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Setting Clear Expectations

May 6, 2011

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How many times have you shown up at appointment with the intentions and assumption that you will be signing the deal, only to be let down by a prospect that wasn’t prepared to sign that day?

In sales, timing is everything, so in order to facilitate the sales process in your direction, it’s important to come to an agreement with your prospects on the next steps prior to moving forward.

For your future meetings to be as effective as possible, you not only need to set clear expectations, but the customer must agree to them ahead of time. 

Coming to an agreement can be as simple as asking a question:

“If you like all of the solutions I present to you at our next meeting, I plan on asking for your business.  In that case, do you see any reason why we couldn’t do business that day?”

This question leaves you in control of the meeting, and helps you get a grasp on where you stand with the prospect.  Also, by asking similar questions to this, you bring out any objections early in the game, and both you and the customer will be on the same page for the next meeting.  No more surprises.

Unfortunately, customers will not always give you a black and white answer.  In these cases, keep finding new ways to ask the same question until you get the answer you are looking for.  There are many ways to skin a cat, so it’s important to keep pushing until you come to an agreement with the customer.

By qualifying prospects and setting clear expectations through every step of the sales process, you can avoid the guessing games and increase your overall closing ratio.  Additionally, you put your prospects at ease for telling you how they feel about your products, and this will make them more comfortable saying “yes” to you when the timing is right.