Arnov K.
A Business Development Manager with over 5 years’ of exp in the field of IT IMS & IT staff augmentation.
How would you handle a Negative / No Response to your sales proposal?
When your voice-mails and emails go unanswered, When you get a negative response? What should you do?
Answers (33)
Kathleen E.
VP of Business Development for Fulcrum Biometrics (MobileID, RapidID, Live Scan, AFIS, ABIS)
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Ah...the obvious answer is not to dwell and to actively be pursuing multiple opportunities, but don't give up. I've had more than several occasions where my prospects went into never never land only to pop up several months later ready to buy because they finally were at a place to buy and had budget approval. Of course, there are also the cases where the prospect didn't have the courtesy to get back to you to say sorry...they were going with another solution provider. I'm not sure what that is all about, people should be considerate, courteous and honest. Those that just go into the ether with no response whatsoever to someone who has taken time to thoughtfully respond to a question should take a lesson in common courtesy, because it really is rude not to respond back.
Shammi M.
Business Leader Spearheading B2C Lubricant Sales
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It has to be seen from two perspectives. Firstly, your proposal did not mean enough value to your prospective customer. Secondly, just because you want to get into a transaction does not mean that the other party is also equally interested.
In either case, it is best to move on by adding more values to your proposal. You would surely attract clients elsewhere. The world is very large with a lot of potential clients.
Fenny D.
Value Chain Solutions ( India) Pvt. Ltd.
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The negative / no response to the sales proposal is sending you the signals that there is some thing missing in your proposal, what client was looking forward is not their in the proposal. Considered it as a scope of improvement , you should keep trying without getting emotional about the response. And be persistant in every deal you negotiate.
Marc W.
VP, Mobile Solutions | Senior Technology Sales & Marketing Executive | Author of Black Belt Guide
You need to understand the entire landscape of the deal and who you are really selling to in the organization. The "no" may indicate the buyer never had an intention of working with you in the first place (if you proposed something and then they responded as you describe above). When voicemails and emails go unanswered I would just remain persistent without being obnoxious until I could get them on the phone and simply ask them why my proposal didn't met their needs and how could I have improved it. One way to do this is to "Take away" the proposal. It is a non-threatening way of getting it back in play. You simply leave a message or send an email and and say something to the effect of "so now that my proposal is off the table I'd like some feedback on it". Customers don't usually expect to hear that so by "Taking it away" it often elicit's a response.
If voice mails and emails go unanswered it could be a few things. Either there's something going on inside of the organization that you are not aware of - and they will get back to you later, or they aren't interested and the lack of answer is your answer.
However, if you are approaching them for a sale - then I would continue to call until I spoke with a human being and received a direct no.
In the case of no - I send a hand written note saying Thank you for their time & reiterating why my product could benefit them specifically. This will help keep you in mind in the future in case circumstances change.
Always say thank you & be polite even when you don't get the sale. Life is long and you never know when things will change.
@shiraabel
▓▒░ Sandeep S.
Assistant Manager Email Marketing & Business Generation - sandeep.dnc@gmail.com] at GEP (Formerly Global eProcure)
I am in to Email lead generation since last 4 years, as far as my experience on -
***Emails go unanswered*** - I’d suggest send a short mail to your prospect – sub title “Awating your kind response”, do highlight only imp point of your No # of clients, services you provide & request for 15 to 30 min brief conf calls, not more than 6 lines,
***When you get a negative response? *** - Do research on prospect need, get info of your prospect tie-up with any of your competitors, see where your services can penetrate, & after 4 to 6 month shoot him another fresh mail, convincing for 30 min brief conf calls or you can discuss with your Sr. level management to have some free/sample service you can provide (if it is a billion $ company) & you can smell a big opportunity,
I hope was able to answer your Q,
Thanks,
Sandeep
Sandeep Srivastav
sandeep.dnc@gmail.com (Personal)
Assistant Manager | Business Development Europe Email Team
Global eProcure - Compliance Maximised | Savings Realized
Tel : - 732 382 6565 | Ext # 4749| Mobile # 91 - 9870410048
Email: sandeep.srivastav@globaleprocure.com | Web: www.globaleprocure.com
“If you dream to fly with Eagle, don’t waste time in swimming with Ducks”
I learned it the hard way to “move on”, when you get negative/no response. Because you need to utilize your time wisely ...
But it is hard to define at precisely what time you give up and “move on”.
Also it is critical to understand and analyze in each case the reasons for negative/no response. At least, in few cases it would be obvious as you speak to the prospective clients to get answers for rejection.
This analysis can help you
a) Better segment, target your prospective clients
b) Work on some shortcomings on your product/service, proposal, follow up process
c) Take important understanding of how competition is approaching market to win accounts etc etc...
Magnus S.
Senior Sales & Business Developer, Mentor & Business Consult, Boardmember Swedish Chamber of Commerce
Hi,
this is something that is happening in many sales situations and can have many reasons depending on where you where in the sales cycle, your relation to the company and person/s you have proposed to. I would however be persistent in a not to pushy way and continue to call on the prospect until you have got a direct feedback and a clear understanding of the situation.
Good Luck,
Magnus
Roy D.
Herbalife UK | LION (21000) | Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista
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Move on, there is no scarcity in this world and scarcity mentality does not improve your performance. Make sure you walk away without being a sore loser.
Laura S.
Talent Development Manager at Marcus Evans
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Totally agree with Marc Winitz here.
The Sales Proposal should be extended when it's actually just a formality, i.e. when most of the work has been done (relationship established, needs identified, key players buy-in secured etc). Many companies need 3 proposals to demonstrate they went through some sort of selection process even when the preference is clear and the contract is awaiting signatures. So, in addition to the favorite, they ask a few companies for proposals, and annex the best two proposals to the "tender". These proposals had zero chance of winning from the start. Your proposal may be one of these "fillers", hence the lack of response.
If you really wish to know what happened, forget the e-mail and try to establish a direct and relevant human contact there. It may take some time, but eventually you'll have your answer.
There's something you can do to prevent this lack of reaction in the future. You may wish to establish a very thorough screening and qualifying process for companies who send you Requests for Proposals or RFP's, to make sure you're not wasting your precious time with a filler proposal.
You can be even tougher and refuse to answer RFP's. Companies calling out of the blue either wish to do business with you - in which case you qualify and send a contract - or they don't. It takes courage and an excellent reputation to maintain this rule, and it may even cost you a few contracts, but in the end you save a lot of time you can use with honest prospects who are ready to buy. Good luck!
Trying Modern way of Networking before Presenting the Proposal for the second time.In an age when everything is electronic, You have so many resources. Linked-In. Facebook. Twitter. You had better
be using these.
A negative response must be viewed as a quest for more information.
Sadly, all of us don't really like to answer sales call, plainly cause we are not interested & do not have the time for it. The solution to the problem is - USP. Spit it out quick & be concise.
If you see an opening, bond with your prospective client.
-Talking from the perspective of bulk calling-
Savo D.
Entrepreneur
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You win some, you lose some.
If you are good in your sales efforts, you should follow at all times at least 7-8++ sales leads.
As soon as one lead closes, or even looks soft, you shift your attention and concentrate more on the next one, and so on.
"No point in flogging a dead horse"
Most prospects/ customers are put off by too much follow up from the sales person and then they stop responding to mails/ taking calls. Rarely do they come upfront and respond in the negative; they generally prefer to keep silent if their response is in the negative. I have observed this while dealing with prospects in-country as well as out of the country. It is probably more profound in India, since Indians dont want to upset someone. Same is the case while recruitment or marriage alliances where negative response is rarely given. In my sales experience, 10% - 20% prospects convert into customers, hence it is advisable to have a proportionately large funnel to meet your sales target. Negative/ no response is a part of the game. It only means that the prospect does not have the budget or approvals/ is generally evaluating solutions available in the market/ does not like your offering/ prefers other vendor/ will take time to decide .. so on and so forth. Don't take it to heart, spend little time on such follow ups and more time on the active prospects, work hard and smart and your effort will realize.
Steven S.
Executive Search Consultant (IT and Finance) FPC of Columbia,SC - ssettle@fpccolumbia.com
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Changes can happen so quickly that receiving a no response today can reverse itself tomorrow. The decision-makers (CIO's, directors, managers) leave for other opportunities, retire, etc. So I don't dwell on rejection. Try to get specific feedback regarding the reasons, offer alternatives if appropriate, and follow-up again after an extended period to see if anything has changed.
Lara N.
Online Business Manager
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I take silence, as in unanswered voice messages, emails, proposal etc, as the client is not interested. Clients who want to work with me seek me. Since there are plenty of fish in the sea I do not obnoxiously pursue clients that do not respond. Building positive relationships matter to me.
I use a sales process called CustomerCentric Selling (CCS). This process enables me to have a well calculated series of events with the prospect that leads to a proposal requested by them. In short, it eliminates surprises because I have had numerous in-depth meetings with the prospect as well as others impacted by the business event. If after a certain amount of days (which were communicated to me by the prospect on when a decision would be made) the prospect has discontinued open communication to me, I will send a "proposal withdrawal letter".
This letter will be copied to all those that were involved in the sales process. It will state that I must have "missed" some critical requirements if after all this time no movement forward has been made on their end. I state I am also concerned that the proposal may not be accurate and therefore I am withdrawing the proposal. If they would like to "restart" the process, I suggest we schedule a "refocus meeting".
I find this does several things. 1. The prospect calls! 2. They do not and I can now take it out of my pipeline, consider it dead, and put no further resources against this endeavor.
I hope this helps.
Arnov,
Your question begs a couple of questions before it can be answered. First of all, being honest with yourself, how well did you qualify the needs, decision-making authority, and purchasing capabilities of your prospect?
Before you EVER give a proposal, you must know very specifically what a customers needs are and why they want to address them so badly. Finding out what it costs that customer to not have your solution is the very fundamental part of the salesperson's job. It is also frequently the most avoided, consequently turning off your prospect.
You need to check and double-check that there is not a partner, manager, board, committee, or spouse that this person needs to check with to make purchases of any amount. If they do, you should not give a proposal without all decision-makers present unless it is completely not feasible otherwise. Again, you are putting your prospect in a position that is uncomfortable to not do so. And you are depending on THEM to sell your product instead of YOU.
And of course if you haven't clarified the budget then you never had any business giving a proposal anyways. Discovering how much a prospect is ready, willing, and capable of spending on your solution is a pillar of your sales success.
And secondly, did you clarify the expectations or "rules" of what happens after you give a proposal. If you did not clarify before you gave the proposal that you were expecting a decision as well as have them readily verbally agree to doing so, you are practically asking them to say no and blow you off. Again, it's about clearing the hurdles before you get to them.
How much information did you give to your prospect? Were you in person when you gave it, or did you mail/e-mail it to them? If they have all of your information, they no longer need you in their mind. In that case, avoiding your calls and e-mails is again the expected response.
And finally, when they objected to your proposal did you clarify what their objection(s) were? And if so, how did you address those concerns? If you did not do this, again, you are in no way helping your prospect.
There's a number of techniques that you could use, but I think that you need to isolate your problem(s) before you try to remedy them. And remember, you can't and won't succeed every time out. In baseball if you strike out six times out of ten at-bats you go into the Hall of Fame. If selling had a hall of fame, I'd expect it to be about the same for most industries. Your failures are a healthy part of your future successes so learn from them.
One thing that I learned from day one - never take "No" personally and that "No" means no today. Always leave the process on a high note with the door open for future contact. Many times I have had a "No" turn into a yes down the line.
It is difficult to answer your question specifically as we do not know what part of the sales process you were in ie: qualification, customer relationship development, proposal generation ect.
Sara T.
Freelance advertising and SEO copywriter
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I'm with Patricia Stanley Martinez. Always leave the door open.
When I write a TV spot, I know exactly what the actors should look and sound like. Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep could audition and if they aren't right, they aren't going to get that job.
I've also sent out RFPs for a land use project and we received, say, six excellent proposals. We chose one because he seemed to thoroughly understand our somewhat quirky ideas for preserving open space. The others were fantastic land use specialists. The one we chose simply had that undefinable something. No other way to express it.
That most definitely did not mean that the "losing" candidates were people we would never want to work with in the future. For some reason, usually on OUR part, they weren't the perfect match.
A nice note saying thanks for allowing you to present your proposal and a message that you hope you can work with them one day would leave a positive impression.
Also, ask them to refer to to others who may want similar work done. We kept all of our proposals. Remember, they were all highly professional and "lost" only because we "clicked" with the winner. I would happily refer them to others seeking the same type of job, and would also be willing to look them over again should a future need arise.
Clarification added April 6, 2010:
I also had to add the most critical part: It is inexcusable to neglect to inform those who did not get the contract. Absolutely inexcusable. Even if the proposal fell short, the person has a right to know what they didn't do correctly so they can work on it for future proposals.
I think in most cases a No Response means that you were trying to sell to someone who was not a decision-maker, or you didn't verify that they have budget before getting to the proposal stage. We've all done it, and still do on occasion.
Once you're there, however, I've occasionally found it useful to leave a semi-final voicemail where I say something along the lines of, "I'm not sure if I've crossed the line into being a pest, but ..."
About 1/2 the time they'll laugh and give me a call.
Thanks,
James
There are so many different reasons that a prospect does not respond or gives you a no to a sales proposal. It could be a timing problem, a financial problem, or something that is not a high priority. Prospects are not always transparent to their reason. The best way is to upfront find the need, sell the solution which brings value, and never accept no for an answer.
With grace. A negative response may still be turned into a positive response later.
Ask for and accept feedback, It could be the difference between making or not making a sale with another customer.
You can also ask what they would have liked that may have made them inclined to buy and consider if this is an avenue for negotiation.
A no response may be for a valid reason. There is nothing wrong with a follow up. If you email or telephone with no response, then perhaps write a letter, offering them an opportunity to come back to you later or if what you are offering is time limited, state the deadline in your letter for the avoidance of misunderstanding. Some people respond well to the personal touch.
If you do not get a response to this, take the hint and move on. Your sale may be very important to you, but not to them. Put your efforts into new prospective customers who might benefit from what you have to offer.
If you remain amicable with prospective customers, you can always approach them later when you have other deals or products that may be of interest to them.
Anoz P.
Softskill Trainer at Globarena Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
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Check the following possibilities.
1. This prospect is not informed of the loss involved in not utilizing your service/product.
2. You are not a source for the prospect which he/she is trusting, so find a satisfied client related to this prospect and have the query routed through the client.
3. May be you need to contact somebody else from the firm who is more concerned about the benefits that your product/service can offer.
4. Stop telling your prospect what you have to offer and start asking him/her what he/she needs for the firm to perform better.
David W.
Helping businesses get more customers to spend more, more often, and then turn them into their best salesmen
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A point that has been much mentioned in another recent question "When would you NOT provide a customer with a Sales Proposal and why?" is that your proposal should merely document an agreement already reached.
If this is rejected you need to invoke the power of your already established relationship to investigate why.
You may even learn about additional levels of information gathering you should employ in future in order to gain even greater understanding.
I usually take "no" as "not now". This thought process requires more information. The sales proposal is meant to provide a solution to a problem. If the presentation is met head on with a no, you probably didn't identify the problem. Sometimes the customer hasn't identified the problem either. This is why you must listen very carefully.
Lorne P.
Social media, blogging, SEO and Website (WordPress) marketing consultant. St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada
Never interpret no response as a "No." The prospect may simply be busy, or waiting for other team members to weigh in, or dealing with other delays of their own. Sending a friendly reminder can help, but be careful not to be too aggressive. And never, ever sound annoyed, no matter how you may feel.
I have gotten great results by injecting some humor into my reminders. Send an email saying you've been thinking about them and hoping for an answer, and then sign it "Sleepless in San Jose" or whatever city you're in. It often not only generates a laugh and an apologetic response, but also helps establish you as someone who can handle stress with a smile. You've just bumped yourself up a notch or two on the ladder of possibilities.
David K.
President at Confluent Forms LLC
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After drinking away my disappointment I'd go and run a RFP post-mortem: http://blog.confluentforms.com/2010/03/your-proposal-lost-now-what-conducting.html
Best,
-David
