Amongst many of the differences between selling within a complex versus a simple sales environment, one of the most misunderstood stages of every sales call is obtaining commitment.
In a simple sales environment, there are really only two possible commitment outcome – you either win the sale or not. In a complex sales environment, that involve many activities with multiple buyers spanning over a significant time period (sometimes years), there is an endless amount of possible next steps or commitments that can be had. Because of this, how do you know you are obtaining the right commitment each step of the way and advancing the sale forward?
The right commitment is an agreed upon specific action between you and your buyer that moves you one step forward through the selling process – this is known as an “Advance”. Anything other than this would only be a “Continuation” no matter how positive your buyer seems.
NOTE: Even “bad news” could be considered more of an advance than a continuation.
Let’s review a couple examples:
Continuation Commitment | Commentary | Advancement Commitment | Commentary |
---|---|---|---|
“Great discussion. Let’s meet again next Tuesday”. | Agreement to another meeting by itself does continue the sale, but there is no specific action involved that will advance the sale forward. | “Great discussion. Let’s meet again next Tuesday to complete a demo.” | There now is a specific action that shows their commitment to advance the sale forward. |
“We’ll think about your proposal and will call you back in a few weeks”. | Thinking about your proposal and calling you back in a few weeks is not a specific action and does not progress the sale. When your buyer does call you back, are you further ahead then you were a few weeks ago? | The sales rep states… “Please present the proposal to your team and let’s talk on Friday @ 2 pm to discuss their reaction.” | There is a specific action – they will present your proposal to their team – that advances the sale toward a decision to buy. |
Remember, an action that advances the sale may be coordinated by either the buyer or seller. By getting your buyer to commit to a specific action, you ALWAYS make a clearer and stronger Advance because it shows they are engaged in the process. Think of it this way … why would your customer have a specific discussion with you about their budget or timing if they were not engaged or serious?
Think of an advance as a “little victory” – almost like a micro-step – along the way that should be celebrated (even confirmation of a next meeting to discuss x or y is a micro-step). The longer your sales cycle, the more important it is to define and celebrate the little advances.
How to Plan for Advances?
Before every call or meeting, start by brainstorming what possible advances would move your buyer toward a decision. Here are a few examples:
- Get buyer to agree to receive info and agree to a follow-up discussion (with a date and time booked)
- Get buyer to commit to view or attend a demo;
- Get buyer to arrange a meeting with the decision making team;
- Get buyer to call three of our references;
- Get your customer to commit to the decision making timelines and next steps
- Get buyer to commit to a 30-day trial.
Once you have a list of possible advances, select the one that is most appropriate for that phase of the selling process – this becomes your objective.