FIFTH POST

Ever have a sale that gets away and you knew that the prospect went to high school with your competitor?  At least that is the story everyone talks about at the local trade show from hell to make it easier to stomach the 40K dollar commission or 1.5M installation or 800K materials order that the high school pal wrote.

Maybe that is why the business went that way.  Sometimes we hear this information and might be less motivated to press forward on the sale.  You might say something like "I'm not going to invest all kinds of time in this sale when I know its going to his buddy."

In some cases, it might be a wise decision from a time management perspective to move on but before you do, remember, you should be  doing the math on the total dollar value opportunity, weighing that math (MONEY!) against other opportunities of that scale and then deciding if you can afford to pass up the opportunity.

If you decide to pursue the sale and in this economy I can't imagine letting anything go,  how do you beat a high school buddy?  No, its not with a picture of the guy doing a bong hit.  If you went to high school after 1965, chances are you have some kind of career threatening Polaroid out there that will undoubtedly be scanned into Facebook anyway!

Who do you know in the company that you desire to do business with or better yet, who can connect you with someone of influence in the company.  You might know the Senior VP of Manufacturing that has nothing to do with the cabling system specification or installation, however, that is a senior level contact and a downhill, downwind tee shot to your prospect's office.  Tools like Linked In are perfect for figuring out who can connect you or maybe you are already connected to someone that can help you.  Remember, most people want to help if you ask nicely.

Who are you networking with?  In our space, the obvious communities are Commercial Real Estate Brokers, Architects, General Contractors, other technology salespeople, or any company that benefits when an organization moves.  Lead groups are everywhere.  Are you in one?  If not, why haven't you started one?  Fresh, RELEVANT information is the lifeblood of any salesperson in any business.  The translation of that information into a tangible benefit for your customer is how you will win and win big!

OK, you got to the prospect.  Now you need to uncover the likelihood of your getting a fair opportunity.  Remember, if you had a senior level referral, most people will report the final decision back to the person that referred you.  Do you mention to your champion that your competitor went to high school with your prospect....hell yes.  Now a senior level manager knows that there is a relationship in place that might effect that best interest of the company. One suggestion would be to make a comment like this.  " I hear that your IT director is an old friend and high school buddy of one of my competitors so I will need all of the help I can get and greatly appreciate your referral. "  

Whether its an old friend, a former colleague, family, golf buddy, we've all been on the outside looking in.  Its our responsibility to figure out how to get into the Jack Burns Circle of Trust and take what is rightfully yours!

Now its time for you to use all of your best salesmanship to position your solution and distance yourself from your competitor.  You will never have the relationship that your competitor does in this instance, however, that doesn't mean you can't win!  Keep fighting and stay RELEVANT!