Categories: Competitors
In many sales organizations, the competition against “No Decision” is more fierce than it is against an actual company selling a similar solution. Sometimes when you’re going up against an established solution or the status quo, getting a prospect to invest and act can be an uphill battle.
The “Do Nothing” competitor is always one of the toughest. Who has instant access to the decision maker? Who is always part of the sales opportunity whether you are or not? The dreaded “Do Nothing.”
When you analyze your lost opportunities and you see that revenue is being repeatedly lost to “no decision” or “do nothing”, you have a sea of prospects that find it easier to do nothing than implement some sort of change in their organization. Your reps may be able to confirm that there is a problem, but there are likely a slew of other problems they’d like to tackle first.
If you looked closer at those no decision opportunities, the pain was likely not big enough to create urgency. The benefits from your solution weren’t impactful enough to take action. How do you enable your reps to win against “no decision”? You provide them with the skills and tools to dig deep in discovery and uncover the true business pain that creates urgency.
Find the Biggest Business Problem
Effectively winning against no decision starts with the first sales conversation. Enable your reps to conduct effective discovery sessions. You should have a set of discovery questions aligned with buying personas and value drivers that will help your reps get the conversation going, enabling them to start with easier questions about the business and then pivot to the more uncomfortable topic of challenges and their impact.
Find the Positive Business Outcomes that Drive the Most Impact
When your reps are equipped with effective discovery tactics, they’re able to drill down on the negative consequences of the current state. That understanding allows them to determine the positive business outcomes that provide the most value for the customer. If you’re struggling with X now, what if we could create Y? What would that mean for your business? When you lose against no decision, there’s no compelling reason why the prospect needs to take action. However, when you find the PBOs that are tied to making a real business impact, you have a better chance of moving an opportunity forward.
Think about any large deal that has stalled in your organization. Can your reps answer these two questions:
- How Big is the Problem?
- Who Owns It?
It’s likely they can’t answer those questions. Equip your reps with the ability to drill down on the problem that can’t wait another day without being fixed. How does your solution compare to the size of the problem? Will it improve it by 2X, 3X or even just .2X? Your reps need to uncover it if they want to win against no decision. Once they uncover it, they map it to the PBOs expected from implementing your solution.
Remember, “No Decision” is akin to the definition of insanity – doing something repeatedly and expecting different results. You'll need a methodology and training that enables your reps to (1) focus on the business results that your solution can achieve and (2) tie those results to the impact of the current problem with every customer. Without a quantifiable problem and measurable impact, your reps will lose every time.
