How To Screw Up a Referral Sale
When a prospect doesn't want to hear from you, you've lost the sale. A reader writes:
I feel I may be a bit behind on a potential client win for our firm. The prospect contacted us from out of state by a referral. Our quoting process is quite detailed to the point where I believe the prospect may have used it to amend their RFP document. They have been short with me each time I called for follow up. I believe our pricing is not the cheapest but most certain it's not the most expensive. I consider our firm to be "boutique" than your everyday run of the mill type Web development firm. My concern is that they may choose a local firm in Chicago over an out of state firm. What tips can you give me on how to overcome these types of situations?I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you are not going to get this deal. However, you can console yourself with the thought that you made your competitor's job much easier by laying the groundwork for their close. Here's specifically what you did wrong:
- You provided a detailed quote without a quid pro quo. If you're going to do any significant work for a client, you must be "paid" by some concession to you that leads towards closing the deal. You should have demanded to present to personally to the CEO -- or something else that might have given you an inside track.
- You didn't differentiate your firm or your offering. While you may consider yourself to be a "boutique" firm, you obviously didn't convince the prospect of that, because you ended up in a discussion of price. If you actually were a boutique firm, you'd be charging the highest price, and the customer would be happy to pay it.
- You bid on a deal without local resources. Since web development tends to be something of a commodity product, one of the few differentiators available to a provider is the quality of the sales rep. You needed a warm, personable body working the customer personally, in order to stand a chance of competing.
- You didn't take the hint that you lost the deal. If the prospect is consistently blowing you off, they aren't going to buy. Period. You're just fooling yourself if you think that you're still going to get the deal. Any resources that you expend pursuing this deal further is wasted. It's over; deal with it.
- STOP CONSULTING FOR FREE
- HOW "QUID PRO QUO" SELLING WORKS
- TO SELL MORE, PUT THE "YOU" IN UNIQUE
- HOW TO SELL OVERPRICED SERVICES