Moving Opportunities to Business

We have a qualified opportunity and we are ready to provide a proposal or a presentation.

What works for you to move the opportunity to business?  What questions do you ask to know if you are on track with your recommendation?   


Communication is always the challenge.   Does the audience understand what you are communicating?   Is everyone on the same page?   Do we the presenter understand the request?


I personally ask a lot of questions to ensure I have a clear understanding.   The challenge is communicating the information back in such a way it is understood and clearly shows the plan of action for the opportunity.


We provide a balance between the technical specifications and what it really means.   I do not provide "speeds, feeds, acronyms" besides the  minimal to ensure we have the correct product specifications.  We provide more technical details when technical personnel are at the table.

Once there is an understanding of the proposal and all questions have been answered in regards to the plan of action and return on investment (ROI), how do you close this opportunity?


Usually we know where we are in the sales cycle and the question needs to be asked:  "Does it look like we will be moving forward?" Asking "How would you like to proceed?" may also apply.  "We can start the implementation in two weeks"....


Ever notice when you ask these types of questions,  the objectives are thrown out and you wonder why now?   Know the objectives and overcome them during the proposal/presentation stage.


My personal favourite objective is falling into the TIO trap.   Anyone want to guess what TIO means?