Selling B2B Services - converting warm leads into eager clients.
By Stuart Ayling

(Part 2 of 3)

In Part 1 of this article we looked at how to find prospects and gain an understanding of their true needs. In Part 2 we look at the next steps in the selling process.

Last time we reached the point where we held a meeting with our prospect to determine what they are really looking for, and decided "Yes, we can help them". So now we proceed to make...

3) Suggestions for future progress.
Note that this stage may be a separate meeting, or even a series of meetings. This is especially important if your prospect is a larger firm with multiple decision makers and influencers, or when the service you are offering is complex.

During this phase of the selling process explain:

• Why you can help them.

• What they can expect in terms of timeframe, resources required, results, etc.

• What they will need to do.

• What you will be doing.

In some situations it might be wise not to give exact details of your activities.

This could be the case if:

• For competitive reasons you need to protect your information.

• If you think the client may decide to do it for themselves (using your process).

• If there are issues to do with intellectual property (IP).

• If the process is so complex/technical that it might confuse the prospect.

Using written proposals.

As part of the overall sales process you may need to submit a written proposal. If you do submit a proposal, make sure it is done at the end of the sales process - when you have identified all relevant needs and discussed the scope of the solution.

Important:
Don't use a proposal to "guess" at what the prospective client wants. If your proposal only contains guesses, then you'll usually be wasting your time. If you have trouble getting details because your prospect wont spend time with you to discuss their situation, maybe they're not very serious about making a decision. Should you continue?

The written proposal should reflect what you have discussed with them, covering their stated needs and explaining how you will work with them. The proposal should be a summary of your previous discussions. 

When to use a "draft" proposal.

If your service is complex, or carries a large price tag, then consider using a draft proposal as an interim measure. How do you do this?… When asked for a proposal, rather than just saying:

 "Yes, you'll have it next week"

... when really you're still not sure what to write, try saying:

"OK, we can get a draft proposal to you next week for discussion". 

Use the occasion of presenting the draft proposal as an opportunity to further build the relationship and clarify all the important issues.

When handled properly, this process will make you look like a professional, rather than an amateur trying to guess the clients needs.

After you've got this far, is your client still happy and eager to proceed? 

If so, then…
 
(Continued in Part 3)



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