The Biggest Mistake New Sales People Make and How To Fix It

We've all made this mistake - here's how to fix it

This is the scenario, see if you can spot the problem:

?? A company has the exact problem that your solution fixes.

?? The same company has a lot of money, with the ability and willingness to spend to solve the problem that your solution fixes

?? That very same company will 100% have a critical failure if they do not do something about their problem. And your solution is a perfect fit!

?? Your senior level contact loves your solution, and want's your solution in their company! They want to spend the money to solve the problem. Wow!

???????????? So why is it that they didn't buy from you?

Experienced sellers will know the line that comes next from the clues above......."I need to run this past the board/the CxO/The director of X" ..and so on.

This is the biggest problem that new sales people face. They may have done months of hard work, uncovered budget, need, time and authority....or have they?

In the above example the sales person has found a problem in a company that would hurt the prospects company if the problem goes unsolved. They have uncovered an ability to spend the money it costs to buy your solution. They even have a champion in a senior level contact. But they missed a key aspect.

???? Real authority

What is real authority?

It's a person, or normally a group of people, with the ability to make the final decision to purchase the solution you sell, at the price you are selling it for.

Let's break this down

Authority to buy is given to different people in a company for different amounts. Once you get to the price, it may mean you need a new person to sign this off. It's hard for someone who thought they would be able to sign off a purchase to go back and tell you they don't have the authority, that's a hard lesson for sellers to learn.

For example a marketing director may be able to sign off a ￡20,000 event but no more than that. An IT director may be able to spend ￡15,000 on a new integration but that's the limit. If they were under the impression that the price for your thing would be UNDER their spend limit then they are correct to tell you that they are the authority. Once you get to your offer (this could be after rounds and rounds of scoping sessions depending on your solution and their issues) it may be way out of their budget but not out of the companies budget. Which is why they want to keep talking. They are thinking that they will take it to the person who has the ability to sign off that value. They may not tell you......that's life, you have to ask.

Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok, HOW do we ask for authority then in this chaos?

???????????? so..............

Ask the questions at each stage to see if you are still talking with everyone in the buying decision community, at EVERY level, end users included.

At the discovery call, through the scoping and the demo, the further meetings and proposals (this can be a LOT in enterprise sales).

???????????? Then...

Ask yourself these questions relating to authority:

1. Have I spoken to the person who will sign the order form?
2. Have I spoken with all of the people who could block this deal?
3. Have I spoken with all the people that will make the decision to buy?

These are some of my favourite authority questions to ask in deals:

1. Can you talk me through your sign-off process?
2. How do decisions on purchasing this type of (thing) get made in your company?
3. Who else are you looping in? Or are you making this decision solo? (better to ask this up front than get this info at the last minute)
4. (If they're not a CxO) I normally speak with CxOs about this, when can we meet with them? (big red flag if your contact blocks you here, you'll need a work around)
5. At this level of spend, will you be approving the purchase?
6. The last time you purchased for your company, how did it go? (then get them to walk you through the stages....and was the value the same or lower/higher than you're asking for?)
7. Who are you going to check your decision on our solution with? ????I have so many more tips on this topic from the last 15 years - if you want to talk about this or any related topic then just message me here on LinkedIn Cheers!Andy