Randy Gangaloo

There’s one simple, easy-to-pose question that will, if you use it consistently, simultaneously improve your closing ratio, shorten your sales cycle, and deepen your relationship and impact within the buying organization. And yet salespeople hardly ever ask this question.

A critical part of sales qualification is uncovering the buyer’s budget - the investment. Salespeople are often uncomfortable asking a decision-maker how much money is available to solve a problem. The big question is: Why are so many salespeople so resistant to initiating this discussion?

And the answer is: there is a monster under their bed.

What do you do when a buyer or a prospective buyer says something aggressive or confrontational? Forget about right and wrong. Forget about whose fault it is or isn’t. That’s not an effective way to communicate with the buyer. Fall back! Find something you can take ownership of and own it!

Ask salespeople to list their least favorite selling activities, and you can count on “prospecting” being at the top of the list. And, the least favorite of all prospecting activities is unquestionably making cold calls.