Recently, I was coaching a salesperson who was trying to add a new client to his book of business. He already had done most of the right things you should do when trying to get someone to make a change. He was just waiting for the client to “fire their current broker” and hire him and his agency.
This is a smart guy, and he was working intuitively and doing what came naturally—something that tracks with Corsini’s Authentic Selling model. In fact, without really knowing it, he was relying upon several aspects of our proven model.
He had worked hard to establish a solid, trustworthy relationship with one of the owners of the business he was pursuing. He talked about how his agency had a different way of working with clients and how that value-added difference would be a tangible benefit to the client’s business. He took a straightforward and empathetic approach and looked at what the potential customer was not getting from their current agency and pointed out that what they were NOT getting was costing them.
Everything appeared positive. This salesperson seemed to be right on track to win this new business. But then the potential buyer became distant and less attentive. The salesperson I was coaching grew concerned and alarmed. He sensed that the deal was off; he was afraid he was going to lose the business.
And then he said something that stopped me in my tracks. “Either he buys from me now or else I’m walking away altogether,” he said. “It is now or never.”
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
I understood that the salesperson was emotionally “all in” and felt like he had invested a lot of time, resources and energy with the potential buyer. He had. In his mind, he felt like he had earned the right to win the business. But to make an ultimatum like that after he’s worked so hard to develop a relationship, establish expertise capital and position himself as an advisor to this person’s business … well, that just sounded shortsighted.
In my opinion, the game had only just begun. Important and mutually beneficial business relationships take time. But the person I was coaching was young and new to his business. He was smart but impatient.
Nonetheless, he had already done all the right things it takes to position himself to win the business today, next year or perhaps in five years. Why would he even consider throwing that away?
I suggested he step back and ask himself:
- Is this the type of client I want to work with today and in the future?
- Do we share the same values?
- Does this potential client understand and appreciate value-added partners to help them make their business better?
- Are we a good fit for each other in the short- and long-term?
These are the things the salesperson should have been considering—not whether this was a buy or bye-bye situation.
Besides, there could be a million reasons why the buyer had cooled off in making a change. Maybe something personal like a sick child or an aging parent had him distracted. He could have been in the middle of a bigger business decision like a merger or the acquisition of another company and focused solely on that. Or maybe it was simply the wrong time to make a change. We just don’t know the rest of the story.
Whatever the reason for the potential client’s reticence, it likely wasn’t long-term, but an ultimatum from the salesperson probably would have made it permanent.
What do you think? What is your advice for a young, up-and-coming professional salesperson who finds himself in this situation?
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