<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=577820730604200&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">

Don’t Get Trapped In Too Small Commitments

Anthony Iannarino
Post by Anthony Iannarino
September 24, 2010

alt text of image of a goldfish jumping from a small bowl to large bowlGetting in with your dream client can sometimes be the most difficult part of any deal. To get in, you may lower the commitment level so that you are asking for a commitment that is easier to obtain; you make it easier for your dream client to say “yes.”

The Big Value of Small Commitments

You want your dream client’s business. They know that you want their business. But if you were to say, “Hi, I’d like to spend time exploring the most challenging parts of your business with you, help you to create a vision as to how those things might be made better, then spend the next ninety days working with you and your team on a massive transformational change effort and become your trusted partner for life,” it might be a little more than your dream client can agree to, sight unseen.

So, you lower the commitment level. You say, “I’d like to spend 20 minutes with you to understand your business and to explore any future opportunity to help make some improvements.” Twenty minutes is something that is easier to commit to.

Lowering the commitment level is very useful when trust has not been established. It allows your dream client to agree to low level commitments that have little or no risk attached to them—other than you not making that time valuable for them.

Big Deals Require Big Commitments

Later, as the deal progresses, you need to ask for higher-level commitments. Lowering the commitments can and will unravel the deal you are putting together. If you are working in front of the deal, then you need access to the buying team members so that you can understand their needs and ensure that what you present reflects their needs and their vision of the right answer. You need access and information from all kinds of people in a complex sale, so that what you sell not only wins, but so that you can ensure that it succeeds for your client.

As the deal progresses, you have to ask for greater and greater commitments, never lowering the commitment level so low that you cannot obtain what you need to win and what you need to later succeed. The resistance isn’t usually a lack of trust; the resistance is usually the lack of time and resources. To obtain greater commitments, you are going to have a history of being a value-creator, and you are going to have to be able to explain the return you intend to generate on their investment of their time and effort.

You have to be prepared to say, “I know that other salespeople haven’t asked for this access to the members of the buying team in the past, but meeting with your buying team members allows us the opportunity to listen to them describe what they specifically need from any solution we propose, and we get a chance to talk through any issues that might prevent what we propose from succeeding. Ultimately, it allows us to work with your team to make sure what we do produces the outcome that you need, as fast as possible, with fewer missteps, and a lot less disruption. I promise I’ll make it worth their while.”

At the very end of our sales process, we have to ask for the big commitment: trusting us with their business. Along the way, you will have moved from commitment to commitment, increasing the level of commitment the whole way.

Not asking for the commitments that you need extends your sales cycle, decreases the likelihood of winning the business, decreases the likelihood of your solution matching their needs, and making obtaining the commitments you need for a real transformation later next to impossible.

Conclusion

It can be very useful to lower the commitment level early in the sales process, especially to get in. But you cannot get trapped in too small commitments later, when they will unravel your deal and cause you to fail for your dream client.

Questions

    1. What commitments do you ask for that you make easier to obtain by lowering the commitment level?

    1. At what stages of your sales process do you find it useful to lower the commitment level and make it easier for your client to agree?

    1. When do you need to ask for greater commitments in order to get what you need to win the deal and to succeed for your dream client should you win?

    1. What causes you to reduce the level of commitments that you are asking for as a deal progresses? What are willing to go without that, had you obtained the commitment you really needed, you would have better positioned to win and to succeed?

  1. How can you obtain the greater commitments that you need to win and to succeed? How can you make sure that your dream client knows how agreeing to those commitments benefits them in the long run? What language do you need to use to most effectively ask for and obtain the high level commitments that you need?

For more on increasing your sales effectiveness, subscribe to the RSS Feed for The Sales Blog and my Email Newsletter. Follow me on Twitter, connect to me on LinkedIn, or friend me on Facebook. If I can help you or your sales organization, check out my coaching and consulting firm, B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, email me, or call me at (614) 212-4279.

Read my interview with Tom Peters (Part One and Part Two).

Read my Blogs.com featured guest post on the Top Ten Sales blogs.

Read my monthly post on Sales Bloggers Union.

Get The Sales Blog iPhone App to read The Sales Blog and Twitter Feed on your iPhone.

Tags:
Closing
Post by Anthony Iannarino on September 24, 2010

Written and edited by human brains and human hands.

Anthony Iannarino

Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at thesalesblog.com for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success.

Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. You can reach Anthony at thesalesblog.com or email Beth@b2bsalescoach.com.

Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at iannarino@gmail.com

ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1 Sales-Accelerator-Virtual-Event-Bundle-ad-square
hustler-ebook-v3-1-cover

Are You Ready To Solve Your Sales Challenges?

Anthony-Solve-Sales

Hi, I’m Anthony. I help sales teams make the changes needed to create more opportunities & crush their sales targets. What we’re doing right now is working, even in this challenging economy. Would you like some help?

Solve for Sales

Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips

Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler eBook for FREE!