Using Call-Off Selling

At a number of sales operations recently I’ve come across this great tactic.  A “call-off contract” estimates a total amount of spend over a period of time, and gains commitment that an amount of deliverable can be obtained in return.

Services that utilise this technique include such diverse items as outsourced office meeting rooms, long-run printing consumables and software training days.

The key element that makes these succeed, is that rather than someone having to go and seek authority for each individual ordering, a bundle is batched together so that authority over a certain time is gained upfront, meaning no delay or recrimination.  This helps the buyer reduce hassle and budget in advance, and of course the seller is aided by quicker aggregated sales cycles.

If this tactic can help you, then you can name it something that doesn’t even sound ‘salesy’, like “Preferred Client Agreement” or “Possible Service Arrangement”.