I’m sitting in a pipeline meeting and ask the rep if the deal will close. He confidently replies, “Yes!”
“Great,” I say, “How do you know?”
The rep responds, “The prospect told me. She said they’re going with us.”
Do you know how many times I’ve heard a rep say the prospect is in, only for the deal to fall through? Let me give you a hint: it happens more often than deals actually closing. Just because a prospect says yes doesn’t mean the deal is guaranteed.
Interest to Ink
A client once shared this with me and it’s stuck:
“The longest distance in sales is between the lips and the pen.”
How true is that? Customers and prospects often will express interest in your product or service but that doesn’t always translate to a purchase.
Getting a client to express interest is only half the battle. The other half is getting a signature on the dotted line and sending over a check.
What’s Still Needed After ‘Yes’
As salespeople, it’s our job to understand what it takes to move from “Yes, I want it” (the lips) to “I’m buying” (the pen) with a signature and payment. There are a number of steps and hurdles between interest and close.
To close a deal, you need a yes, AND:
- All other stakeholders to agree
- Budget approval
- Executive approval
- Timeline approval (they want it, but not necessarily today)
- Price approval
- Terms and conditions approved
- Detractors minimized
- Competition ousted
There’s a long way from yes to close, and if you’re not paying attention to that journey, you’re in for a rough trip.
Close the Loop
How do you measure the trip? Ask!
The moment your client says, “Yes, we’re in. we want it,” simply ask one question: “What do we need to do to close this deal and wrap this up?” Now listen. This question tells you all you need to know. You may hear:
- I just need to check on budget
- I need my boss’s approval
- I need to run it by IT
- I need to run it by HR
- Can you send the contract so I can get it to legal?
- Can you send the final pricing for approval
- Nothing, we just need to put it through procurement
- Nothing, but I’d like to wait until the second quarter if that’s okay
Once they’ve answered, probe further. Ask what it will take to get their boss’s approval, IT’s support, etc. That’s where the work lies.
Notice how each of these answers is contingent on something or someone else. You’ve got the yes, but you don’t have the contract. The deal isn’t closed. There’s more work to do. To get to close, you must be prepared for the second half of the sale. Be clear on the next steps, understand the landscape, and know exactly what the buyer needs to execute their “yes.”
Yes is Not a Close
Too often, salespeople think the job is done once the customer says yes. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The job of salespeople is to close the deal, which is a far cry from getting a yes.
Thinking the deal is done because the prospect says yes, is a rookie mistake. Know better, be prepared for the second part of the sale. Your numbers and close rate depend on it.
A prospect saying yes doesn’t mean anything until the deal is actually closed.
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