Maximize Your Sales With Superior Forecasting Accuracy

By Paul M Balzano

Many sales people struggle with accurately forecasting and ultimately closing their deals and many times never determine the reason why they failed. There are various reasons why some deals won't ever close, and because some sales reps never effectively qualify their opportunities, they continuously waste valuable time. By answering some simple yet important questions, and following these sales techniques, you can significantly improve your close rate and forecast accuracy while minimizing time wasted on deals that will never close.

Throughout my career while selling enterprise software solutions, I've performed plenty of deal reviews and still continue to regularly. Whether you're a sales representative or a sales director, you can be more confident in your forecast by analyzing the key aspects of your sales opportunities. Furthermore, you'll be able to easily determine whether or not a deal is going to close within the time frame you expect, and will also be able to quickly and easily pinpoint the business risks you have and the ways to mitigate them.

Most of the time, what you don't know about your deals will cause you to waste time and resources, and by building a plan with the needed steps to closure, you will have a defined process to follow that will help you get your contract signed in the fastest way you can.

Listed below are probably the most important bits of information and facts you'll want to obtain to determine what stage your deal is at, together with the sales techniques to follow, to better qualify and to seal your strategic deals:

Is your solution a high priority for your customer that's driven by, as well as linked with a company initiative supported by executive management? Understanding and demonstrating the way your product is linked to that priority will substantially accelerate your sales cycle.

Have you presented a proposal clearly describing the customers priority, the way your solution addresses their problem, the investment they need, the financial benefits and cost savings they will eventually receive, and the time and effort it will require to implement your solution? You will usually never get your deal finalized until your client has validated your proposal and confirmed your specific close date.

Have you determined the compelling event that will inspire your customer to sign your contract by the date you are projecting? There's normally a deadline or event which is driving your customer to move forward. Without knowing about that event, or the business impact caused by missing their deadline, makes it tougher to know when and why they are going to close your deal.

Do you know exactly who the key stake holders are that need to approve your deal as well as the funding for the purchase in addition to their approval process and availability? I've seen many deals slip at the end of the quarter because the primary approvers had not been available or an approval deadline was missed. For example, some large purchases require board approvals that may only take place at specific times during the year.

Is there an approved spending budget, and will the money be lost if not exhausted? If the budget is not approved, is there an exception process that will be implemented? Financial constraints should be determined at the onset of a new product sales cycle to avoid wasting time on pursuits which have no approved funding.

Do you understand what the competition is offering together with what their specific strengths and weaknesses are and how they are looked at by your customer? Never believe that you are the only one your customer is dealing with, because many companies need to consider multiple suppliers prior to selecting a final one.

With respect to your customers procurement process, have you confirmed who is going to manage and negotiate the commercial terms, how much time it takes, the number of people are involved, and who is authorized to approve and sign your legal contracts? Every company has a different process, and many times those who you present and negotiate an initial proposal with might not have the very last word. Often times, you will be referred to a purchasing team to finish your deal after you have provided your "bottom line" prices. Make certain you ask these kinds of questions to be sure you understand the process in advance, and are not surprised by other individuals that step in and ask for more price reductions and additional terms, well after you thought you were finished negotiating.

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Once you understand all of these vital elements, and by following these simple sales techniques, you will end up in a significantly better position to show the exact value you can deliver to your customer, more accurately forecast when your business will close, and increase your sales with much less time and effort. Check here for more free information about Proven Sales Tips And Techniques.