K
K

KB_FarmerType

Strategic Sales

Opinionated
Valued Contributor
Member
+3

Desperation kills more deals than ….

hey folks, really need some solid advice and referenceable content to point my team to.

I have known and practiced that getting desperate to get customer to talk or getting them ready always derails the whole thing.. customers have their own journey to buy from you. 

you can't push them to be ready , they will be ready when they have to be ready , you can only be catalyst in helping improve their thinking only if they have given you the permission to help them. 

your comments and why do you resonate or oppose this ?

🎯 Career Development
🙅‍♀️ Objections
🔎 Prospecting
13

15 comments

Sort by:
thedue
Valued Contributor
7
VP of Sales
I think your track record and roll as a lot to do with it.

1- If you have a tendency to have deals pushed, and lack accuracy in your ability to hold customers to operate with a direct keen and clear sense of urgency, you will likely be strongly encouraged by your leadership team to drive this desperation. You may be asked to act desperate, and it's really the company encouraging you to ask the customer some harder questions around closing and timing

2- When you are managing a larger piece of the ACV or revenue for the business, your ability to deliver becomes more impactful and missing, not an option. I also think this ties into the first comment to some extent, and if you are managing a team or book of business, you MUST ensure the entire team or minimum 50-70% of the team achieves, to achieve your commitment

3 - What stage is the business at and how many times has that leadership missed? They may be on a short leash, and missing this time, may be their last miss. This is a classic case of 'shit' running down hill.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
100% agree!
KB_FarmerType
Opinionated
1
Strategic Sales
Shit running down the hill… oh may be that! Thanks for insights
thedue
Valued Contributor
0
VP of Sales
take a look at the LT... have they been there greater or lesser than 3 years or so? Growing, declining? What about headcount? Hiring, froze?

The other objective aspects will set you free!
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
I agree with the above. A lot of your reps ability to push for deals is going to be based on their discovery early on as well.
jefe
Arsonist
5
🍁
It's helpful to understand that while this is all we do, it's just a piece of what they do so there will never be the same urgency.

Proper disco, that continues like @Sunbunny31said, will help you to highlight the pain of not moving and give you hope. But you can't really build urgency, and desperation breath stinks.
Diablo
Politicker
4
Sr. AE
I would never take one and the same approach for all clients. Though I agree that customers will buy when they want to, however, being a catalyst your role is also to bring on the table why getting is today is worth more than buying tomorrow. This is could be anything - creating urgency, adding some additional benefits or value of any form. Customers need you as much as you need them.
AnchorPoint
Politicker
3
Business Coach
If they are not ready to move forward, why are we presenting solutions? Good discovery is the key to success.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Discovery continues throughout the sales cycle. Continue to validate what you (think) you already know (budgeted, timeline, etc) and ask questions about the things you don't. If you can get to the root of why they are thinking of buying and what they have as a timeline, you can often figure out what could motivate them to move a little faster.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
I have no problem walking away or telling them there was a pricing increase.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
2
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Commission breath and TIME kills all deals.
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
This is why you strive to fill your funnel 3x,5x,10x so you have deals which are ready to move on a regular basis and you aren't trying to push some unready customer with a price decrease at EoQ.
ThatNewAE
Big Shot
0
Account Executive - Mid enterprise
I have experienced this first hand - Customers know when you're bluffing. They know when you're desperate to get them signed off.

I have personally lost 2 deals in the initial few months because I was tooooo eager / desperate to get them marked as closed won.
salesboi22
Politicker
0
Head of Growth
All depends on how you approach. "Hey man I know y'all are ready to go and I can give you some wild stuff end of quarter. It'd be a bummer for y'all to miss out." Those types of things typically either work or don't burn the bridge
MeowMeow
Politicker
0
Senior Enterprise Account Executive
I’ve always found that if you have good discovery and pain that you can build urgency. Desperation only comes in when those two things are lacking or your pipeline is deflated. (Or a natural disaster rolls up and ruins your life and everything and everyone around you)

Related posts

7

Who would you rather have close a deal?

Question
😃
😎
🏀
6
Who’s more likely close a game changing deal
68% (Nets) Joe Harris
32% (76’s) Ben Simmons
69 people voted
14

What it feels like chasing a massive deal

Question
🍾
🐱
😂
11
8

Swiping deals

Question
🔎
🧠
11
Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.
Apple Store logo
Products
The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U
Company
About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty
Contact
Press Careers
© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs
If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.