03 Jan If You’re Not Winning, You’re Losing

This sounds like an obvious statement. Wouldn’t Homer Simpson say “duh” if I said this to him? Isn’t it a binary condition—either one or the other? And isn’t the reverse then true, too?

No, not really. It also could be neither.

It is not that simple. How do you know whether you are winning or losing the sale you are trying to close? Who should you ask? Your contact at the company you are trying to sell? They’re not always truthful. Your competition? They can’t be trusted to be honest. Your sales manager? It is probably your best option, but do you want her to know that you have no idea whether you are winning or losing an opportunity?

If You Are Winning, You Should Be Receiving Continuous Feedback

Are you receiving positive or negative buying signals throughout the entire sales cycle? These signals might include questions, requests for additional information, objections, and feedback from your contacts. The feedback could be verbal or non-verbal (for instance, if they suddenly start ghosting you). Buyers rarely tell you that you are winning or losing the sale or why. If you are not receiving feedback or questions, ask the buyers whether there is sufficient interest before proceeding. If they are not returning your calls in a reasonable amount of time, you are likely not in the final few. An extended period of continued silence (“ghosting”) by the buyer is usually terrible news.

You Should Be Using Trial Closes Throughout the Sales Cycle.

 Using trial closes will help bring out objections and indicate whether you are winning or losing the deal.

You may go through a period of days or weeks without contact from a buyer, and then they will re-engage you for further information. When that happens, it is possible they were going in another direction and then found something they did not like with the alternative and circled back to you. Optimally, you should be continuously in contact with several people in the corporation and will be providing them with information—and gaining more information for yourself—throughout the sales cycle. When they go quiet on you, it could be that they are busy or between phases, or the buyer is avoiding you because he is uncomfortable telling you they have gone another way (or are about to do so). Most people avoid confrontation and do not enjoy giving bad news, especially one-on-one. Your contact does not want to argue with you about why you were not selected. Sometimes, they give you a reason to hope or mixed messages and then cut off communication. It is your job to uncover the truth so that you can either try to change the decision or cut your losses.

You Thought the Deal Was Going Well—Surprise!

“Everything was going well. We had an excellent presentation. Everybody was engaged and active.” The buyer responded, “Yes, your product is a possible solution,” and seemed genuinely interested. Then, the sales pro could not reach anyone for several days or weeks. When you finally reached somebody, the person seemed cold, indifferent, and in a hurry to get off the phone. You told your sales manager, “When I asked the buyer what the next step was, they told me they did not know and were unsure when I should contact them again.” What went wrong?

The buyer has now obliquely told you they are no longer interested in your offering, but you did not understand their message. You were not tuned in. You were on the AM radio band, and they were on FM. If there was a button the buyer had on his desk that delivered a “Sorry, but you were not selected” message, they would have used it. Instead, they go on with their business and avoid speaking with you. If you are not winning—by actively conversing and working with the buyer on a solution—you are losing or are in danger of losing the sale. You have already won or lost at that point—you don’t know it yet. The sales pro is usually the last person to know whether you have won or lost.

You may have been following the instructions of your contact to not communicate with anybody else at their company during the evaluation. Guess what? Your competitor may have ignored the contact’s suggestion and secured the sale. I am not advising you to ignore the buyer’s instructions, but be aware that not contacting all the buying influences, including the key decision-maker, can cost you the sale. Some suggestions to not alienate your contact are to ask permission from your contact to call others, explaining that it is required as part of your process; invite the contact to attend the calls or meetings; have your sales manager contact others, or you can blame it on your manager—tell the contact that your manager insists that you do so.

In summary, you are losing if the buyer does not tell you that you are winning the evaluation or is giving you strong buying signals (when can you arrange delivery?). But it is not too late to react and win the deal!

Adapted from Steven Weinberg, Above Quota Performance (Armin Lear Publishing, Estes Park, CO, 2022) pp. 19-20.