Deals Stalling On You? Don't Hold Your Breath!

Many of you have been faced with the situation where your "HOT" prospect for some strange reason has gone cold.

The scenario is pretty typical and goes something like this.....For weeks you had great communication with your prospect, demonstrated undeniable value, ability to solve a problem and SEEMINGLY on the verge of closing the deal. Suddenly the prospect goes into hiding.

Days and maybe weeks go by where you can't get a hold of your contact causing you to wonder whether the deal is stalled or dead.

We all know there are most likely roots to the cause here...Did you agree on next steps? Were you at the correct level? Did you ever discuss budget? Whatever the reason you are now in damage control mode to determine where the opportunity stands in the funnel.

What should you do? How do you get the buyer to level with you ASAP?

GO NEGATIVE!

That's right..GO NEGATIVE!

The fastest way to determine if, in fact, buyer interest and commitment exists is to call the buyer out and test them on their intentions to move forward.

Give them the easy out to "say no".

Your goal is to initiate a responce and realistic intention.

Here are a couple of ways to address the issue:

• "Your a bit confused as to why you haven't heard from the buyer. Politely mention you were under the impression you were close to having a deal but based on "no response" it is clear that you have no interest in the proposal. Add a line in the message that infers the buyer probably doesn't see a good fit and you will be moving on. Be clear that both of your time is valuable, keep an open invitation for down the road and wish them luck. If there is no further interest it is easy for the buyer to respond to that intention because they do not want to be "hunted" at this point."
  
• Let the buyer know that you have been trying to get in touch with them for (days /weeks) with no response. Politely tell them, based on "no responce" it is pretty clear that this is most likely not the "right timing" and the proposal doesnt seem to have high priority- thus you will be moving on/closing the file. Again, if the buyer intends on moving forward you will most likely get an update on a closing timeline quickly. If NO is the answer, you made it easy for them to opt out.

The point is to walk away from a deal when extensive uncertainty exists. Chasing buyers and dead opportunities wastes valuable time, inflates your funnel and negatively impacts your quota.