“No Decision” is the worst possible outcome

Today I’m going to share The Rule of Opposites. It’s the latest in my series on the patterns (and quirks) of situational behavior of sellers and buyers I’ve observed over the course of a long and successful sales career.The Rule of Opposites says that the pressure on a buyer to make no decision is as powerful as the pressure to purchase.In other words, the impetus to maintain the status quo is equal to the impetus to change.The reason for this is that decisions have consequences; the majority of which are perceived by the stakeholders to be negative.As a seller, you have to integrate an awareness of the perceived (and actual) risk(s) for the decision maker, and end-user, into your sales strategy to win the deal.First, perform a simple assessment of the risks of buying from you. Make a list of what these risks could be from the buyer’s point of view:

• Technical (will the system work; will it work for us)
• System (has it successfully worked with client like us)
• Track Record (have they successfully worked with a client like us)
• Implementation (on schedule and on budget)
• Internal implementation (do we have resources to implement and integrate on time and on budget)
• Integration (with existing systems and processes)
• Size of the deal (relative to your company)
• Company (will we stretch their resources too thin; will they be around to support us)

Second, for each risk you identify, list the steps you will take to mitigate those risks, both perceived and actual, that could influence the buyer’s decision.Incorporate these into your selling strategy for that account.Don’t wait until the buyer raises the red flag about these risk areas. Be transparent and proactively acknowledge potential risks with the buyer. And the mitigation steps you propose to take.It’s a huge trust builder.On the other hand, failure to proactively address risk is why seemingly well-qualified buyers end up making the dreaded “No Decision” decision.-Andy