A great relationship with a buyer is not the same as a deal moving forward. Judge your pipeline on what the buyer does, not on how they make you feel.
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If you prefer to read - here is the transcript:
Too many times when I'm reviewing deals in the pipeline with sellers, the seller says, "We don't need to review that one. It's in the bag. I have a great relationship with that person. They are the buyer." And they feel like the deal is going to move forward. But they're ignoring the facts. And the facts are:
· No one has returned their call in 15 or 30 days.
· There's no executive sponsorship.
· Value hasn't been communicated or accepted by the buyer.
· The buyer hasn't indicated they're ready to take the next step, and no next step is listed.
Let's not confuse how you feel about the person or the relationship with the facts of what's happening in the deal.
For example, in reviewing a live deal with one of my customers, the seller said to me, "It's in the bag. I know this buyer really well, and she's the buyer." And that seller was ignoring what was actually happening inside the account. What was happening?
· The buyer wasn't returning calls or emails.
· There was no executive sponsorship inside the account.
· There was no value presented or value accepted by the buyer.
· There were no next steps. No meeting secured, no obvious next step, and nothing initiated by the buyer.
Ultimately, what really happened? The buyer was silent because she was negotiating with somebody else and keeping our seller on ice. But the deal remained in the pipeline, ready to close at the end of the month, because the seller felt like she had a good relationship.
Don't let this happen to you. Take an honest look at what's happening, the activity inside the opportunity, and what the buyer is doing. Not what they are saying or how they are making you feel. That's the way you will close more business.