Committees are oftentimes deal-killers. B2B salespeople need to know the answers to the questions shared in this episode of the Sales Management Minute to sleep well at night.
Everything has gone well during the sales process and your contact person is taking your proposal to a committee for approval. You can feel the commission check in your wallet, can't you?
Before you go out and spend those dollars, there are some questions that need to be asked of your contact person.
1. What is your recommendation to the committee?
You can't assume you have their 100% steadfast support. Many a deal has been lost because the salesperson didn't ask this question.
2. Why are you recommending our solution?
If he cannot articulate "the why," your deal is in big trouble because he will be asked this by his committee members. Chances are your contact is not a professional salesperson which means he needs your sales coaching to sell internally. Don't assume he is prepared to sell your deal.
3. Who is on the committee and how does it make decisions?
Most of the time, a committee is just a bunch of people thrown together without a defined decision-making process. In those situations, it could be the biggest title or the loudest voice in the room that wins. You need to know how decisions are made.
4. What normally happens when you make a recommendation to the company?
See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.