#69: How To Prevent Time From Killing Deals

#69: How To Prevent Time From Killing Deals

Read Time: 3 min

Today, I will discuss one of the biggest killers of deals — time.

If an opportunity has been qualified correctly, it comes with a small window during which all DMs are aligned, interested, and motivated.

As time passes, interest wanes, internal priorities shift, and other opportunities emerge, especially if they are vetting multiple vendors. The initial enthusiasm and momentum that drives the deal forward can die quickly, leaving one of two outcomes: either they go with another vendor with a more polished process/product, or they ghost.

In this issue, I’m going to discuss how to prevent this from happening and how to control as much of the process as you can.

Speed is the currency of business.

~ Marc Benioff

One thing I relentlessly discuss with our clients is controlling the buying journey and conveying authority. This is how you increase deal velocity and close deals faster.

The logic behind this is to assume that if you let go of the prospects' hand during the buying process, they will veer off track. It then becomes your job to find and get them back on the path.

How does this happen? If you do not book a call at the end of every touch point, you are letting go of the little control you have. You have to close at the end of every touchpoint.

What does this mean to close at the end of every call?

Closing is not something that miraculously happens at the end of the buying process; it happens throughout the buying process. Closing is a result of a well-executed sales process.

The idea of closing on every call is to understand next steps and get the prospect to commit to moving forward. In the same way, a quarterback works his way to the endzone through each play, which is similar to what a sales process should look like. You’re the quarterback, and each play is a different step in the process, driving you closer to the endzone.

Let’s look at the different steps of a traditional B2B sales process.

• Discovery

• Demo

• Scoping

• POC

• Close

Here’s how to close at the end of each step

• Discovery - The close on this call is to schedule the demo.
  
  

• Demo - The close on this call is to schedule the scoping call.

  • If they are not prepared to move to a scoping call, then book a follow-up meeting to come to a yes or no on whether or not they’d like to move forward.
    
    

• Scoping call - The close on this call is to schedule the POC.

  • If they are not prepared to commit to a POC kickoff date, then always book a follow-up meeting to decide whether or not they’d like to move forward.
    
    

• POC - The close on this call is to get them as a customer.
  

By closing on the next steps at the end of every call, you are giving yourself more control and riding the momentum, which helps diminish time as a deal killer. Almost all problems of timing killing deals can be solved by clearly defining the next steps and booking the follow-up meeting with a day and time scheduled on the calendar while on the call. This is how you control as much of the process as you can and help eliminate time from killing your momentum.

That’s it for today!

See you all next week.



Darren

P.S. If finding PMF and scaling to $1M in ARR through founder-led sales is on your radar, book a call with me here

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