Stop sending out quotations now!

What do you do when a prospect asks you to send a quotation? How do you respond? In my early days I used to get so excited thinking that this prospect was going to buy off me and all I needed to do was send my quotation.

 

I spent time in putting together a fantastic proposal with lots of features and some brilliant benefits. I also told my boss that I had won the business and how great I was.

 

After a lot of work  I would send my deal clinching proposal and then follow it up a few days later. Then bang no order from my new customer, he would say something like “we will get back to you when we decide”. I would say okay I understand then walk away with my tail between my legs. What went wrong? What did I do everything seemed fine?

 

What I did was waste my own time.

 

I learnt through experience that this is what you do.

 

You have to qualify where you are in the sales process, how serious they are about placing the business with you and most importantly what you have to do to win the business.

 

So whenever a prospect asks you for a price simply say this “Does this mean we are doing business together?”

 

Their reply will give you all the information you need for you to decide if it is worth your time to putting together a quotation.

 

The replies will be interesting and could be any of the following.

 

One reply to your question “Does this mean we are doing business together?” may be a simple “yes” or “yes if you get the price right”.

 

If you get a yes you can move forward, move forward with the order or move forward by asking questions to find out what the purchasing criteria is and what you need to do to win the business.

 

Another reply maybe “No as we need to get three quotations before we decide”. Your next action is the same as above – asking questions to find out what the purchasing criteria is and what you need to do to win the business.

 

Other questions you need answers for are decision making process, decision making criteria, why do they want to buy now, are they committed to another supplier and just getting quotes, are they prepared to buy off you and anything else that will help you decide to spend your valuable time in putting together a quotation.

 

The beauty of asking this question is it will save you time and allow you to focus and concentrate on real qualified opportunities that you have a greater chance of winning.