During discovery, most salespeople have been taught to uncover (or co-develop in some situations) prospects’ “decision process” and people involved (“stakeholders”). While this is a healthy practice, the way we frame the conversation and phrase our questions matters a great deal.
Let’s put aside those complex situations where we have an opportunity to guide the prospect because they don’t know how to buy; maybe they’ve never tried to tackle this problem before or haven’t bought anything like this recently. In these situations we can bring our past experience with other clients to bear in helping the prospect navigate the process.
But for situations where the prospect has a familiar buying process and does “know what they’re doing” (so to speak), we need to avoid some common mistakes:
Don’t ask any version of “what’s your decision process?” and/or “who is the decision maker?”. Why? Because the questions are too narrow. Your contact may not want to admit that they are not the sole and ultimate decision point. And sometimes they might misinterpret the question(s). Which decision do you mean? For example, the process (and person or persons) involved to find viable suppliers and narrow down the field is different from the decision to move through the entire buying process and authorize a final decision.
So, don’t ask about “decision process” or “decision maker”. That’s sales terminology. Instead, use terms and phrases that are more precise, yet cover the whole process, and prospects can more accurately interpret. Here are a few suggestions:
- Who else besides you will be involved in evaluating the solution we are discussing?
- Who else besides you will be affected by the outcome?
- From past experience, do you know the steps involved between now and a final decision to move forward with a supplier? [If “yes”, ask them to walk you through them. If “no” or “not sure”, this is your opportunity to guide them.]
You might prefer different wording but I hope you see the point.
Now, let’s assume you’ve identified the relevant stakeholders in the evaluation and decision. We’ve been taught that it’s best if we can meet with them, or at least the key players. Here we sometimes create resistance by asking permission! Don’t ask, suggest. Say something like “I’ll need to meet with ________, how can we best set that up?”. If they resist (object) ask them why using tactful language. Make them justify their resistance.
You might say something like “Hmm, that surprises me. In my experience clients get the best outcomes when I’ve had a chance to speak with all the affected or involved individuals to get their direct input and answer any questions. Tell me what concerns you about that.” Then you can get to the root cause of their resistance and try to resolve it constructively. You may not always get to the other stakeholders, but you have a better chance by being a bit assertive rather than asking permission!
Now, despite your best efforts, sometimes it’s not possible or practical to meet with everyone, so you have to work through one key player (Advocate/Champion/Mobilizer, etc.) to gain the insights from them and establish consensus on a path forward. That’s a topic for another post.
