The last thing prospects want to experience during a sale is pressure or desperation. Sometimes it takes sensitivity and a gentle touch to foster the process. Being empathetic and keeping an open ear are good keys to success these days. People are dealing with all sorts of obstacles to moving forward, so be ready to hear some objections. For example, “Our CFO has frozen all non-essential spending.” If that is the case, you know that a transaction is not going to happen in the immediate future, so there’s no reason to make a hard sell.
One of my favorite tactics is to appeal to their creativity. I say, “Imagine for the moment that you didn’t have a capital spending freeze. Is this upgrade something that you would be doing if it weren’t for that constraint?”
This is an effective way to continue the conversation. You might be surprised by what you hear. It’s an insider’s view of the company. It also doesn’t hurt to ask, “How would you implement the project?”
This is when you take notes and remind them that despite whatever difficulties they’re experiencing now, the project could help them in the future. It’s the blueprint of something you could build together, beginning with a straw man one-page proposal. You could put it on hold, fully assembled, so it’s in the capital budgeting pipeline to be approved and funded as soon as the “spending freeze” thaws.
