how to create urgency

Good morning Predictable Revenue community,

Nathan wrote back last week with some great questions about urgency and how to keep a deal moving forward. I wanted to expand on my reply to him and thought that if he had the question, then others might have them as well. Here’s my expanded reply. 

tl;dr 

• Value creation creates urgency 

• If there’s no urgency there is either no value OR you haven’t found it yet

• Book the next call while you’re still on the call 

Before I get to the bulk of the email, I’d like to say thank you to the 38 people that replied to last week’s email with feedback on the first draft. This book will be better thanks to your contributions and I am extremely grateful.

Thank you.

Question 1 - Urgency 
“What's the best path when urgency isn't there? IE: During the sales process the initiative got deprioritized.” 

The most likely answer is that the project was never really a priority but we assumed it was. 

We assumed it was a priority because the call was pleasant and they liked the way the software looked. But we didn’t ask good questions that would have helped us understand the prospect’s situation, the progress they wanted to make, and the impact of solving it would have on their organization. 

“Do nothing” was on the table but we just didn’t know it. 

So how do we get “do nothing” off the table? Well, we can and we can’t. 

First we have to draw a distinction between what is under our control and what is not. Let’s start with what is under our control: 

• The rep that shows up to the call

• The skills training the rep has received 

• The process the rep has been taught 

• The technology that supports the rep and process 

Now, let’s look at what is outside of our control: 

• The prospect’s annual / quarterly priorities 

• Their company’s priorities, goals, & financials

• The priorities of the other people at our prospect’s company that are also trying to do things that will improve the bottom line

The biggest piece that was likely missed in this case is the process, the rep just didn’t ask the right questions that would help us uncover that there is a strong business case to be made for moving forward with our solution. Their prospect either didn’t have the budget in the first place or was competing for a slice of his boss’ budget and a coworker had a project with a higher expected value. 

This does not mean we can blame our lack of success on things outside of our control. By understanding what’s inside vs outside our control, it helps us pinpoint where we can invest our time so we do better next time. So there either was a strong business case to be made but we didn’t make it or there wasn’t a strong business case to be made. 

The diagnosis here is that we didn’t have the information we needed to make a good assessment of the situation. The reason we didn’t know is because we didn’t ask good questions. 

The goal of discovery is to determine whether there’s a strong business case that can be made for moving forward with our solution. If there is, we should book next steps. If there is not, we should share our perspective with the prospect, see if they agree, and recommend another solution. 

If you understand the appropriate context about a deal, the progress they want to make, and the impact that progress will have on the organization (more profit or less risk) then we should be able to build a rough model that calculates the ROI. If you can’t do this, you probably haven’t asked enough questions. 

Question 2 - Pricing 
“In the age of self-service software, what's the best way to handle a pricing conversation?”

With any transaction there are elements of value creation and value capture. The first thing you need to understand is whether or not there is value to be created for your prospect. Once you’ve established you can create value, the next step is to help them understand the value capture side. This includes your pricing plus all of the internal resources it’ll take to implement your solution. The strength of the business case will come down to the ratio of value creation vs value capture. This is the prospect’s ROI. 

Short answer → have the pricing conversation after you’ve established that you can create value. 

Question 2.1 - Stalls 
“If conversations stall out on the pricing conversation, is that an indication of a lack of hard or soft dollar value? Even if the project timing gets pushed?”

Good discovery helps you uncover why "do nothing" is off the table. “Do nothing” will be off the table if the ratio of value creation to value capture is high. There are two reasons why deals stall at the pricing stage: 

• There is not enough ROI to justify investment (out of your control)

• You didn’t find a critical factor in proving the business case (inside your control) 

For clarity, in the first example, there was not enough value creation to justify moving forward. In the second example, there was enough value creation, you just didn’t ask the right questions to uncover the answer. 

If you want to avoid deals stalling, start having honest conversations with prospects about whether or not they should do anything. Don't be afraid to tell them better options, it's the right thing to do and it demonstrates your integrity. 

Question 3 - Nurturing 
“What's the best path to stay engaged when a timeline is given? IE, prospect says “we like what you all are doing and won't be ready until X month. Let's get back in touch then.” 

Repeat after me, “book the next call when you’re still on the call”. Your turn, I’ll wait…

…

Good job. This one’s a two-parter. 

Step 1 is to book the next call and frame it as a check in. Don’t ask if they want to book a call, just suggest it and a date time for it: 

Prospect: let’s get back in touch in 3 months 

Me: that works great, how does your Tuesday October 17th look? I’m open between 10am and 1pm pacific… 

Prospect: 10am’s great

Me: perfect, invite sent. I’ll drop you a follow up a week ahead of time to see if it’s a good time

Some people will throw an objection. If they do, then frame it up as a hold, not a meeting and you’ll reach out to them the week before to see if it’s worth turning into a meeting. If they agree, add “HOLD:” as a prefix to the meeting invite so you know what to do. 

If they still won’t take it, you know the deal is less likely to be real. 

Step 2 is to figure out what’s going to change between now and October 17th. This provides you with the context you need to write your thoughtful follow up. 

Me (via email): I noticed we have our check-in call next week, when we spoke back in June you mentioned that X needed to hit Y in order for this to make sense, how’s it going?

This process automates your follow up game, which means you’re more likely to actually do it. It also has the advantage of telling you who’s real (agree to a follow up), who’s not (won’t agree to a hold), and what needs to change for it to move forward. Three very good things to know about a prospect in your nurture funnel. 

Question 4 & 5 - Next Steps
“On occasion a "next step" from a call isn't clear. Is there a good default next-step to keep things moving or be a clear indication to cut and move on?” 

“What’s the best way to keep an opportunity warm?”

📕 the 📞 on the 📞 

Happy selling, 

Collin Stewart 

PS - I have two emails I’m working on for next week, so reply back to let me know which one I should prioritize: 

A - The Strategy of a Sale 

B - Quantifying Product Market Fit