Have You Divergent Goals To Your Once-Bitten Prospect

A cheery source matter for today’s post. What sounds like an enormous survey via a dating site’s 43,000 once-attached women reveals their Top 10 Reasons For Divorce.

Whilst each entry is  not necessarily unconnected or standalone, the number one is considering in the selling sense.

Different life goals has perhaps a parallel. What are the business goals of you and you hoped-for partner?

I’ve been in countless salesrooms over the years where the manager asks the account owner about their treasured prospect’s strategy.

Salespeople tend to be wary of that word. Too MBA, too consultant, too pompous, too removed, too ambiguous?

I’ve heard interesting softenings. Business Window. CEOs Annual Objectives. Commitments & Promises.

We’ve all sat through the training. “Tell me about where your company is headed, mister customer?”

As if somehow, no other rep poses such a query and you’ll shine by mere dint of taking an interest. No matter how surface.

The idea is (usually) that where they want to go and what we provide offer a perfect match. They’ll get there so much easier, quicker or cheaper buying our wonders.

Yet this matrimonial breakdown insight suggests we might need to go deeper.

Knowing where the direction points is very different from sharing the same voyage intent.

What if your prospect has suffered with a supplier misalignment before?

A simple example. If your prospect seeks to maximise profits through a sector shattering differentiated offering, then how likely are you really to join forces if you pursue dominance through cost leadership?

How relevant would this thinking be as another marker to map on your qualification checklist?