Sense of urgency

"Urgency" is defined as: a force or impulse that impels or constrains; In some sales cycles we need to convey this to prospects. We must be able to communicate in terms they can relate to and tie ourselves to how we can help them. Demonstrate reasons to change and an urgency to move now. In order to accomplish we must be able to position our solution in a way that it doesn’t make sense not to move forward.

About a year ago, I met with a company that was doing business with a competitor of mine. Initially, they told me they were satisfied with the competitor. But after a series of targeted questions, I saw some ways I could help improve what they had. Then after second and third level probes, i found a number of deficiencies that was preventing them from accessing critical data necessary to making high impact decisions. First, I showed them how I was going to solve the problem. Then, positioned it in a way that made the old system unacceptable. In effect they saw, through the filter of the new solution, that they could not go back to the old way of doing things. A year later, they have the new solution in place, problems are solved, they have the data they need, and they are finding time to focus on jobs that are top priority.

Companies are run by people and people get complacent and can learn to adapt to inferior technology. We have a great opportunity to appeal to the intellect, logic and business sense of executives and help them see the new way of doing business.

Following are some ways we can help move things along.

- Know why they must make a change now (from their viewpoint): Learn their language, study their style, understand what motivates them, and feed all of this back to them in terms they relate to.
- Set realistic expectations: Maybe we all have been guilty of overpromising and under-delivering when close to closing a sale. The times I have done it was a result of overexcitement and being zealous. Passion and excitement are vital, but season it with wisdom and experience and frame things in their proper context. One thing this does is help garner trust with the company we are dealing with because we are not simply being “yes men”.
- Deadlines & next steps; Always have a next step and be constantly reviewing timeline and next steps. This will keep you on task and have them buying into the process. You have to keep them buying into what you are doing.
- Paint a clear picture of what “better” looks like; This is important as it allows us to let them envision the new solution and help you shape how they see it working for them. You are helping them shift the paradigm of what they expect from the solution they are using.

These should make a difference in sales cycles and keep you focused on specific areas where you are adding value. In reality there are going to be times when it doesn’t make sense for a customer to buy what you are selling, or maybe take shortcuts because we see an easy sale. Not the case. We always must be looking for how we help and are clear on the value we bring.

One last thing I will add is that we cannot just go through these steps, but we are to be convinced that we truly are offering something that adds value and that we have the best possible solution and that we are the ones to bring it to them. If you are not, either learn your product more thoroughly or else go and sell something you do believe in. It’s that simple.

To your success, and Ignite your passion.