How much are your assumptions costing you?
You know what they say about assumptions: They make an ass out of you and me.
A client of ours recently called me to let me know that they lost a sale. And the kicker was, it was one of their existing clients. They lost not only the new business they were bidding on, but they also lost their existing revenue. It was a big loss for them. And my client was pretty bummed out.
As you might expect, I asked who did you lose to? He said he didn’t know. I asked, do you know what products and services they purchased? He said he didn’t know. He went further and said he didn’t even know that their client was shopping around.
I knew already what had happened, but as a good coach, I knew that I needed to help my client discover what happened. So I asked him what was so great about the system you proposed. My client jumped into all the reasons their high-tech solution was so great. It had all the bells and whistles. It was the latest technology. It was sure to benefit their client. He presented it to me as if he was selling it to me. So I quietly sat as he gave me his sales pitch. It was very compelling.
Once he finished, He got quiet. He knew what happened. He got so excited about the opportunity and his solution that he didn’t ask enough questions, which led to many assumptions. And ultimately it cost him the sale.
Before your next sales conversation, ask yourself this, what assumptions am I making? Then develop a list of questions to get the answers you need before presenting yourself.
