How To Avoid Losing A Sales Deal

There are only two reasons why we lose a sales deal:

1. You missed something

It’s easy to blame external factors for not getting the deal: the market, the competition, the timing etc. The truth is that you have either been out-sold, or your proposal was not sufficiently compelling for the customer to see the value in saying yes.

2. It was never going to happen

Unfortunately some sales prospects never intend to buy from you, instead they are using you to test the market, make up the numbers for the short list or use your quotation to negotiate with their existing or preferred supplier. The question now becomes…

What can you do about it?

Be accountable: Take ownership of your successes and your failures, you are 100% responsible for your results.
Be customer focused not product or sale focused: The only way you can minimise your chances of missing something important is to ensure you understand your customer and their needs in detail.
Test if the customer is serious by asking yourself the 4 questions from my earlier post: The Biggest Waste of Time (in Sales)