Article
What to Do When You Know They're Not the Sole Decision ...
The Sales Blog
Quoted on this wiki
Every place a page here uses this source, in the order the words come in it.
“Other stakeholders are going to need to agree to a decision to move forward.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
“A lot of things that show up as something you might believe are an “objection” are real concerns.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
“Your contact may be acting alone and exploring before introducing the idea to the other people who might be part of a future decision.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
“In this case, your contact’s insistence that they alone make the decision is an indication they want—or need—control.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
“They could also be running a shadow process behind the real change initiative, working under cover of darkness to prevent anyone from noticing.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
“Other stakeholders are going to need to agree to a decision to move forward.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
“One of the ways you resolve a concern for your clients is to understand what they need to move forward.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
“You can’t overcome a fear; you can only resolve it.” Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked.
Share How They Benefit From Consensus Even though most decisions in complex B2B sales are made by consensus, you will run into contacts who would prefer not to bring in the very people who will be necessary to moving forward and executing any change. The people you meet with who resist bringing in additional parties have good reasons for trying to avoid bringing them into the sales conversation, most of which can describe only as “complicating the process and the decision.” It is true that inviting people who have different needs and different opinions make for more—and more difficult—conversations. If those conversations are challenging, they are not more difficult than not being able to change when it is necessary. When you avoid building consensus in complex sales, you increase the likelihood of losing—or getting a “no decision.” At some point, you are going to have to explain to your contact that the longer you go without bringing in the necessary stakeholders, the further behind they will be in the decision. By allowing them to fall behind, when they discover that some change is afoot, they will resist the initiative because they were left out. More still, they’ll occupy the moral high ground. “Can I share with you what normally happens when we leave out people who are going to need to part of this process and how we might make sure you retain complete control?” Share Your Concern for Their Team’s Needs In large enterprise sales, leaving out the stakeholders who will feel the impact of your initiative often means getting the solution wrong. Collaborating and designing a solution that meets the needs of the people who will not only need to agree to the decision but will also be using it day to day means bringing them into the process before your solution is fully baked. “If you leave the opposition out too long, you can end up getting too far out in front of them, giving them more leverage to stop or slow things down.” You may have to adjust your approach until you find a way to compel your single contact to bring in the rest of their team or the real buying committee (even though that buying committee may not be aware that they are the group of people who will have to make the buying decision). Keep trying until you break through the resistance and start acquiring the contacts you need to move your opportunity forward in your sales process.