A reader writes:
In my position as marketing manager for a training and business consulting company, I often meet prospective clients to discuss possible business contracts. My question: once you have established contact, submitted a proposal and a quote for a possible project, how do you follow up to ensure that you close the deal? Also, how much time should you allow between sending the proposal and following up regarding progress on the deal?
Throwing a proposal over the wall and the guessing when to followup (and with whom to followup) is a great way to find your proposal in the prospect’s dumpster. While many readers of this blog no doubt know the right way to handle this situation, I’ll do my best to fill you in on the basics.
When you’re meeting with the prospect, find out how the prospect buys the kind of product or service you’re selling: how the paperwork flows, who the decision-makers are, how they make the decision, how long it typically takes at each step, and (once a decision is made) how your company will eventually get paid.
You gather this information by asking open-ended questions about the prospect’s buying process. If your primary customer contact can’t answer these questions, you probably aren’t calling high enough. In that case, you must keep meeting with additional contacts until you fully understand the buying process.
After taking notes while you gather this information, you should create a short document (a page or two is fine) describing EXACTLY how the buying process will take place. Have your customer contact(s) review the document for accuracy.
With that document in hand, you know EXACTLY what is going to happen to your proposal, when those events supposed to happen, and EXACTLY who to contact if there’s a delay. More importantly, you know who should be meeting with, before you submit the proposal, to ensure that your proposal has the inside track.
Readers: Anything I’ve missed here?
