Take Ownership of the Sales Process

I remember going on a sales call and really wowing the prospect. I did a white board presentation and really educated them on how an emerging technology was going to completely change the way that conducted business. The meeting was very interactive and they asked a ton of questions. I was even invited to join a national meeting via video conference and give a brief presentation. In the end, they bought from a competitor. I realized that my job was not to just educate – it was to educate AND sell!

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Don’t let a great, interactive session with a customer go to waste like I did. Use the opportunity to move the sales process along. In the above scenario, I allowed the prospect to dictate next steps. That’s something that I should have done. Now, when I have one of those really great and interactive sessions, I’ll end by suggesting the next steps. I'll take ownership of the situation and recommend a trial or other tangible event that moves the process along. That, or I’ll start sketching out a Mutual Activity Plan. By recommending next steps and taking ownership of the sales process, my close rates have increased and my forecasting accuracy has improved.

Let’s be clear about something. Educating your customer is important – use sales calls to do just that. Any time that you can add value to the conversation by sharing knowledge you should. But, your job is to sell – not just educate. Don’t fall in to the trap that I did years ago. Yes, it’s cool to have knowledge that others are thirsting for; yes it’s cool to wow a prospect with your product or industry knowledge; but no, it is not cool do use all that time, talent and resource to educate them well enough to buy from a competitor.

Own the sales process by recommending next steps and taking a leadership role. Your results will definitely improve.