He responded, “I’ve spent so much time with this deal there’s no way I won’t close it.”
The sales manager knew the sales rep really meant that he spent so much effort and time that he couldn’t let the deal go. Letting go would have meant the several months leading up to that point would have been a waste.
The Fundamental Mistake
Imagine you buy a stock in a company because you read a cool story in the newspaper. Excited about the company you spend months researching the company and decide that you really love their vision.
Suddenly, a story breaks that the company’s CEO is leaving and there will be a change in management. The stock plummets and instead of selling off your shares while the losses are small you hold onto them because you don’t want all the research you did to go to waste.
Think about that. The research has already been done. The time has already been spent. You will never get that back.
Instead of cutting your losses, you held on to try and not waste the time that is already gone. This is known as the Sunk Cost Fallacy.
What’s even worse — many people will actually kuwait telegram data double down on their investment, throwing good money after bad.
Becoming emotionally attached to a deal is normal, everyone does it, and everyone will do it, it is a fact of life in sales.
However, the best way to avoid this trap is to keep yourself in check.
If a prospect is eagerly agreeing to micro-commitments, then you are on the right path.
However, when a prospect is not agreeing to micro-commitments or you are exerting a lot of energy to move them to the next step, it is time to evaluate either your strategy or your willingness to continue pursuing the deal.
For example, if a prospect cancels an initial meeting more than once it is not worth prying the door open at the cost of other opportunities.
If a prospect wants a proposal without allowing you to do proper discovery, then it’s time to walk away.