In continuing our deep dive into the Five Most Important Sales Questions we come to:
2. What are your decision criteria?
While the first question regarding budget is the most important, the decision criteria question is probably the hardest to get a straight answer. Why? Because the old adage that people buy on emotion and justify with facts later is true even more today than ever! Even if the prospect is using a formal RFP process and assuming most of the listed criteria are evenly weighted amongst competitors, winning still comes down to the best story and relationships.
So, how do you make sure you've identified the criteria that will make the MOST difference between winning and losing? Ask the prospect to clearly define the criteria in two columns; NEED and WANT. If they can't do that, then assume they're not really serious about buying and go back to the budget question and re-affirm the business need. If they can differentiate between the two, then quicky review the NEEDS and make sure there are no "knock-out" issues for your company. If there are none, then focus your time and energy on the WANTS - because that will be where the decision is made!
In reviewing the WANTS, you must address them as if they are NEEDS until the prospect says otherwise. This is very important because assuming the NEEDS are going to be evenly addressed by you and your competitors, the winning difference will be in how many of the WANTS you can deliver that they can't. Also, make sure you also ask "who" has helped determine the NEEDS vs. WANTS. If it's only your primary contact, be wary. Just as in real life, WANTS are prioritized by rank (just ask my wife and kids). If the WANTS are only those of your primary contact (me), you stand much less of a chance winning on them than if they are owned by Power (my wife and kids). Be sure and probe into "who" owns the wants and whether your primary contact knows the "why" behind the "what". If they can't sell you on why the item is in the WANT column, then ask to talk to the one who owns it. If they refuse then ask them if it can be removed from the list. This will most likely lead to you either speaking to the WANT owner, or discovering that the owner is your primary contact and the WANT is theirs alone. Either way, you have an answer you can act upon.
The interesting thing about NEEDS and WANTS is that oftentimes there is a very fine line separating the two. If one of their WANTS is one of your unique differentiators, then spend the time to get it moved over to the NEED column. Why not just leave it where it is? Because the more WANTS they have that are unique to you that you can get moved to the NEEDS column, the more pressure it puts on your competitor(s) to meet the minimum requirements. CAUTION: Your competitor(s) is going to try and do the same thing to you. That leads us to the final point.
The decision criteria question is also the most fluid of the five because the definition of NEEDS and WANTS can change throughout the sales process. New information offered by you or your competitor(s) may cause the shift of one or more criteria from one column to the other. That is why you must continuously re-affirm the decision criteria with each interaction you have with the prospect. Any deviation from the current path requires further review of all FIVE questions to uncover any new decision makers, influencers, criteria or timing. It also requires re-evaluation of where you may stand in the process. You may move from first to last in the blink of any eye.
Remember, if you don't take great care in accurately and continuously assessing your prospect's NEEDS vs. WANTS throughout the entire sales process, you'll lose control of the conversation and your prospect will buy someone else's story - and then give you a long list of "facts" as to why you lost.
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