One example was a property client who kept presenting proposals and couldn’t close. Her boss kept repeating to me, “This person is not a closer.” I had to disagree. She was good at what she did. She was not a rookie.
It wasn’t about closing; it was about not communicating correctly. The pressure was on to close deals. The property’s sponsorship manager was also a sales person and thrived on the thrill of the close. More rejection created more frustration.
When we slowed down the process, we discovered the issues. This person was moving too fast in trying to close the business. She was not gathering enough information to build a proposal that would close. She did not have all her ducks in a row. She had not listened well. She did not know the prospects complete objectives. In most cases, she had only done one, or maybe two, discovery sessions and felt she knew everything she needed to in order to write a proposal. She was wrong and it was showing.
The second thing was that the sponsor was not listening. Well, they were listening but not processing. In fact, in several cases, they had actually “tuned out” information. Several of the property’s proposals were being rejected based on investment level. The property selling person kept saying, “I talked about the investment level. I told them exactly what it would cost.” Well, let’s face reality. People hear what they want to hear and have a selective memory. Repetition is critical. If the investment is going to be “about $25,000,” you need to repeat that about four to five times during your discovery session, at least two, possibly three times per discovery session-then follow up in writing. Repeat what you discussed and set out the dollar figure in print long before you build a proposal.
All of us need to communicate better. As properties and sponsors, we need to listen. We need to confirm and deliver what we discussed. Long ago, I learned the adage, “Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.” To me, that is essential. And I have just done that in this commentary as well!