06 Jun WHEN IS THE GREATEST AMOUNT IN INTEREST IN BUYING

Here is the scenario: You developed a lead into a qualified opportunity, held meetings to demonstrate your value proposition, answered questions, arranged customer visits, and crafted a return-on-investment case that impressed the Economic Buyer. The buyer’s interest grew, leading to calls for more information, workshops, contract requests, and training queries. They analyzed your solution, asked their questions, and examined the alternatives. Then, you were informed that your solution was selected from among the several they were considering. However, the deal suddenly stalled, your contact is not returning calls, and the opportunity remains open.  Has this happened to you?

Your contact informed you that they were enthusiastic about moving forward with you as their vendor when you received the good news; however, the opportunity is not progressing to a close. The buyer did their due diligence, so it has not stalled due to a lack of information. So, what is happening? Why the equivocation?

I have researched these situations and determined that the most significant interest the buyer has in concluding the sale is the day they decide which product or solution to purchase. Each day afterward, the level of interest diminishes. And it drops by an increasing percentage. So, you must take advantage of the momentum, or your opportunity may stall or die.

Many reasons can cause the stall. Most often, this is due to other projects taking priority, an inadequate understanding of the value proposition, and an inability to effectively explain it to executive management. Alternatively, the economy may have negatively impacted the company, resulting in budget issues (costs exceeding anticipated amounts), the contract may be stalled in the legal department, a disconnect between the seller and buyer regarding the contract process or timing, the sponsor’s departure from the company, or simply a lack of inertia.  I had one instance where my sponsor became hospitalized from a heart attack and then, shortly afterward, passed away.  Nobody else shared the same level of passion for the project that she did.

What is the buyer’s interest in closing the sale, and when is it the greatest?

Graphically, this looks like:¹

(Insert graph)

Let me explain the graph:

The y-axis represents the prospect’s interest in concluding the sale. The x-axis represents time. The blue horizontal line represents this specific opportunity. Observe that interest in concluding a purchase increases at a steady rate until the point at which the recommendation is made, at the sixth point. The orange line represents the prospect’s interest in remaining with the current situation. The interest declines at an increasing rate once the buyer makes their recommendation. The blue line moves downward from almost 100% to nearly 0%. At some point, in this example, between periods six and seven, the interest in doing nothing is higher than the interest in concluding the sale with you.

So, what does this mean to you? At first glance, it may not seem like profound information. But it is not as evident as it seems. You must dig deeper to gain a deeper understanding of what this means to you as a sales pro.

Elapsed time becomes your enemy once you receive the good news that your solution is their first choice.  (It is an ally if you are losing.) Your level of urgency in closing the opportunity must increase. I suggest that you work with your sponsor to create a timeline, or Gantt Chart, of who is responsible for each remaining task to have the contract signed.  Both the sponsor and you need to monitor each task to ensure it is completed on time.

I have seen some sales pros relax their efforts because they believe the hard work has been completed by being chosen by the buyer. In American football terms, you are on the 20-yard line. And that doesn’t always result in a score. The reality is that the hard work has just begun, and it is essential to do so within the shortest possible timeframe.

¹ Steven Weinberg, Above Quota Performance (Estes Park, CO: Armin Lear Press, 2022) pp. 269-272.