The Case of the Reluctant Prospect

You qualified the prospect. You established a need. You handled the presentation perfectly. Everything seemed too good to be true. Now the prospect won’t take your calls or answer your emails, and you have no idea why.

“This is one of the most difficult parts of selling,” says Thomas Young, CEO of Intuitive Websites LLC and president of a sales and marketing consulting firm specializing in Internet marketing. “It’s one of those circumstances when everything seems to be going too well, and then it gets stuck in a holding pattern because suddenly no one is answering your calls. If and when you do talk to someone, you can’t get a straight answer. The biggest downside is the wasted time. It’s also a morale hit. All the while you’re losing out on other valuable opportunities.”

There are many reasons for prospect reluctance, even after you think you’ve qualified the prospective client. Maybe the prospect isn’t as qualified as you thought. In this case, you need to go back and revisit the account. Do you really understand the prospect’s buying process? Are you talking to all of the decision makers? Is the account in your target market?

“The temptation is often to sell to companies who don’t fit your profile because they seem interested, but they may just end up stalling later because it’s not a good fit,” says Young. “You have to ask yourself, ‘Is this really going to meet their needs?’ You have to do your research.”

Research includes knowing who the decision makers are – all of them. “Many times sales reps will think they’re talking to the decision maker when in fact they aren’t, or maybe they are only talking to one of many decision makers,” says Young, who notes that this happens frequently when seeking larger accounts.

To get to the bottom of this, Young says, you have to ask several questions up front, such as, “Who, other than yourself, is involved in this purchase?” or, “I’ve worked with other companies such as yours that have had multiple decision makers. Is there anyone else that we need to get this information to?” 

If prospects are still evasive, Young says to probe deeper. “Ask them how their buying process works,” he suggests. “How are budgets approved? Who else will sign off on the proposal? Usually it’s not that difficult to get answers once you get people talking. Truly understanding how their business works is your best bet to moving things along.”

Even though your proposal is high on your contact’s priority list, Young says, it may be low on the final decision maker’s list. “Find out how you can help your contact make it a priority to that decision maker. Research the consequences and problems that could occur if the company doesn’t use your product, and help the contact present it to the decision maker.”

On Standby

Prospects are nice. In fact, sometimes they’re too nice. They know that you’ve spent a lot of time and energy on them, so they may string you along to avoid hurting your feelings, says Young.

“When you’re closing a deal, you may be dealing with people pleasers, people who don’t want to hurt your feelings so they just tell you what you want to hear.”

When you see the signs that a person is a people pleaser – overly positive, moving you along without commitment to buy – you need to find out if he or she is one, and fast. “Give people an out,” advises Young. “Let them know that they don’t  have to work with you and it’s perfectly acceptable to say no so you can move on.”

But sometimes there are unknown reasons for a stall that your prospects just can’t share with you, says Perry Wedem, vice president of business development at Employee Continuum, a sales assessment company. “Maybe something happens, such as a company merger or other things that are outside of your control,” he says. “In this case, you can ask why things have changed. Let them know that if there are reasons they can’t share, it’s OK; you just need to move on.

“Tell them that you aren’t going to try to sell them; you just want to understand,” says Wedem. “You can say, ‘When we originally spoke you told me that this is the process and these are the solutions. Have you received enough information from us to help you make a decision? Has your timeline changed? What’s driving that timeline?’ Don’t be afraid to have that conversation; you may even find out that they are still interested.

“There are legitimate reasons why clients may stall, and if you know their step-by-step process and timeline for that process, it’s much easier to get to the bottom of it,” he says. “It allows you to ask more specific questions. For example, you can say to prospects, ‘You mentioned that you were meeting with the steering committee on Wednesday. How did the meeting go? What were some of the questions and concerns that developed from that meeting?’

“Try to truly understand what the problem is that they’re trying to fix,” he continues. “Examine the economic impact if they use your tool versus your competitor’s tools. Find out what the cost is to their organization if they continue to delay the decision. Is it significant enough?

“If it’s not a big deal to them, then you may have to let go,” says Wedem. “Don’t create urgency if there isn’t any, because it won’t help your relationship in the long run. Be a true partner with them.”

Outbound Flights

“At some point you’ve got to cut your losses,” says Young. “However, there are a few more questions you want to ask before you do that. Some questions that have worked well for me are, If you were in my shoes what would you do? How do you recommend I stay in touch? How would you like me to proceed? When would you like me to touch base with you again?

“Put the ball back in their court,” he says. “If you’re still getting a stall, walk away. It’s hard, but remember, it’s hurting you because you’re wasting your time. Focus on sales that are going to close.”

Occasionally, no matter how great your product is, reluctant prospects aren’t going to buy. One person who knows this all too well is Uriah Werner, president of All About Merchants, a credit card processing firm.

“If the timing isn’t right, you’ve got to let go,” he adds. “I teach my reps that forgiveness is a huge thing. It’s very easy to become offended, and if you become offended it can cause you to become bitter. I’ll ask prospects if it’s okay for me to call them in six months, or should I just take them off my list.

“Prospect reluctance will always be there,” adds Werner. “It’s the nature of what we do. The sooner that you understand and study human nature, the sooner you can discover why. When I’m upfront and honest, most people will ask me to call them back.”