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Final Presentations: It’s Not Over Until...

Guest post by: Linda Richardson

Article Overview: Great news! You've made your presentation and are one of two finalists down from six - pretty exciting, especially in light of the extended sales cycles you've been facing. Your customer has given you a date of two weeks from today when the company will announce its final decision. Your contact said he'd get back to you. What do you do in the interim to increase your winning?

Final Presentations: It’s Not Over Until...

Great news! You've made your presentation and are one of two finalists down from six - pretty exciting, especially in light of the extended sales cycles you've been facing. Your customer has given you a date of two weeks from today when the company will announce its final decision. Your contact said he'd get back to you. What do you do in the interim to increase your winning?

Here are some best practices to help you tip the scales during the call in your favor.

1. Formally debrief the final presentation with your team. Strategize and gain agreement on next steps and accountabilities.
2. Call your contact within one day to debrief the presentation. Start by thanking him/her and use that thank you call to ask for feedback and gain insights into your competitor's position. Debrief your team and make adjustments to your strategy.
3. Within one day send a customized, follow-up e-mail to your contact and customized e-mails to all who participated in the presentation (during the presentation make note of who asked what and use that to tailor your e-mails).
4. Continue to meet/communicate with your team to share information and refine your strategy to win.
5. Be creative and use your team to stay connected/in touch with the customer(s). Ideally, you will have developed a coach who will be invaluable through this time. This is one time where 99% of the time SILENCE is not golden unless required by the customer! Aberdeen research showed that the relationship with the salesperson is the #1 reason customers buy. And, even if it is a senior committee who will be making the decision and your contact isn't the decision maker, a strong relationship with an influencer will help you gain important information and access. A good relationship gives you access, and a call every few days with a reasonable purpose, including checking if the customer needs additional information, is not too much and when handled well, your contact reinforces your commitment. Of course, don't overdo it. Leverage your team's contacts too, including your seniors. Identify any decision makers who are detractors. Find out their issues and try to get a dialogue with them if you can. For example, offer a phone call or a webinar on the aspect of your solution that concerns them.
6. It is likely the customer will be in contact with you with questions and gain concessions and other changes pre-close. If this happens, it is likely the customer's first round of negotiations. So trade carefully. You may have to make adjustments in your proposal based on customer feedback and begin negotiating price and terms before the customer makes a decision. Because customers are seeking more discounts and better terms than ever (remember, their customers are squeezing them), ideally you understand and have learned about the deal approval process and you have anticipated this and built in room in your pricing for this round of negotiations. Work to gain commitment that your customer will support what you and he or she agrees to should procurement get involved.
7. Continue to express your desire and ability to be the partner who will meet and exceed the customer's needs.
8. Once you win the business, thank, and act fast to move forward. Have your senior call to say thank you and express your organization's commitment. Communicate clearly with your implementation team and get them started. Remember, the deal isn't really sold until, as one of my smart customers says, "The first dollar is in the door."

Post-sale: Stay in contact with the customer post-close to reinforce that you and your organization were the best choice. Identify additional opportunities and keep building the relationship.

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Article Tags: Linda Richardson, Richardson Company, Sales Training



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