10 Warning Signs of a Bad Deal

Everyone loses deals.

Make a risk assessment before you get too deep.

In years of selling complex B2B sales, these are my warning signs.

The more of these that your prospect or deal doesn't pass, the higher the risk that you have a shaky opportunity.

1. ‘Seems too good to be true’:?

Prospects who are too agreeable and move too fast - they never challenge you or ask deeper questions, they just seem ready to sign and you haven’t even built a value case with them yet.?

1. Prospects who don’t follow-through on commitments:

Following on warning #1: you have a great meeting and the output is some additional information requirements from the prospect - and they never send them. They leave you unable to write a quality proposal or quote, yet they seemed ‘ready to sign’.

1. Prospects who aren’t interested in collaborating on a quality proposal.?

Following on 1&2: They have a quick look at your pricing and seem satisfied = they can tell others internally that they’ve looked at you (and select another vendor).

1. ‘Send me a contract’:?

Your prospect seems satisfied, and asks for your contract, yet the warning signs for 1,2 and 3 above are sounding off in the back of your head = they are information gathering for an incumbent.

1. Solitary prospects:?

The average B2B decision is made by 6 stakeholders from different areas of the business. If you have more than 2 meetings with just your main contact and none of the other stakeholders are present, especially if you’ve asked about them - that’s a warning sign. You’re likely dealing with a lone-wolf who is disconnected internally and has not ability to effect change - they are just trying to look busy or have some other rationale for seeing you.

1. Lack of Clarity:?

Prospects with an inability or disinterest in answering specific questions that help you collaborate on a better solution. If they can’t answer the questions, they are disconnected from their business and won’t have sway to make a change. If they won’t answer questions, they have another agenda in mind and you are not part of that.

1. Temporary prospects:?

Example - a Supply Chain contact who is a contract employee or a ‘consultant’ - typically with a clear mission to cut price and don’t care about your solution’s integrity.

1. Sharing competitor information:?

You meet a prospect and they are quick to gossip or share competitor pricing. They will share yours too, once you leave their office.

1. Hidden business relationships:?

2 risks = (1) your prospect is a sub of a larger parent, and that parent does business with your competitor. (2) your prospect has a relationship with a competitor in different lines of business that are unconnected to yours. I used to lose to a large multinational who would supply my prospect with lighting, electrical solutions, technical equipment, building finance, and they would leverage those other relationships to crush me, even though I had a far better value proposal in my swim lane.

1. Behind the scenes friendships.?

You can’t really guard against this one.

Here’s my story: I worked with a CFO for months to put together a quality proposal including a plan for key process improvements.?

It was a massive deal that would have made my year. After some negotiation on terms, price and KPI’s - he asked for a contract and things went silent. I mean crickets - never returned a call after a few months of outreach. I moved on but never knew what happened.?

2 years later I hired an Account Manager who worked for a competitor and she filled me in. My prospect was a close friend of my competitor’s Director of Sales. My prospect simply handed my proposal and pricing over, and asked his friend to match my pricing and implement my process improvements.?

Was there a warning sign here? Maybe. The prospect meetings and discussions seemed easier than I thought.

Bottom lines:?

Trust your gut.?

If something seems off, it likely is.?

The more experience you get, the more you should trust your gut. If you’re new to sales, work with a seasoned Sales Leader or an experienced peer, and ask them to spot the holes in your deal.

Don’t skip steps in your sales process.

Your sales process is there for a reason - to ensure you craft a quality deal. Sales processes are iterative with experience, so build in some ‘warning signs’ checks along the way.

Don't obsess with worry. Move on.

If your deal doesn't pass these 'sniff tests', don't panic. Refocus on your prospect pipeline for new, better opportunities that will. And always take time to build your pipeline. It's a lifesaver.

My Request:

All good salespeople ask for referral business - it’s a best practice you should do as well!

I am looking for my next full-time Sales Leader role at a company with a value driven, complex B2B Sales process.

If you found this article useful, please forward it to your contacts who will benefit from my love of Sales and years of experience.

Thank you.

I write Mentoring Moment because I am deeply passionate about Sales and Sales Leadership.

As a professional career, I work for high-performing companies to build high performing Sales & Service teams who are motivated, engaged and innovative.?

The teams I lead deliver higher revenue and more new logos at premium pricing, as trusted advisors with a deep knowledge of the prospect’s industry challenges.?

They secure long term relationships through reference grade service for higher client lifetime revenue.

Wishing you good selling,

Tim