The prospect, appearing eager to make a decision, asked for a presentation.
You invested a significant amount of time and energy developing it.
You delivered your presentation in a polished professional manner... expecting a decision at its conclusion.
Now, three days later, you’re waiting for the prospect’s call... and his decision.
We’ve probably all made this mistake, even those of us who should know better! There’s nothing more frustrating than investing a great deal of time and energy developing a presentation, delivering it, and then waiting for days, sometimes longer, while the prospect “thinks it over” and ultimately makes a buying decision.
To avoid the waiting game and also get the prospect to make a commitment about what is going to happen at the conclusion of your presentation, make a virtual presentation.
Suppose you sold security systems and a prospect wanted a presentation for an intrusion alarm system for a new warehouse. You would have to conduct a site survey, develop an appropriate system to meet all of the prospect’s requirements, draw a preliminary system schematic, calculate material costs and installation times, package all the information in a proposal, and finally, develop and rehearse your presentation. A fairly large commitment on your part with only the hope that the prospect will be persuaded to buy.
Before actually doing all of that work, do it virtually. How? By asking the prospect the following:
Mr. Prospect, let's pretend I were to conduct a site survey, develop an appropriate system to meet all of your requirements, draw a preliminary system schematic, calculate material costs and installation times, package all the information in a proposal, and make a presentation where I thoroughly demonstrated how our system would do precisely what you require, which is to deter, detect, and document unauthorized access to the premises, what would happen next?
In fifteen seconds, you’ve done all the work necessary to determine if the prospect is not willing to make a commitment to an action that is in your best interest—and, sitting by the phone for days waiting for his decision is definitely not in your best interest—you probably shouldn’t commit to doing the work. If you feel you MUST do the work, charge for it and agree to apply the initial fee to the project if it is awarded to you. That strategy won’t guarantee that you’ll get the sale, but at the very least, you’ll get paid for your efforts.
