Greg Talks About Accepting Maybe as a Manager
A sales manager called me back with this dilemma...
Manager: So one of my sellers tried asking a potential buyer to take an action step...and they declined, but insisted they are still a solid maybe...
ME: TELL THE SELLER TO STOP. AND JUST CALL IT WHAT IT IS… IT’S A NO FOR NOW
Manager: I don't want him giving up......
ME: THAT'S WHY HE MUST MOVE TOWARDS NO...WITH NO HE CAN GET REASONS, AND YOU CAN FIX IT OR YOU CAN'T...WITH MAYBE HE GETS NOTHING. LIKE ROCKING A CAR OUT OF THE SNOW...FORWARD IS GREAT, REVERSE IS NOT BAD...BUT STUCK IN THE MIDDLE IS THE WORST
Manager: That will take some getting used to, I think I'm more comfortable with him getting that maybe
ME: IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE, IT'S HUMAN NATURE...BUT IN SALES, NO IS NOT THE KILLER, MAYBE IS THE KILLER...AND THEY'RE GETTING MAYBE ONLY BECAUSE YOU ACCEPT MAYBE...
Let's hear it managers, how accepting of maybe are you?
(MORE FROM GB)
This is one of my favorite conversations in all the work I've done with the (literally) hundreds of managers I've worked and coached with over the years. The removal of "The Fence to Sit On"
Just get it through your peoples' heads that THERE IS NO FENCE TO SIT ON. Prospects are at NO up to the point they're at YES. And that can be in 20 seconds.
So the real distinction is in "Is this a NO FOR NOW, or a NO FOR EVER?"
Then you teach them to have this conversation with a buyer:
Buyer: "I'd say I'm at a solid maybe..."
SELLER: "I appreciate that...so what I'm hearing is that you aren't at a YES now...you're at a NO, at least for the moment"
Buyer: "Yeah, I guess...but definitely still interested."
SELLER: "Got it...so there some reasons you're at a NO, at least for now...and my gut tells me it has something to do with some uncertainty at getting the ROI you're after..." (because they alluded to it)
Buyer: "Well...there's a little of that..."
I call this my "Take em to NO" conversation...the seller can open up the buyer to express their negative feelings by priming the pump some.
This may seem like a crazy way to sell...but it's why my stuff is all about...I call it "Hoppin' in the Ugly Pond" ... 🐸 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸… more
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Janae G. Verified Profile 2ndJanae G. • 2nd
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Greg, before we declare war on MAYBE, I have questions. 😂
What was the action step the seller asked for? And what did the conversations leading up to it look like?
Because a buyer declining a calendar commitment isn’t necessarily declining the solution. And a seller asking for the wrong commitment at the wrong stage can manufacture a MAYBE faster than a politician at a town hall.
I’d want to know what the buyer has already acknowledged about the problem, its cost, the urgency, and what happens if they do nothing.
If those conversations never happened, the MAYBE isn’t the problem. It’s the symptom.
And here’s where I’d challenge the manager: Why are we coaching the seller to extract a NO instead of examining whether we’ve earned the right to ask for a YES?
Sometimes pipeline ambiguity isn’t a buyer behavior problem.
It’s a sales process problem wearing a buyer’s name tag. lol
Great post btw :)
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Janae G. Verified Profile 2ndJanae G. • 2nd
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Janae G. 100%! I believe the power of NO should def sit at the top of the “things to do more” rep/manager list! Totally agree there!
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What was the action step that lead to the "maybe"?
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Duane Hurd The salesperson in the story was at a major college, and he had asked the client to take what I call a "Mini-Step" (something I encourage every sales team develop), which is to put the prospective customer's name on a first-right-of-refusal list for preferred luxury suite locations (think of it like a waiver priority in fantasy football, if the ones before you pass, you get the player when it's your turn).
So he suggested (stronger than an ask) that if the buyer was at "maybe" he should at least submit two or three locations they'd like to get on the list for...no other commitment beyond that.
The buyer said, "No that's alright", but I'm still a strong maybe. By declining that risk-free step, that can only help him...he's telling the seller his concerns over getting an ROI...was bigger factor than he let on...
Thanks for the comments Duane!
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