You’ve made your best pitch to the customer(s) that you think are right in your sweet spot, and have failed to close the sale. What to do?
- You could just chalk it up to numbers/random chance, and walk away without making any significant changes.
- You could also double down, and try to get back in good graces with these potential customers, on the theory that your qualification efforts were good, and you just missed something at the end.
Both 1 and 2 have problems. The problem is that these are both responses to (supposed) external problems, rather than internal. When you get down to it, the problem is most likely with your product/service rather than your sales cycle. Drill down and ask yourself the tough questions. What do you have to offer? Why would anyone want it? How could you reposition or recraft your product or service to make it more appealing? Engage in the tough conversations with just-missed customers and ask them the “why not?” questions. Ask them what would have turned the sale. Analyze. Adjust your product or service. Try it out with different customers. Wash, rinse, repeat.
About nathan kaiser
