The Lost Art of Closing by Anthony Iannarino

Author:Anthony Iannarino
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2017-08-08T04:00:00+00:00

HOW TO GAIN THE COMMITMENT TO BUILD CONSENSUS

If you know you are going to need to bring other people into the sales conversations that lead to change, you want to talk about that with your contact very early in your process. You want to gain an agreement that building consensus is going to be necessary, and that you are going to help your prospective client get that consensus. Remember, control the commitments, control the process. Lose control of the process, lose control of the outcome.

This is how you control the process. You preview the commitments you need by sharing your process, and then you work to earn the right to ask for those commitments. When you lose control of the process, bad things happen.

Early in the process, you need to gain the agreement to build a consensus from your prospective client. You might say, “At some point, we’re going to need to bring those who will be involved in making this decision into the conversation. Who are we going to need, and when does it make sense to bring them into our discussion?”

There is a lot in this ask. You have presupposed that other people will be involved, that you need them to be involved, and that your prospective client agrees to both of these. Then you return control by asking your prospect when it makes sense to bring other people into the conversation. You hope she will respond with a list of names and a confirmation that the next meeting is the right time to start. But it doesn’t always go the way you hope it will.

Let’s say she replies, “I am the one who will make this decision. I’d prefer not to have anyone else involved.”

If that language doesn’t scare the life out of you, it should. You know that you aren’t likely to win a deal with only a single stakeholder weighing in on the decision. Being single-threaded is too risky, and it’s more likely you will lose to the status quo than you will find your way to a positive outcome. Is she telling the truth? She might be, but it’s not likely, even in smaller deals. More often than not there will be multiple stakeholders.

You can respond with something like, “I understand you have concerns about bringing other people into this conversation. Can I share something with you?” Wait for her to say yes, indicating her desire to learn more, before continuing with, “It’s been my experience that when we don’t involve anyone else in this process, later on they either work to oppose what we’re trying to do or make it really hard to execute. Is there a way we can identify the people who will be involved in decision making, and build the support we need without losing control of what we’re doing?”

Or you might say something like, “Who can we bring in now who will be supportive and help us build support from the other people we need?”

Listen, none of this is easy—for you or your prospect.

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