An Unreasonable Request

We all have prospects that seem to be interested in our offerings but they never seem to have the time to give you their exact requirements. You ring them and they can't talk as they are in a meeting, you ring them but they are just about to go into a meeting, you ring them and they say they are busy and can you ring back tomorrow at 10.30, you ring them at 10.30 and they are not there. When you do catch them all they ask is for you to send them a price.

You have so many questions to ask them to understand what they want but you can't get any answers from them.

This is what you do after they ask for a price. Say "Does this mean we are doing business?." You may get an answer something like "if the price is right". Put together your quotation on what you know about the opportunity and put in a quotation that is at the top of your price range. It is of massive value to you and also great value to the client. The price may be higher than what you normally put in at a competitive situation but what have you got to lose.

You must only select those opportunities that are not at the top of your sales forecast but are ones that are unqualified (because of the lack of information from the prospect) and they will not be a massive loss if they say no.

If you do lose it you can forget it and move onto another opportunity as it is better to get to a no quickly than waste loads of time chasing business that may not come in.

Try to make at least three unreasonable requests a month. You will be delighted when one of them comes in and you will have saved time on the other two that didn't.