How You Should End Every First Sales Call
- James Purvis
- Nov 7, 2017
- 2 min read
Updated: May 10, 2019
You and your engineer just got done with an amazing demo and the customer absolutely loved it. AWESOME! "We are totally getting this deal!" If you are like me, I've had a one-call close happen just once in my career. The reality is, most sales calls end with the rep asking the prospect, "So, what are the next steps?" There are several challenges you will face by asking this question. The biggest is that you are putting all the control of the sales process back into the hands of the customer. Their knee jerk response is almost always going to be something like, "let us talk internally and get back to you." Although they may be telling you the truth, the fact is that as soon as they walk out of that meeting, they are going to be dealing with the million other things they got going on which means whatever it is you are selling just got re-prioritized. Time kills deals and it may be a long while until you are able to get back on this prospect's calendar. Sound familiar?
So, what is a way we can ensure this "hot prospect's" sales cycle stays in your control and timing doesn't slip away? I created what I call the WSD method and it has really helped me push to keep a deal moving. It's super simple, highly effective, and will increase your win rate.
Once the meeting is wrapping up, ask these 3 questions:
Who else in the organization would be excited about this?
Would you be willing to sponsor a meeting for us with that person?
Will (insert date) at (insert time) work for everyone?
Let's break it down
W - Who else is the organization would be excited about this?
This question does several important things: 1. It allows you to expand your audience to other stakeholders who may have influence in your deal or even better, can fund your deal 2. It opens up the customer to sharing more information about the decision process. I'm guessing that if your solution would bring a lot of value to them, the first person they will think of when you ask this question is their boss! 3. It tests the likelihood of a deal actually happening. If they don't have anyone else who would be interested in this, this probably won't make the budget.
S - Would you be willing to sponsor a meeting for us with that person?
This is a great way to start building a Champion. If they are willing to get you in front of others, it's a good sign that this deal is qualified and has some legs. It will also show that this person is willing to go to bat for you which is a key attribute of a Champion.
D - Will (insert date) at (insert time) work for you?
Every meeting should end with a confirmed date and time to continue the discussion. A good best practice is to pull up your calendar w/ the customer right then and there and get something on the books asap. Again, if you wait until later, the customer will get swallowed up in all the other stuff they got cooking.
