to incorporate this now?”
Just get ahead of everything. Bravely ensure that there are no real or make-believe obstacles that could slow this train down.
Doing so will also get your prospect behind the idea and help them see the clear path forward, thus increasing their commitment to the project, which can only help – or help you bail out early if there is something real in the way.
The following is an excerpt from “Conversations Made Easy”* by Chris Jennings. Chris is the owner of Chris Jennings Group, a sales, leadership, and business development consultancy.
* sponsored link – as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.