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WHEN IS A CONTRACT NOT A CONTRACT?

People sometimes dig themselves into a hole by leaping into action at the very first sign of interest from a prospect. 

Maybe something like that has happened to you. Perhaps you had a “good initial discussion” with a prospect, and, based on that, you agreed to invest time and energy gathering information, deciding prices, and putting together your presentation.

Then what happened? You kept your word. You delivered your presentation in a competent, professional manner. As you wrapped up, you felt confident that one of two things was going to happen: You were either going to get the sale, or at the very least, you were going to obtain a clear decision. 

Instead, you got one objection after another, followed by a series of stalls, and finally, you left with nothing more than the prospect’s promise to give your presentation some “careful thought.” 

Unfortunately, the above scenario is a common one. If your expectation about what will be achieved during a meeting and how it will be achieved is different from that of the people with whom you are meeting, it’s a predictable outcome that someone (you) will leave the meeting with unfulfilled expectations - likely accompanied by feelings of frustration and resentment - and no sale.

Before you volunteer to do any of the work, it makes sense to establish clear, appropriate expectations and time investments on both sides. How do you do that? Lots of people are familiar with the Sandler® concept of the Up-Front Contract, under which both sides agree in advance about what the ground rules of a discussion will look like, and what the possible outcomes of the exchange will be. 

Yet too many people end up attempting to establish “contracts” that do not require the prospect to do much of anything! In reality, that is more of an up-front surrender. Over the phone, at the end of that “good initial discussion,” the up-front surrender might sound like this: 

YouHelen, what I’d like to do meet up next Tuesday at 10am to show you some options of what we could do for you, as well as pricing. Does that make sense? 

HelenSure. 

You just surrendered. If you imagine that what you just read constitutes an up-front contract, guess again! All that happened was you agreed to do everything… and the prospect has agreed to do nothing.

What’s missing? You want to establish a clear objective for the interaction, clarify the time required, identify specific topics to be discussed, gain agreement on the intended outcome and give the prospect something to do between now and the time you meet. 

This is where people often sabotage themselves. They imagine they’re securing an up-front contract, when all they’re really doing is volunteering to do all the work themselves. Here’s what a contract where the prospect is fully engaged would sound like: 

YouHelen, why don’t you pick a day when you can invite me in for an hour and we can determine if the type of targeted marketing campaign we have developed for other companies would make sense for you. [Helen chooses Tuesday from 10-11am.] 

YouThat’s great. Can we set aside an hour for this discussion?  [Helen agrees.] 

YouWonderful. When we get together in person, it would be helpful if you would provide me with some samples of your previous marketing campaigns - the ones that worked and the ones that didn’t. That would help me develop a more complete picture of exactly what your customers respond to. Would you be comfortable doing that? [Helen agrees.] 

YouThat would be great. Then, I could share with you the approach we would take and explain what would be involved. If you are comfortable with my approach, we would then have to discuss the various aspects of implementation such as objectives, timelines, budgets, people, and so on. When we get together next Tuesday, let’s focus on determining if there’s a good fit between what you’re after and what I have to offer. Does that make sense to you? 

Notice the three questions in bold. You must receive a positive response to these questions in order to have a “contract.” If Helen is uncomfortable or unwilling to commit to the actions necessary to reach the meeting objectives, is there any point to having the meeting? (Hint: the answer is “no.”)  

By engaging your prospect to make clear commitments and to actually do something before the meeting, you’ll spend more of your valuable time with people who are just as invested as you are in producing a positive outcome. You’ll get out of the cycle of doing all the up-front work. You’ll avoid long meetings with “decision makers” who won’t really make decisions. And you’ll win more business.

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