The offer is done and you’re waiting impatiently for the feedback. Time for suspense and a bit of anxiety. By now, there’s no more bargain or negotiation. There are two scenarios:
– You won the deal. Great. You’re happy and a bit relieved. Then you think you probably could have asked for more…but don’t look back from that angle. That one is done, start thinking about the next occasion. But still…
- If the deal is in your pocket:
- Honor it. Don’t just celebrate and turn your back. A deal is a deal, whatever the future brings
- It’s also very important that you ensure the deal is executed according to the agreements (by both sides).
- Don’t disconnect with the customer during thagreement period. Keep the contact, keep exchanging information, keep showing interest in the customer, keep “defending your position.”
- Reinforce the application of the clauses and premises of the deal.
- In case the agreement isn’t being respected by the customer regularly (one-off can happen as long as properly pre-discussed), you need to warn them about the contract cancelations and/or penalties. Don’t just let customers use the contract as a lever for their side without proper returns or compensations to your end.
- If the customer replied with the well-known sentence, “We regret to inform you,” then the deal is lost. Don’t turn your back, don’t drop it, don’t feel you failed. You didn’t. They simply had a better offer or weren’t sure about yours. So this is not the end, but the beginning:
- For sure it’s not pleasant, but take the best out of each situation. Is there any positive sign of losing a deal? Yes, probably not immediately, but when the results of feedback are properly dissected they can provide you with relevant information that can’t be ignored and will help you for future negotiations. Start preparing for their next buying cycle.
- Don’t just assume you lost the deal because your price is too high. Start looking around at everything else. If the end price was the sum of a few things, what are those things? Where could you possibly improve?
- Ask for as much feedback as possible about why you’re not the chosen one. Often it’s not about the price, but payment terms, proximity, or features you can’t offer (for instance, consignment stock), reliability, technical support, fewer hurdles with operational matters. This info is crucial for you to prepare for the next opportunity.
- Don’t just drop the customer and wait for the next round/year. Once in a while, get in touch, check how things are going, check if there is additional demand. Check if there have been any changes in people or organization. Show that your interest isn’t solely on closing one deal but on keeping a relationship and proximity with the customer.
- Keep your foot in the door, you never know if (for whatever reason) they’re not happy with their chosen supplier – and you could be just the right guy to step in.
- By keeping in touch and gathering info, you’re preparing yourself to tackle any gaps that you had previously.
- For sure it’s not pleasant, but take the best out of each situation. Is there any positive sign of losing a deal? Yes, probably not immediately, but when the results of feedback are properly dissected they can provide you with relevant information that can’t be ignored and will help you for future negotiations. Start preparing for their next buying cycle.
Things to have in mind embracing a sales career- The offer follow up:
- Deal is in your pocket:
- A deal is a deal. Honour your deals, don’t change terms along the way
- The deal isn’t the end of anything but the beginning. Follow up the implementation of the deal and keep in contact with the customer by exchanging market info. Secure your position for the next time.
- Reinforce the application of the terms, don’t let the customer play with volumes or repeatedly stay short on their promises.
- Deal is lost. Great, let’s learn and gather as much info as possible for the next time/round:
- Don’t assume anything at all. You’ll be prone to assume it was due to price. Don’t assume, ask for feedback, as much and as detailed as possible.
- Even if the price is the visible part of the iceberg, don’t stay there. What’s beneath? What costs could you improve? What services are you offering that the customer didn’t ask for or need? What features are you missing? How can you improve product performance?
- Don’t just drop your arms and wait for next year/round. Keep showing up, keep the contact. You never know if the winning supplier is messing up and you could take his position.
- You’ll have one year, month or whatever the period is, to fix your minus points and place yourself well positioned for the next period. If you just lose contact and try back later, you won’t have the chance to improve and close that gap.
This is an excerpt of my book “sales is my passion”, available here: http://amzn.to/2DY7nVy