Jill Konrath

How often have you been told, "It's not in the budget"? That's probably one of the most common sales objections that people give you. And, it's really totally irrelevant to their actual situation. First off, if you get that objection -- it's because what you said is too darn focused on your own product or service. You sound like a self-serving salesperson and they just want to get rid of you.

So don't talk about your stuff. Talk about your value proposition. Then, if you still get that sales objection, here's what I want you to say. "Of course it's not in your budget. We haven't had a chance yet to determine the value it could bring to your organization. As I mentioned we help our clients -- and now you restate your value proposition -- we help our clients reduce time to revenue on new product introductions.

Then, follow that by sharing a recent success story. You might say. "For example, we were recently working with Big Deal firm...

TMTQ -- Too Much, Too Quick. It's something we all have a tendency to do -- especially if we have a prospect who seems really interested in our product or service. Seriously -- think about what you do after you talk to someone who says, "I'm definitely interested. Send me some info." If you do it by email, I'll bet you send along at least three attachments. Or, maybe you send links to at least three places on your website.

If you're at meeting, you get overcome with the urge to let your prospect know about the full range of your product or service offering. It's not good enough to focus on the issue at hand. You want them to know about everything they can get from your company.

If they're particularly interested in something specific, you give whole folder with all the excruciating details they need to know about it.

Think of the sheer overwhelm you're creating. And, the reality is, this overwhelm creates indecision. The more options a person...

Would you dare to walk away from a sales opportunity? I'm talking about one that's a big deal. It could help you meet your quota -- or better yet, earn a nice bonus. Or maybe it's one from a big-name company that, if you had it on your client list, would give you tons of credibility. Even thinking about walking away is tough for most sellers -- especially after how hard we work for a living. But, let me just say that there are times when it makes all the sense in the world.

The first time I did it, was at the end of the year. It was the deal that would get me to our President's Club. But, I also knew that the prospect would be making a bad decision. They didn't want to spend over $10,000 -- but they needed a system that cost twice as much. I knew that if they got the lower-priced model, they'd hate me -- and it, within months. I walked. It was tough.

I also walked once in the middle of a consulting project. My client wasn't doing their part. Because...

Stymied about what to say when you contact a prospect?

It's especially tough if you feel like you don't know enough about their organization to craft a relevant message. Recently, Katrina wrote to me about her frustration with pre-call sales planning: 

"In your books, you talk about the importance of doing research prior to contacting a prospect. I’m having a hard time with that. I sell to marketing departments. But since companies don’t share that information publicly, it’s really tough to find out what issues they have. What should I do?"

She's right. It’s virtually impossible to find that kind of information online. Companies don’t want to have their problems exposed to the public unless absolutely necessary.

4 Tips for Pre-Call Sales Planning

1. If you consistently sell to the same decision makers, make assumptions...