The Marketing Book Podcast 501 Unsticking Deals by James Muir
Get Executive Sponsorship Early
- Secure an executive sponsor early and ask them to unblock roadblocks when they arise.
- Use a short sponsorship letter and enlist the sponsor to escalate stalls quickly.
Ask For A Clear Next-Step Advance
- Plan and ask for a small next-step advance after each meeting using the Perfect Close question.
- Use the advance or let the prospect suggest the next step to create continuous momentum.
Review Proposals Live Before Sending
- Never just email a proposal; schedule a live 15-minute review to confirm scope and ownership.
- Co-create the proposal in the review so stakeholders own it and understand the value elements.
Unsticking Deals: Why Deals Stall, How to Unstick Them, And How to Prevent Them From Sticking in the First Place by James Muir
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Stuck deals are arguably the biggest problem in sales. Depending on the industry, between 40-60% of all sales are lost to no-decision.
The implications are staggering. This fact means that the problem of stuck deals and "no-decision" effectively doubles the cost of every sale, and wastes somewhere around one-half of every sales professional's time.
The good news is that if we can unstick our deals (or even better, prevent them from sticking in the first place) we can effectively double our sales, dramatically shorten our sales cycles, and double our commissions.
What you will learn in Unsticking Deals:
- Surprisingly, stalled deals are caused by just three things. The Universal Root Cause Maxim explains the three reasons deals stall in a single sentence.
- The five common sales issues that cause sales professionals to stick their deals.
- The three things that cause customers to suffer from indecision and how to overcome them.
- Why deals stall due to business case issues and the three simple things that need to be in every business case to prevent stalls.
- Five key prevention strategies that will prevent your deal from ever sticking in the first place.
- The five key plays for unsticking your deals - complete with templates and examples.
This book is designed to be a quick reference guide. Each chapter has been designed to be brief and concise with actionable steps you can take right now to unstick your deal.
Once you've identified why your deal is stuck you can jump right to that chapter for solutions. These short chapters are arranged into six logical parts:
- Part 1 – Preventing Deals From Sticking
- Part 2 – Unsticking Plays
- Part 3 – What Causes Stuck Deals
- Part 4 – Strategies for Unsticking Deals Caused by Sales Issues
- Part 5 – Strategies for Unsticking Deals Caused by Client Indecision
- Part 6 – Strategies for Unsticking Deals Caused by Business Case Issues
This book is for all those entrepreneurs, business leaders, and sales professionals who want to close those bloated pipelines and prevent deals from getting stuck in the first place.
Reading this book will teach you how to unstick deals, shorten your sales cycle, and prevent deals from sticking to begin with.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
James Muir is the founder and CEO of Best Practice International and the bestselling author of the #1 book on closing sales – The Perfect Close: The Secret To Closing Sales, which was featured on episode 149 of The Marketing Book Podcast in 2017.
James is a 30-year veteran of sales having served in every role – from individual contributor to executive VP.
James has an extensive background in healthcare where he has sold to and spoken for the largest names in technology and healthcare including HCA, Tenet, Catholic Healthcare, Banner, Dell, IBM and others.
And, interesting fact – he is an accomplished guitarist!
Click here for this episode's website page with the links mentioned during the interview...
https://www.salesartillery.com/marketing-book-podcast/unsticking-deals-james-muir