The beginning of the third week of August … perfect time to discuss the sale that keeps getting pushed. If you’ve been selling for more than a few months, you know about the push. In security, you definitely know about the push. After all, it’s pretty tough for your points of contact to create urgency around a department that many consider a cost center. So, what can you do?
Assuming that you really need this sale, you’ve already asked your customer for the order, and you’ve offered all the incentives possible to bring in the order, there is only one thing left to do: ask your client if they are full of it. Seriously, ask them if this sales opportunity is real. Make it easy for them to say no. Many times a client is too nice to tell you no and would rather drag you on for months.
Just ask: “Would it make sense for me to remove this from my forecast or do you really think it’s coming in this quarter?” This puts the burden on them to say "yes" – you’ve given the “no”. Guess what, if they say yes, odds are they’re going to follow through on processing the order.
