Prejudgment

Prejudgment occurs in our general human nature; we make interpretations of a people on looks alone, first impressions or just observations of their conduct.

In the sales arena, prejudgement of a lead’s potential is something that will continue even amongst the most seasoned sales professional.  It creeps in if it is not kept under check; it creeps in as an excuse for less than acceptable performance. It is one of the most damaging attributes that a team can have crept in, as it erodes the prospect list.

For anyone who has had the time to watch Glengarry Glen Ross with its star studded cast of Pacino, Spacey, Lemon and Baldwin, The sales professionals make the mistake of blaming the leads, pointing the finger to performance that the leads are poor and it’s not their sales ability.

The only thing missing was the overturn that when you point your finger at a person, or reason for failure, and turn your hand over, there are always 3 fingers pointing back at yourself. So what is it that you can do to change the outcome?

How can anyone determine the finite outcome of any potential prospect?

Throughout my extensive selling career I cringe when a team pre-determines the quality of a lead or prospect, based on the way it looks on paper? They have already made the decision on the limitations that the prospect may represent.

Some indicators that this is creeping in can be subtle, like the sales person reports that the prospect would only invest x because it was bad timing at the moment, as the budget wouldn’t allow it etc.  Which can be, not always justification for falling short on a sales call, which obviously depends on the industry type and lead cycles etc. for high or low end investment, products or solutions?

A positive overturn in these situations is, “forgetting the timing and the budget constraints for the moment, if they were not a factor, would you be happy to take on board the additional aspects or products? (in an up selling call) for an example, to eliminate this as a factor, and to bring to the surface, any real reasons that a prospect may have for a short order, this then gives the sales person the ability to find a solution based on the actual and only objection and make a positive out of it such as, ‘so if I could eliminate those factors from the equation and satisfy those concerns that you have, then you would proceed with the additional order today wouldn’t you? In simplistic terms.

Is a pensioner necessarily in the position that they can’t afford your offering for example? What if they are self funded with 10 homes paying for their retirement? Don’t pigeon hole people,  as it limits the potential of the sale?

If you limit your prospects, you simply limit your opportunity. Sure we have target markets, but when does it become too micro analysed to a point that sales professionals will only meet with those prospects that fit the gold prospect status.

Is a customer who already has a similar solution a good or bad prospect? They can actually be a strong prospect, as they already know the benefits of a specific solution, and with technology, it makes sense to have the latest and most up to date if it is supplying or delivering a crucial element to the business.